DARKMATTERS - The Mind of Matt

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Saturday, November 25, 2006

Film review: Puritan


"put this film on your 'must see' list!!

Puritan (12a)


Dir. Hadi Hajaig

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Puritan is the first film from the 4th dimension… A place where time is meaningless, everything is happening all at once and if you had mastery over it you could flit from point to point instantaneously. But before getting too far into the scientific ponderings on offer here – lets finger the occult for a moment… Imagine if the devil himself had once been summoned in the parlour of the house in which you live… And while you’re at it – your house was one of the surviving buildings built and designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor (he whose legend tells of famous London churches designed to glorify the occult, not God).


Actually Hawksmoor's churches have been regarded by many as centres of malevolent energies connected with the Ratcliffe Highway and Whitechapel murders; Could it be that they were positioned at the angles of a sign of Set, or that they harbour cult centres, roaming places for malignancies which have yet to be laid to rest? As a Christian I find this sort of stuff fascinating...


But I digress, Puritan is writer-director Hadi Hajaig's feature film follow up to The Late Twentieth (where a young Londoner who fails to come to the aid of his girlfriend when she's murdered by an armed robber in a convenience store subsequently goes insane and seeks redemption by pursuing malefactors) and rather than madness and gunplay, this is something more bizarre…


Puritan is wonderful modern film noir, shot through with occult horror trappings and gorgeous camerawork. Nick Moran plays Simon Puritan – a washed up journalist / paranormal investigator and some time medium who lives in Whitechapel in an early-18th-century house designed by Hawksmoor (see above). It is the place supposed to be where Aleister Crowley once raised the spirit of Satan and held a conversation with the dark lord himself.


Simon falls for femme fatale / trophy wife Ann Bridges (the spell bindingly hot Georgina Rylance) who is married to dangerous a self help capitalist played by David Soul. Things get complicated and death follows but it’s better if you watch this without detailed knowledge of the plot and it will keep you guessing nicely throughout.


This is a film that hits you from left field, it’s a hard boiled, neo noir modern classic featuring a superb depiction of this year’s best down on his luck anti-hero in Moran who gives a fantastically nuanced performance.
Who is the terribly disfigered man who seems to know the future? How far do Soul’s links to organised crime go? 



Can time and reality really be superimposed in a 4th dimension? 


Puritan is a must see film…



Darkmatters rating system (out of 5):



Action ööö - Enough
Laughs öö – not a comedy
Horror ööö – some nasty stuff but not too much
Babes ööö – Georgina Rylance is gorgeous



Overall öööö (immensley satisfying and cool)


"highly explosive action scene!?"

Darkmatters:H O M E

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree totally with the description that Matt has given regarding this excellent film. I went to see it on the 15th November and I enjoyed it emensely. The twists and turns throughout, keeps your attention from beginning to end. I know I might be biased, but I must say that David Soul was fantastic in the role he played. His acting was as you would expect from David - first class. I still think he has those dashing good looks that he has always had. I would highly recommend this as a MUST SEE film to everyone.