God Help the Girl (2014)

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

~~~STORY~~~Eva is a mentally unstable teenage girl, and finds that the only way to soothe herself is song writing. When she finds out about her musical talent, she escapes the hospital that she's in and stumbles across James in a nightclub. The two form a friendship and then Eva meets Cassie, who James mentors for guitar. They all decide to form a band.~~~STORY REVIEW~~~The story, on the surface, is really good. Each scenario leading up to the band's formation is convincing and pretty realistic. Even during the band's "active" days, it's a somewhat convincing story. The ending.... yeah no. The ending really didn't do much for me at all, and left me with a feeling of "oh, that's it?". Pretty good story overall.~~~MUSIC~~~Stuart Murdoch (director and writer for GHTG) is a songwriter. He's written songs for Belle and Sebastian for around 3 decades, so it's no surprise that the songs in this film are top class, and reflect Stuart's obvious ability to write songs, even in the unfamiliar environment for writing for movies.~~~CAST~~~I've been following GHTG since around 2009, when the soundtrack with the original characters came out with. The voices in these were good singing voices, but I wasn't sure how the voices would be able to act.Stuart Murdoch also probably thought this and got new members for the cast. Emily Browning plays Eve, the main character. A pretty nice casting option if I'm honest. She fits the character pretty well and has a nice singing voice, and fits the film's vibe pretty well, holding strong in the sad and the happy parts of the film. Pretty convincing character.Olly Alexander plays James. Again, a nice casting choice, with a nice singing voice and fits the hipster vibe of the film pretty well. Nothing to complain about here.Now, seems good doesn't it? Well, let me get to f***ing Hannah Murray. Her voice is the most irritating thing I've ever heard in my life. She can't sing and all of her dialog and her scenes are ruined by her irritating voice. It's a shame that the main characters couldn't be all good.~~~CONCLUSION~~~This film is certainly great. Blank out Hannah Murray's voice, and you get some great songs out of it (wouldn't expect less from Stuart Murdoch) and a pretty feel-good vibe. It's overall a pretty nice romance/music film, although the ending just is kinda............... eh. Lazy and rushed ending just kinda ruins it a bit for me.

I thought this musical fantasy was a most pleasant and enjoyable film, filled with an appealing storyline, humor, and, of course, many delightful musical numbers.Set in Glasgow, Emily Browning the stunning and talented Australian actress is superb as Eve, who's in treatment at a mental health facility for depression and an eating disorder. However, she'll often sneak out of the facility, at night, to visit local clubs, as she's an aspiring songwriter and singer.One night at one of these clubs, she'll meet James, an idealistic young man and guitar player, whose day-job is being a lifeguard at the local university. Olly Alexander is exceptional, as James, and there's a noticeable chemistry between Eve and James, which will eventually lead to a very close friendship.James is teaching guitar to another young woman, Cassie, ably portrayed by Hannah Murray, who also wants to sing and write songs. Soon, the three of them will form a strong bond, and look to form a band so they can try to play out their musical aspirations. However, in time, they'll have to make decisions about their lives and their futures.The movie was written and directed by Stuart Murdoch, the lead singer of the Scottish band Belle and Sebastian, who were very involved in the musical productions here in the film. I thought his screenplay was very clever, and his direction of the musical numbers was extremely well done.All in all, there were some elements here that reminded me of the great movie "Once", with its heartwarming themes and music. To me, this movie was a most pleasant surprise and an exceptional film.

For some reason I expected a little more from Stuart Murdoch who has written some beautiful songs, even though with varying degrees of lollipop. In God Help The Girl he does a few things well. The dance and musical sequences, though possibly jarring to some, are blended into the film reasonably well. But the rest of it is pretty shallow. It's as if he had the idea of jumping into the ocean but got to the edge and just paddled, not really able or wanting to get wet. For example, James is potentially an interesting character but Stuart doesn't develop him beyond the paper thin. At one point in the film, Anton (Pierre Boulanger) describes Eve's music as, and I'm paraphrasing, baby stories for young girls. I think Anton's analysis could equally apply to God Help The Girl.

Having read the reviews, I wasn't really sure what to expect when I began seeing GHTG. I should say that I have been a B&S fan since 1997 or 1998 when I discovered "If you're feeling sinister" and I have all their releases up until 1998 as well as the debut album of Gentle Waves. Their music has really influenced me as a person and I really was curious of what a film based on their songs would look like.I felt happy watching GHTG but it was also really emotional. Being in my mid-30s it reminded me of my dreams as a teenager and I began asking myself if there's still time to accomplish them. I strongly identified with the character of James and his search for the perfect moment, which makes it impossible to enjoy life. I recognized Eve in the many talented, self-destructive, impulsive people I have met in my life and all the opportunities I had to make my life a little more interesting.GHTG is full of color. The characters dress up in all kinds of costumes, and yes it is unrealistic but I think what many fail to realize is that our fondest memories are usually very different than what we really experienced. Everything is more colorful and stylish in our memories, like a Belle and Sebastian album cover.I had read that there is no plot to the movie, but I don't agree at all. I think both Eve and James are wonderfully developed characters and Cassie is also an interesting character whose presence makes the story better. And the music is also wonderful. I was very pleased with Emily Browning's singing performance. She not only has a great voice but she also seemed to be really invested in the songs which made her character more believable.I loved the film's bittersweet ending as well as the many funny and awkward moments (James fighting his drummer, James and Eve showing up at Cassie's house or the drunk Scottish boys whose accent Cassie couldn't understand). This may not be a film for everyone, but I think the world would be a better place if more people listened to Belle & Sebastian and all I can do is thank Stuart Murdoch, the actors and everyone else involved in making this film.