Friday, March 30, 2007

AFI Dallas Film Fest movie review: Shut Up and Shoot Me

By John P. Meyer

Thursday evening's (March 29) screening of Shut Up and Shoot Me, the feature-length directorial debut by Czech filmmaker Steen Agro, sold out its Angelika venue in no small part thanks to the enthusiastic turnout of folks from Arlington.

That's right, Arlington - former home of the film's co-producer, Jeffrey Brown, who attended last night's screening and hung around for a brief Q/A after the end credits.

The film follows the darkly-comic antics of a pair of reluctant accomplices in mayhem: Colin Frampton (Andy Nyman), a British vacationer in Prague whose wife ends up flattened like a pancake in the first reel, and Pavel Zeman (Karel Roden), the jack-of-all-trades-by- fiscal-necessity assigned by the hotel to act as his chauffeur.

Mr. Nyman excels at playing a nerdish yet stubbornly determined innocent bystander who loses all interest in living - in fact, actively pursues his own demise - after the death of his devoted wife. By his continued presence (for, like a pesky housefly, he refuses to exit through the open window) he becomes increasingly annoying and eventually downright dangerous to the Zeman family's well-being, with the result that Pavel grudgingly agrees to kill the poor bastard in return for a large quantity of pounds sterling. Bonus: it will be a relief to be rid of the bloody great whiner.

Pavel keeps a low profile

You'll recognize Karel Roden from his numerous hiss-inducing screen portrayals of Eastern European heavies in films like 15 Minutes, Bulletproof Monk and The Bourne Supremacy; with the role of Pavel, Roden steps away from the sneering natural-born killer mold and establishes that he can also play a world-weary wife-whipped working bloke who only takes up killing as a sideline - more or less as another of his various odd jobs (butcher, deliveryman, sidewalk poop-scooper... contract killer).

The manner in which Pavel orchestrates Colin's demise is so convoluted as to provide a built-in argument for his unsuitability for the profession of hit man. Although he expends considerable effort, the results prove less than satisfactory - particularly when, in retrospect, a bullet to the brain would have been so much more expedient. (Trouble is, Pavel simply doesn't have the stomach for it.)

Anna Geislerová: great eyes!

Through a multiplicity of comic homicidal misadventures - during one of which we discover that Pavel's two-timing wife, Liba (played with cold-blooded calculation by lovely blue-eyed and befreckled Anna Geislerová) has prepared poisoned dumplings for their unwanted house guest - the two men (Pavel and Colin) develop a species of friendship and mutual respect. While there may indeed be no honor among thieves, in the case of these incidental killers there develops at least a shade of forbearance and a modicum of trust.

Liba's unquenchable taste for expensive footwear leads to unwanted attention from the most lethal of local personages, a Humvee-driving, drug-dealing, pain-bringing slab of beef named Karel (who's referred to colloquially as "The Butcher of Prague"). Karel's trademark approach to a "job" involves rapid deployment of his Jack Russell Terrier-on-a-handle by means of a quick-release lever. This shtick must be seen to be appreciated; an audience member later suggested to Mr. Brown that the device be patented, with the thought that sales from the doggy carrier might equal or exceed the film profits.

Roden, Geislerová and Nyman mug for the camera

Co-producer Brown - who married a nice Czech girl, if I'm getting my story straight (some of this comes from the nice lady seated next to me, who is a friend of Brown's sister - yikes, this is starting to sound like a gossip piece) - was in the Czech Republic during production of the film leading up to its completion and release in 2005, and had a number of interesting tidbits to relate about the production and his own experiences. To wit:

* They shot on Super 16 and digitally enlarged to achieve the finished 35mm print.

* Mr. Brown had a previous acquaintance with Mr. Roden which contributed to securing him for the part.

* The actor portraying Karel ("The Butcher of Prague"), Robert Polo, is - per Mr. Brown - not the greatest emoter on the planet, and thus they wrote his part so that he seldom had to speak - he mostly just postures about looking mean and carrying his terrier.

* A key plot element necessitated that filming be done on a frozen-over lake; unfortunately, the production's insurance provider balked at the idea, and furthermore the cameraman - who in all other respects essayed a devil-may-care, tough-guy persona - had a deathly fear of stepping out onto the ice. In the end, all parties came around and the lake stayed solidly frozen for filming.

HARD TO SAY: "She looks terrified. What did you kill her with?" - Colin

"I don't know. Soup, maybe?" - Pavel

See more stories in:

• Arts > Movies / Film > Film Festivals > AFI Dallas