Solid Geometry (2002)

Wonderfully offbeat film!

Let's be realistic.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I watched this on television because of the casting more than anything else - Capaldi always turns in a good performance and I have long enjoyed his work. I also have a great respect for Lawson the actor, but hadn't realised that he also directs (and to a very high standard, if this is anything to go by). However, the film has stayed in my mind long afterwards as one of the most frightening pieces of drama I've ever seen and I often find myself remembering snatches of it - for me, that's a sure sign of quality. Considering how short this film is and the limitations of its few locations, the intensity of emotion and menace conjured up by the unobtrusive directing and understated acting is nothing short of extraordinary. Yes, there are lots of unresolved strands in the story, but life itself is like that, and I found that its very open-endedness only added to my sense of unease. Highly recommended, but not for the faint-hearted!

Phil has a career in advertising, which he drops when his grandfather leaves him 41 volumes of his great grandfather's diaries and £25k to edit them. As phil starts to delve into the diaries he finds them full of 'funny, weird things'. As the diaries become an obsession he starts to become alienated from his wife and lose himself in the pursuit of a geometric figure that has no surface and talk of sexual positions.This film was first made in the late 1970's by the BBC but it was abandoned as a project because of it's sexual content. Nowadays seeing Ewan McGregor in an arty film with lots of sex, nudity and soul searching is just a sign that it's spring and barely raises an eyebrow outside of the curtain-twitching readership of the Daily Mail. It was not the promise of a bit of t&a that brought me to this short film, it was the promise of intrigue from a story that seemed to offer all sorts of 'funny, weird things'. Indeed for the vast majority of the film we are led down a strange path that is enjoyable because we do not know where we are being taken but, with each step, our interest increases. However the film leaves us with no answers – only questions. What do the number of sexual positions, the penis in a jar, the shape without a surface, Maisie's dreams and the other dimension have to do with each other? I had no idea but was interested to find out even a little bit – but the film didn't deliver.The film ends with no answers and is pretty unsatisfactory at the end. However that is not to say that it is without value – for it isn't. It is consistently interesting and will have you thinking about it for quite some time afterwards. Considering he is famous for being Wedge Antilles, Lawson does a good job directing – it can't be easy to direct sex scenes with your nephew in the buff in front of you! He also does well with the spirit of mystery and intrigue – pitching it right (sadly making the ending more annoying!). McGregor is great value even if this is hardly anything special for him (nudity et al), he does manage to show his character's descent pretty well. Millar is also good but her character's changes are less clear. A brief appearance from Capaldi is good as well but the film really belongs to the subject matter and that's only hurt by the end.Overall this is an interesting short that I'm glad I saw. I don't know if it was worth a couple of decades wait or the hype that channel 4 gave it on first release but I still enjoyed it. The ending is frustrating as it doesn't deliver anything other than an anti-climax but if anything that has prompted me to try and read McEwan's source novel.

Oh dear. What exactly was this all supposed to be about? Just because something doesn't make sense doesn't automatically make it profound (or even interesting.)While this may have worked as a short story, this production was frankly terrible- the acting was amazingly stilted and the dialogue just amateurish. Ewan McGregor can certainly do better, and everyone concerned should forget about this as soon as possible.1 out of 10

Channel 4 ran endless teaser trailers for this unique and compelling programme. Directed by Dennis Lawson (famous for his role as tie-fighter 'Wedge' in all three original STAR WARS MOVIES) this short film follows Ewan McGregor's life changing experiences and discent into almost madness.This begins to esculate with the discovery of his Grandfathers old diaries. These are full of unusual tales and resolutions, which Ewan McGregor is asked to edit for his late Grandfather from beyond the grave.Before long McGregor gets so wrapped up in the diaries that he begins to ignore and resent his girlfriend.Half-way in to the story, McGregor reads of how his Grandfather created a devise which can send a human being into another dimension or something similar (either i missed something or its left for you decide).It's impossible to say anymore without spoiling it for those who haven't seen it.I didn't go to any special effort to watch this film, but i am very glad that (by chance) i did.It was shot in a unique style and grabbed my attention right till the end.I often judge how good a film is by how much i think or talk about it afterwards, with this in mind i must of really enjoyed it!Really worth a viewing if you get the chance, just to have a chat about in the pub, if nothing else...