If possible, please leave criticism in your comments so that I can improve!!
If possible, please leave criticism in your comments so that I can improve!!
Member since:28.05.2003
Reviews:63
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So I only came across this film because it happened to be starting at just the time that I turned on the television, but I stuck with it and was pleased with what I watched.
The Skulls is named after the fictional 'secret society' around which the story is based, and is an American late-teen college/university with a dark feel, not like your American Pie and whatnot.
Lucas McNamara (played by Joshua Jackson) is in his senior (fourth, to us Brits) year at an unnamed Ivy League University. From humble beginnings as a poor kid with no family, to success as a major player in his university rowteam, he shows much promise. As such, he is approached by several 'secret societies' but turns them down, until eventually The aforementioned Skulls call him.
This seems a great thing at first, as they give money, cars, girls, and countless opportunities only afforded to 'Skulls above all others'. However, problems come with membership, not least issues with best friends about keeping many secrets from them, and the discovery that the society is a nest of rivalries and cover-ups.
The film becomes a classic "honest guy is tempted by opportunity, succumbs to dishonesty for a while, then realises what he is becoming and attempts to fix the system" story. It of course has plenty of action in as Lucas attempts to throw the society wide open, and is almost confusingly fast paced at times, with various characters keeping their true allegiences secret until they reveal them to thicken the plot a little. It also couldn't be a college drama without a bit of a love story in there too, so Lucas has an on-off girlfriend throughout the film.
I enjoyed the film very much, mostly because of how it portrayed secret societies at priveleged american institutions, and made it seem that if you work hard enough, be the best at what you do, then you too could be offered untold opportunity. Made me wish I was attending Yale! Or at least Cambridge.
However, when I thought about the film afterwards, I realised it was fairly derivative in plot - the seemingly perfect existence turning out to be less than perfect as you get more involved is oft-used, reminded me of The Firm, and indeed the first season of '24'.
The acting and scripting too were less than perfect, none of the characters were that deep and one didn't really get attached to any of them. Indeed, when one of the main characters in the first half of the film dies, what should be a moving moment isn't really. I've read that Joshua Jackson can only play one character - that of Pacey in TV show Dawson's Creek, but I thought him the best actor in the film. Paul Walker, the other star of the film whom I have yet to mention, was fairly poor at his character I thought, we were not really drawn into him at all. The other more minor characters were satisfactory, but no more.
(edit) oh yeah! I reckon that the name is sort of a pun. Skulling is rowing on your own is it not? and Lucas is a keen rower. I dunno, could be something there... (/edit)
Watching the film was a nice fictional insight into the world of plutocracy, and The Skull and Bones society at Yale that this was based upon, of which several presidents were members, and a nice look at some of the architecture of American Universities (I don't fully understand how their universities are so old, compared to most of ours in Britain!). So an enjoyable film, if not a brilliant piece of cinema, but definitely worth watching if you don't pay much for it.
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
For Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) an invitation to join the prestigious secret college ... more
organization The Skulls is a dream come true. Acceptance into the Skulls would ensure Luke a place at the table and guarantee him both the financial means and t...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Deep within the hallowed walls of the Ivy League's most prominent campus, there exists a ... more
secret society where power and influence are bred. Only a few are chosen to join the group where presidents are groomed, wealthy bloodlines bond, and devious plots...
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