2014 continues to be a great year for SA cinema as we see more and more SA films, with decent budgets, hitting our screens. The latest addition to the roster - that includes Four Corners and iNumber Number, just to mention a few - is Hard to Get. Is it a worthy entry? Let's dig in.
Hard to Get is Zee Ntuli’s first feature film. Ntuli got a lot of positive attention for his superb short film
Bomlambo - a drama about a kid who is sent back to our world from the world of the spirits and puts a strain on a couple's relationship. That short film was very restrained and handled the supernatural elements with grace. Hard to Get is on the other side of the tipping scale; loud, brash and very showy.
Ntuli is going for a Bonnie and Clyde nihilistic youth experience; laced with sex, violence,crime and booze. The film looks beautiful. Ntuli needs to be accorded for giving it a cool look, the warm palette works for it, and there's a cool sense of style to the film.
The slo-mo action scenes will convert a lot of action die hards and the South African pop music will endear the film to the youngins.There's some very cool atmospheric scenes in it showing Ntuli's understanding of mood. The fact that it has Pallance Dladla (of Tempy Pushas, Isibaya, Intersexion fame) as it’s lead already scores it a legion of fans who love pretty boys with a great body on screen.
Yet this film belongs to the newcomer Thishiwe Ziqubu as Skiets - our femme fatale/Mshoza of the piece - who kicks the plot into first gear. Ziqubu is able to emote tough, sexy, vulnerable and do subtext so well. She sizzles and has a complex meaty character to chew on. Whilst Dladla, although he does a good job, the material (ie script) is not asking a lot from him.
I got a sense that Zee Ntuli sees Dladla as his Taylor Lautner of Twilight Saga. Any chance to have the man stride around half naked, showing off his well sculpted body is taken, the ladies are surely going to appreciate his efforts.
So the actors look good, the picture looks really good, the humour is on point and the dialogue is on point and you can never go wrong with Israel Makoe as a villain but unfortunately the story lets down this film.
The story implodes once it hits Jo’burg and a second antagonist is introduced, which takes away from the forward momentum in the story or even it's pathos. It almost feels like Ntuli and his writing partner where not sure if they want to tell a Bonnie and Clyde crime story set in SA, a Bonnie and Clyde love story, or a Jim comes to Joburg story, or a True Romance ala Tarantino with all sorts of under world figures.
It becomes messy and at times very clichéd. That’s not the only problematic thing about Hard to Get, the other issue is it’s contribution to gender portrayal in SA. Skiets is a strong assertive, street smart woman who suffers all sorts of abuses from men in the film and there’s little to no retribution for that.
In a country with such high rates of femicide, domestic abuse and general disrespect for women, during women’s month nogal, you’d think the film would be more circumspect about such stuff . I'm not saying don’t portray the verbal and physical abuse we dish in SA but it’s never addressed in any form in the film and its naturalized as if it’s okay.
Yet for me the mortal sin is how the character of Skiets is almost spoiled by very clichéd move by the writers that goes contrary to how she has been set up as a person. Importing clichéd rom-com character cliches into the film, really let it down.
If Hard To Get had come out before iNumber Number,I would have said it is a somewhat positive step in production for SA films and not so good for story telling but we are getting there,but iNumber Number showed us that we can do excellent production and story telling.
The story really lets down this movie that could have been greater than what it is, if some details and story choices were scrutinized better. Other than that its loud, pretty to look at, it will make you laugh but has no substance or good momentum in its story, it will probably do well at the box office but I wonder what will it be it’s cultural significance?
Rating **1/2
*junk **almost bearable ***now we cooking ****almost perfect *****classic ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++