Danny Collins? Who He?…

Film of the moment if you are into Mostly “Feelgood Factor” movies is Danny Collins.  Greatly helped along because Danny is played by Al Pacino and one of the co-stars being Annette Bening – who bears a striking resemblance to Kim Cattrall.  The two have an on-off love affair with her part playing truly admiring yet falsely critical dominatrix when Danny Collins arrives to stay many weeks at the hotel she manages – he is in the area to make friends with his long-lost son, daughter in law and granddaughter as well as to spend time writing instead of performing. He has actually cancelled half his gig to do his bit as a creative and a relative as he is steadily growing old and determined not to do so gracefully. This has happened mostly because he has received a much belated formerly lost letter from the late John Lennon who  announced his admiration and support for him.

Danny Collins is based on the real character – a Brit called Steve Tilston and regarded as “kind of based on a true story a little bit”, the screenwriter having penned Crazy Stupid Love and Las Vegas, the deliberately handsome and trying very hard not to border on camp Danny – realising his need to network and write, is even generous enough to tell his nymphette girlfriend that she and her toyboy can live in his house whilst he goes to New Jersey for a few weeks.

Having had a grand piano put in his hotel room he persues the hotel manageress for at the very least a dinner date  and makes a finally positive attempt to kim up with his long lost son (played by Bobby Cannavale) and arrange a special school for his granddaughter who has something akin to ADD.

In more detail the cast includes  Jennifer Garner, Christopher Plummer and Bobby Cannavale.  There is a brief performance of a brand new song and 9 Lennon tunes played in the film.  Described by Rolling Stone magazine as an “exuberant gift”, Danny Collins proves a strong point – put the right guy in the lead with enough chutzpah to carry it off with huge aplomb and everyone will want to tune in to what’s happening.

What the story lacked was a true devotion on Danny Collins’s part to being a determined and dedicated song writer and music artist in general.  Some extra footage of him composing and practising his new material would have been welcome. It’s not really a co-incidence when people in music become famous – it is due to hard work and talent, excluding bands  and singers “manufactured” by managers who want money and fame.

Seeing Al Pacino looking so good in the autumn/ (winter?) of his life however is a breath of fresh air and Annette Bening is also refreshing as a feisty elegant figure in this mostly entertaining and romanticised story of Danny Collins – almost real but not quite? See the film for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Penny Nair Price