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Dan by Michael von Redlich
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Friday, October 11, 2024
Horror Hunks: Andrew N. Robertson in The Cement Garden
'Love Knows No Limits'
Ok, first off, The Cement Garden isn't really a horror film, not by traditional standards. It is however, incredibly haunting and rooted in a tragic series of events. A reader of FH suggested I check it out awhile ago, but it wasn't until recently that I actually sat down and watched. The film is set in England in the late 1970's. The narcissistic teenager Jack is living with parents, his 17 year old sister Julie, and younger sister Se and six year old brother Tom.
Early into the film, tragedy strikes with Jack's father dies, after having a heart attack unloading large bags of cement to resurface the garden path. Only months after this tragedy, Jack' smother becomes terminally ill and also soon passes way. Before her death, Jack's mom implores her children not to tell anyone about her disappearance. She's worried they'll be separated into foster care, and the house will be torn down or sold. They decide to hide their mom's decomposing corpse in a makeshift concrete sarcophagus.
Initially, Jack and Julie work together to take care of the house and their younger siblings. Soon, they begin to clash, mostly due to Jack's immaturity and selfishness. Their relationships however, soon takes an incestuous turn when Jack develops a crush on his older sister. All of the children however, quickly become more withdrawn and their mental states further disintegrate as time passes with no adult supervision.
The family becomes even more closed off, distancing themselves from not only the world, but each other. Julie however, finds herself involved with an older man named Derek, which evokes jack's jealousy and hostility. Derek soon becomes suspicious of the unpleasant odor coming from the basement. Jack initially tells Derek the smell is from their dead family dog, but soon realizes that Julie has exposed their secret.
The screenplay was written by Ian McEwan, and based upon his novel. The story also became a stage play, and featured actor George Mackay, (previously featured on FH HERE:) in the role of Jack. Most of you have seen McEwan's work on screen as he previously wrote the screenplays or original material for films including; Atonement, The Comfort of Strangers and The Good Son.
Although he plays younger in the film, Robertson was 19 when the film was made in 1993. Robertson is haunting in the film, with his beautiful face and his ability to exude an almost sinister, yet celestial feel. Robertson didn't do much acting after this film, although I did see him in episode 4 of the British fantasy series Gormenghast. He looked as beautiful as ever, and although there were some shirtless scenes, I think this film marked his only on-screen nude scene.
Over the last few decades, Robertson has mostly focused on his work as an academic, as well his music, and fronting the British band Truck. A few years ago, Robertson released his first solo album, 'Natural Born Actor',. If you check out the video, (HERE:) you can see the actor looks as beautiful as ever and has kept his dark, long hair. If you don't blink, there's also a few seconds of a nude Andrew walking in the fall leaves.
There's Something In The Water: Dan by Michael von Redlich
'A calm mind is like still water, reflecting the beauty around it...'
As all know, sometimes reflections can be more visually stunning than what they're reflecting. It's usually because of the light, and hazy visuals. It's like when we squint our eyes and look at the Christmas tree lights. The visual is blurry for sure, but the light and colors are often so much more magical than they actually appear..
As beautiful as a naked Dan looks surrounded by the water, it's the Autumn colors reflected in the pond that really makes this series visually extraordinary. In order to capture this series, so many element needed to come together. Michael's talents and Dan's beautiful water ballet poses were fixed, but the sun's light and level of reflection were all about timing, and Michael's ability to capture nature's illumination at just the right moment.
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