Ben Wheatley

Who is he?

Ben Wheatley is an up and coming British director. He isn’t one of the most famous directors at the moment yet he has a large cult following for memorable films like Kill List (2011) which has several internet blogs dedicated to an explanation for its bizarre ending. Since then he has been making consistently good and interesting films like Kill List. For example Sightseers (2012) and his most recent, A Field In England (2013). I wouldn’t classify him as my favourite director but he is certainly admirable because he makes films which he wants to make despite how much money they make. His films are an acquired taste because he is often either on the line between naturalistic and arty or just leaning towards arty a bit more and that sometimes means some scenes in his films don’t make much sense to anyone except Ben Wheatley.

He basis his films around concepts that no one else could think of which makes for a film that is different to anything any director has ever made. For example film about four men in the middle of the English Civil War who are also on a hallucinogenic drug. In both the plot to his films and the way he carries it out it feels as though he gets a completely outside-the-box idea and goes with it rather than planning the entire film before filming. He directs on instinct and this makes his films stand out because It will have an original Ben Wheatley idea running through. He’s a director that is so talented you can see his impact in every film. His different shots and unique ideas stand out in his films.

Another aspect of Ben Wheatley’s films is that he uses similar actors like many directors do. The difference is Ben Wheatley uses British actors that play small parts in almost every good British TV series or film. Actors like Michael Smiley, Neill Maskell and Reece Shearsmith. Although these names mean nothing to most people, I’m sure if you knew what they had been in you would have seen them before. I’ve seen a lot of these actors in small parts but they have never been as good as they are in Ben Wheatley films. He brings the best out of very underrated British actors. In addition to this, although he uses some of the same actors in a lot of his films, they are often playing very different characters to the last and there are no significant similarities between his films and the characters in his films which is the case for a director like Tim Burton. He’s at the start of his career and has already made his mark on British cinema with his very interesting and unique plots and his wide range of directing talents.

Kill List (2011)

Cast: Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley, Emma Fryer

Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitmantakes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.This particular film got Wheatley his cult following. It’s mysterious throughout and the ending provokes more questions which have been posted on many internet blogs to other fans of Kill List and probably emailed to Wheatley himself. Despite this, there are still several possible ideas of what Wheatley was thinking, each more bizarre than the next but Wheatley is yet to confirm which is correct. It’s very dark and gritty including the comic relief moments. Mainly though it’s very thought-provoking.

Sightseers (2012)

Cast: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram

Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but events soon conspire against the couple and their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn. Sightseers got less of a cult following because Wheatley teamed up with established British comedy director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) so the world knew about it upon release rather than Kill List which gathered fans over time. It still had Ben Wheatley’s touch, somehow he managed to make a sweet rom-com despite the couple killing people as a release. It was very funny but it was very dark comedy which is the only comedy Wheatley knows and of course Edgar Wright is the master of dark comedy. Much lighter than Kill List but still very dark with another great ending.

A Field In England (2013)

Cast: Michael Smiley, Julian Barratt, Reece Shearsmith

Fleeing for their lives, a small party abandon their Civil War confederates and escape through an overgrown field. Thinking only of what lay behind, they are ambushed by two dangerous men and made to search the field. All this while have mistakenly eaten some hallucinogenic mushrooms. My least favourite Wheatley film of all three because it’s a bit too arty at times. He still shows his range of unique ideas, just look at the plot. As well as this it’s all in black and white and the script is all in old English so it’s hard to follow the plot. Despite these flaws it has some incredible acting particularly Michael Smiley who is at the best he has ever been and once again a very good and memorable ending. It has some very good shots and the setting is very interesting. It’s all set in a field in England.