TNLF: The Neil Labute Files

I must admit, of the four Neil Labute films I have seen (out of eight), from what I can remember I am a big fan of 3 of them and enjoyed the fourth. Out of those four, I have only seen one of them more than once. The other three, not since the theaters. So with great pleasure, I am now getting ready to watch his entire catalogue and review them as I go.

But first a little bit about the man and his work. Labute was born in 1963 and went to Brigham Young University where he studied theater and met the man he would make a star, Aaron Eckhart. While at Uni he was honoured with 'most promising undergraduate playwrights' award. Following school he wrote and directed the play In the Company of Men, which he subsequently turned into a film, on a very low budget.

Since then he has continued to work as both a playwright, screenwriter and film director. The following reviews will of course focus on his career as a directer. The following is a list of the films he has directed:

                                               Seen                                                      Unseen  

                             In the Company of Men (1997)                      Possession (2002)

                         Your Friends and Neighbors (1998)             The Wicker Man (2006)

                                       Nurse Betty (2000)                         Lakeview Terrace (2008) 

                               The Shape of Things (2003)                  Death at a Funeral (2010)

As well, Labute also wrote the screenplays for five out of the eight films he directed; those that he didn't write were Nurse Betty, Lakeview Terrace and Death at a Funeral. Both The Wicker Man and Death at a Funeral were remakes.

Every movie in Labute's cannon has been well received by critics; every movie but The Wicker Man which has been universally panned by literally almost everyone. I loved the original, I like what  I've seen so far by Labute and I don't care what other people say about it, I'm still excited.

So rather than delay any longer I'm off to begin. I'm going to pop in the DVD of In the Company of Men and relive the beginnings of a talented and raw voice in the American landscape of motion picture making. So come along, hop in, join me for the ride as I open up the Neil Labute files...