The Upside

"That is another way you win an Oscar btw. Seriously..think about it. Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot, Oscar. Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man, Oscar. John Mills, Ryan's Daughter, Oscar. Seriously, you are guaranteed an Oscar if you play a mental." The desperately un-pc words of Kate Winslet playing herself in Extras. In her own tasteless way she was onto something. During awards seasons we do get an influx of prestige pictures about people with disabilities. Breathe, The Theory of Everything, The Sessions, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, Intouchables (this film is a remake of that) and so on. It sometimes seems like actors feel the only way to stretch themselves by playing people afflicted with the worst life can throw at them. So not surprisingly 2019's award season gets it's own entry too. The Upside. It's not bad at all, but it could be a lot better.

Dell (Kevin Hart) is about to violate his parole. To please both his P.O. and his ex-wife and son he sets off to keep himself out of jail. On the search for a janitorial position on the Upper East Side he stumbles into an interview for a carer position and somehow manages to impress Phil (Bryan Cranston), a quadraplegic millionaire who needs help with his day to day life. He's not one bit suitable for the role but much to the chagrin of Phil's assistant Yvonne (Nicole Kidman) he snares the job due to his no-nonsense ways. Dell and Phil are like oil and water but son enough things start to flow together.

I'd heard this was a bad film. But a combination of cinema vouchers received for Christmas and a soft spot for Bryan Cranston convinced me to give this a whirl. I'm glad I did. It's far from the disaster being spouted around. Yes it is problematic in places (The catherer scene and Kevin Hart's real life drama is just terrible timing) but warm performances and some lovely chemistry between our main men saves the day. Yup, warm performances, you didn't read that wrong. Kevin Hart is actually likable in this. A very rare occurance indeed. The shouting, the rage, the little man syndrome is all dialled (mostly) back here and it lets him shine. We know Bryan Cranston has the dramatic chops but it seems Hart had them all the time too, they were just hidden away behind the nonsense. It's the moments when it's just the two of them alone is where the film is at it's best. A pot fuelled trip to Gray's Papaya via central park. A midnight drive that annoys New York City's finest. The moment resentments bubble up and things are said that can't be taken back. When it's just Dell and Phil onscreen the film succeeds.

It's other stuff that doesn't work. Nicole Kidman is absolutely wasted as the uptight Yvonne, a character who only exists to be a stumbling block for Dell. She could literally be lifted out of the film and the story wouldn't change a bit. Early on in the film Phil frets about his do not resuscitate status after a breathing incident. The film suggests subtly that the main reason Dell has been recruited is because his no nonsense manner means he'll follow Phil's wishes to the letter even if it means Phil will die. It's a storyline that instantly introduces tension.....but then nothing really happens with it and it ties into the other thing about the film that really annoyed me. The opening scene. It's a flash forward to a later moment in the film and I can't figure out why anyone thought it would be a good idea to start the film with it. It removes a lot of dramatic "Will they get on? What will happen?" tension from the story straight away and the longer the film goes on without the moment happening the less worried you'll feel about the direction the story is heading. A frustrating choice.

I still liked it though. I think going into it with very low expectations helped here. It doesn't shy from the stuff I assumed an American remake would. The fact that paralysed people still have sexual needs is something you rarely see portrayed onscreen. Their frustration with feeling trapped. The way they are looked upon with pity or overlooked as the case may be. One moment in a hotdog shop has the cashier blatantly ignore Phil so Dell calls him on it straight away. "It always happens, they look through me." Dell, a Black man in America knows exactly what he means. They find common ground. It's a small but telling moment that strengthens their friendship. Little things like that always work for me.

Go see it for a pair of great lead performances.