I caught the press screening of Incendiary yesterday, but I’m now reassessing the film through a whole new depressing angle. The film stars Michelle Williams as a mother who loses her husband and 4-year-old son in a suicide bombing at a North London Soccer game. Williams’ was not at the game because she was off having an affair with a man played by Ewan McGregor. The young mother’s world is torn apart, and the film deals with her insanity during this time of loss.
For those who don’t know, Williams was engaged to Heath Ledger, and even fathered his child Matilda. The couple broke up a few months back supposedly because they were spending too much time apart due of their respective careers. I try not to delve into gossip on /Film, but a connection between the real life tragedy and the one shown in this story is all too similar, and personal. Williams performance is heart-wrenching, Academy Award worthy even, a tour-de-force. It’s too bad, because this film will likely now face insurmountable marketing problems. Even if it wasn’t for Ledger’s death, a depressing film like this is a hard sell for any movie distributor. I can’t stress enough how powerful Williams was in this film. Thinking about it, and Ledger, makes my eyes water…
/Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:27 am
peter: I come to your site & several others all day every day. Like you, on whatever level, films are my life. But after Heath today, I felt weird reading up on my favorite thing, and then I hear about this movie and its erie coincidences. I teared up too man. I feel like I need a break from one of my favorite things to do (surf yours & other sites), because its reminding me of a really bad thing that is only gonna get worse the closer we get to TDK. Do you feel ‘off’, also? Like you need a break from all the updates, & new details? On one hand i want to know what happened, on the other, i feel like a needed time out, and on yet another it helps to post & hear others share their sorrow. Sorry if this doesnt make sense, just bummed out. TDK is gonna be huge for so many reasons, but now so horribly bittersweet.
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:17 am
What happened to Heath Ledger is tragic, but to say that because of it a film starring his ex will have ‘insurmountable marketing problems’ is a bit of an exaggeration! I don’t imagine his death will impact much upon this film’s success, except insofar as it generates public sympathy for Michelle Williams and raises her profile - which is a macabre prediction, but sadly quite likely. I’d say it’ll have more of an effect on the marketing for the Batman movie.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:58 am
Would it be possible to not put the /Film rating on the frontpage. It’s a spoiler of sorts.
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I was there for the premiere of this film, two days before Heath Ledger passed, and the connection was odd to me as well. However, I don’t think this is a very good film in the first place, way over-melodramatic for my taste. Anyway, I wish the best for Michelle as I did think she was good in the film, but the script was not.
January 26th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I was an extra in the film so i hope it comes out in cinemas.
when was it meant to be coming out in England??