Third Star Musings
Source: The Guardian
Having arrived at Cumberfandom about 4 years late, I have only just now seen Third Star. The film affected me deeply and I agreed to write this piece as a sort of therapy exercise. I admit at the outset that I have no grand conclusions to draw, only appreciate the opportunity to describe what I saw and open a discussion with other followers.
The first part of the film, directed by Hattie Dalton, is surprisingly lighthearted as we follow the journey of four youngish friends: James (Benedict Cumberbatch), a somewhat arrogant but unsuccessful writer who is dying from rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and nasty cancer of the connective tissues; Miles (JJ Feild, looking like a cross between Tom Hiddleston and Jude Law), an accomplished writer whose father, a well-known author, recently died from cancer; Davy (Tom Burke), who is unemployed but takes care of others; and Bill (Adam Robertson), who is running away from his job and girlfriend. The four set out on a camping trip to James’ favorite place, a remote beach in South Wales, in order to celebrate his 29th birthday and plant a tree in his honor. The four engage in reckless antics along the way, often at the behest of the morphine-addled James, as if competing for a Darwin Award. In one particularly hilarious scene, James joins a public brawl, batting people from a cart rigged and wheeled by his friends. Although comic errors ensue, the initial stages of the journey celebrate delightfully the YOLO creed and bonds of friendship. The relationships become strained, however, by revelations that Bill has gotten his girlfriend pregnant but does not wish to have a family with her, and that Miles has completed a novel (a goal James failed to accomplish) and plans to marry James’ recently divorced sister. James accuses Bill and Davy of taking their lives for granted and is furious with Miles, admitting to jealousy of his literary accomplishment. It is unclear to me exactly why he is angry about Miles’ relationship with his sister, but I suspect it has to do with James’ impression that Miles is appropriating his life, hilighted by Miles’ admission that he had planned to tell James about neither the relationship nor the book.
As the four reach their destination, the earlier mishaps evolve to threaten the quest when James’ cart and morphine are lost. The scene in which James howls in agony and is comforted by Davy while the others search frantically in the dark is particularly poignant. Soon afterward we learn, in a final twist, that James’ intent has been to end his life by drowning. Horrified at first, his friends agree to assist him. Ultimately, however, only Miles manages to follow through, holding James by his shirt underwater in an unspoken apology. The film ends with Miles pulling James back to shore, leaving the three remaining friends – along with the viewers – utterly devastated by the sight of James’ limp body on the beach.
Source: Pinterest (otherwise unknown)
While all of the actors give great performances, Cumberbatch stands out with his brilliant physicality, which he also displays in his portrayal of Stephen Hawking as his motor neuron disease progresses. James’ illness affects his ability to walk, and possibly urinate, requiring his friends to assist him often. Cumberbatch manages beautifully to maintain an equilibrium between James’ arrogance and vulnerability throughout the film.
Source: mug7.com
Another character I want to mention, the beachcomber (Hugh Bonneville), is a man who appears somewhat unstable as he ambles along the beach searching for shipwrecked, brown-colored Darth Vader statuettes he believes to be valuable and hopes to sell. He also talks matter-of-factly about a friend he lost to cancer. The beachcomber seems at once comic relief, cautionary tale of Quixotic delusion and pure example of following one’s passion, themes that pervade the entire story. The beachcomber is one of three characters our heroes meet along the way – much as Dorothy does on her journey to meet the Wizard of Oz – who, in the words of screenwriter Vaughan Sivell, “make you feel that … the boys … have left their real lives behind, suspended in a strange in-between state that James’ imminent death has taken them to. That border country between this life and the next that our heroes agree to escort their friend through creates a really magical atmosphere for a film that is at its heart, just a story about four lads camping in Wales.”
Source: bbc.co.uk
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