Friday, May 27, 2022
flickfeast
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Festivals
  • FrightFeast
  • Spotlight
  • Contribute
  • Submissions
    • Advertise on Flickfeast
    • Submit a Film
No Result
View All Result
flickfeast
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Festivals
  • FrightFeast
  • Spotlight
  • Contribute
  • Submissions
    • Advertise on Flickfeast
    • Submit a Film
No Result
View All Result
FLICKFEAST
No Result
View All Result
Home Feature

Don’t Expect Too Much (2011)

Kevin Matthews by Kevin Matthews
June 22, 2012
in Feature, Film Review, Reviews
14
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

You might have heard of director Nicholas Ray. He directed some classic movies, including Johnny Guitar and the mighty Rebel Without A Cause. If you haven’t heard of him then I recommend that you start learning about the man now. If you have heard of him then I recommend you take the time to explore more about his thought process and how he lived his life. Whichever camp you reside in, you could do a lot worse than kickstarting your knowledge of Nicholas Ray with this fascinating documentary, a look at just what happened when Ray moved from his role as Hollywood director to that of a film teacher. He decided that the best way to learn about the process was to get everyone making a film, learning every day and experimenting with their few resources and limited funds.

If this documentary wasn’t set up and structured so well then it would be easy to laugh at. Most of the runtime concerns a bunch of bright and loving students naively making something that they hope will last as a great work of art. Yet, for all of the counterculture lifestyle and love-in moments described you know, from the outset, that Nicholas Ray is a fantastic director speaking from experience. He may be trying new techniques and setting goals far beyond the reach of either himself or his students but he also teaches them plenty they will use in later life. Not just about film either, but about thoughts and how to get the best out of any situation. He does, in fact, end up teaching them some great life skills.

You might also like

Firestarter (2022) – Film Review

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) – Film Review

Benediction (2021) — Film Review

Despite the charisma and forcefulness of Nicholas Ray, I can appreciate that some people will still look at this documentary and see nothing more than a camera pointed at a bunch of amateurs attempting to make something artistic and worthwhile from an incoherent messy mass of film. The final result may be a bit of a failure but it’s an interesting one, something that ends up hiding the truth at its heart even while it attempts to show audiences a collection of images that add up to something honest and powerful. Described out of context it may sound like risible nonsense, but seeing one young man cut off his beard while being directed by Ray is one of the most emotionally raw and overt portrayals of the end of innocence that I’ve ever seen.

This is not an easy documentary to recommend to people but if you’re interested in film and just how much of the process of moviemaking can bleed off the edge of the screen and into every aspect of the lives of those involved then I urge you to give this a watch and see if you like it as much as I did. You may not but you don’t get anywhere without taking any risks, another point that the film makes.

Don’t Expect Too Much is showing on Sun 24 June (19:45) in Cineworld and Sun 1 July (18:45) in Filmhouse 1, with both showings also preceded by showings of We Can’t Go Home Again as a separate feature that you may want to try and sit through, as experimental and messy as it seems.

Writer/Director: Susan Ray
Stars: Nicholas Ray, Gerry Bamman, Richard Bock and Peer Bode
Runtime: 70 min
Country: USA

Film Rating: ★★★½☆

Tags: documentaryEIFFfestivalGerry Bammannicholas rayPeer BodeRichard Bocksusan ray
Kevin Matthews

Kevin Matthews

Kevin Matthews lives in Edinburgh and has done for some time. He loves it there and he loves movies, especially horrors. No film is too awful to pass through his cinematic haze.

Related Posts

Film Review

Firestarter (2022) – Film Review

by Dallas King
May 24, 2022
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) – Film Review
Film Review

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) – Film Review

by Katie Smith-Wong
May 23, 2022
Benediction (2021)
Film Review

Benediction (2021) — Film Review

by Jasmine Valentine
May 19, 2022
The Innocents (2021) – Film Review
Film Review

The Innocents (2021) – Film Review

by William Stottor
May 17, 2022
Father Stu (2022) – Film Review
Film Review

Father Stu (2022) – Film Review

by Dallas King
May 12, 2022

Recommended

Top Ten Jean-Claude Van Damme Movies

Top Ten Jean-Claude Van Damme Movies

May 21, 2018

All Superheroes Must Die (2011)

October 16, 2013

Don't miss it

Film Review

Firestarter (2022) – Film Review

May 24, 2022
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) – Film Review
Film Review

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) – Film Review

May 23, 2022
Benediction (2021)
Film Review

Benediction (2021) — Film Review

May 19, 2022
Top 100 Greatest Movies Films
Spotlight

100 Greatest Movies (and 50 Honorable Mentions)

May 24, 2022
The Innocents (2021) – Film Review
Film Review

The Innocents (2021) – Film Review

May 17, 2022
Father Stu (2022) – Film Review
Film Review

Father Stu (2022) – Film Review

May 12, 2022
flickfeast

Whetting your appetite for cinema with the best film reviews and features since 2009

© Copyright - flickfeast. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Festivals
  • FrightFeast
  • Spotlight
  • Contribute

© Copyright - flickfeast. All Rights Reserved.

Posting....