Released in 2015, and now celebrating its 10th anniversary, Aaaaaaaah! is a wacky, bizarre comedy, delivered with virtually no dialogue at all. The ensemble of British performers deliver their dialogue entirely in animalistic grunts; many of them naked. Characters try to seduce others in manners that are primitive, evoking their inner ape, while Jupiter (Julian Barratt) ruminates on a time when he acted like the alpha male of the household. Around him, chaos ensues, as the motley-crew wreck craziness around the domicile.
Aaaaaaaah! is almost a throw-back to the days of silent cinema, but delivered with attention to raunch and punch. The lead actors embody the actions of monkeys, thrusting around the place searching for ordinary pleasures. Out of those on camera, it is Barratt, Noel Fielding and Alice Lowe who appear to be enjoying themselves the most, happy to run around in all sorts of undress. As a work, it’s suitably anarchic, pandering to a reality where there is no right or wrong, no law; only family.
Director Steve Oram seems determined to further the similarities between humans and apes, which is why so much of the proceedings feature the characters in such animalistic states. It would be wrong to say the movie lacks heart, as Jupiter’s journey runs on the pretence that he once stood mighty as the leader of this particular dysfunctional collective. Male fragility proves to be an undercurrent, an emotional theme that cements the whole piece together. From such idiocy comes a grander, more intellectual measure of thought.
Schematically, Aaaaaaaah! can be interpreted as a bunch of sketches tied together to create one long feature, but mostly it runs fairly smoothly. When it was made, Britain was preparing for a Brexit vote, and Donald Trump had announced his intentions to run for President. One decade on, the craziness that occurs onscreen feels more apposite; an inner beast only aching to jump out from all of us. But these people know not of racism or segregation; their anger is of a more basic sort. Perhaps Oram is suggesting that humans would feel more content if they acted in a manner similar to their ancestors in the animal dynasty.
Musician Toyah Wilcox acquits fairly nicely to the grand facial deliveries, her smirks similar to the preening poses a rockstar pulls on a stadium stage. There’s a musical quality onscreen: the protagonists lunge around in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Given the holistic measure of the work – much of the camera is held in a static manner – it would not be surprising to here that the piece was initially intended for the stage, a form of creativity where wordless acting is often more readily accepted. As it happens, Oram’s flick is a brave one.
The locations are recognisably South London, but the story could have been set anywhere, given the lack of dialogue. Indeed, it’s a parade of grunts, snorts, snores and Gorilla-esque howls. As a critique on humanity, it’s decidedly post post modern in execution. By dialling down on the vocab, the viewer becomes more attuned to the physicality of the actors onscreen, watching them saunter and scatter across the room.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that it uses songs written by Robert Fripp of King Crimson/Projeckts fame. The utilisation of minimal instrumentation adds to the esoteric energy, giving another synergic presence to the work that feeds off human interaction and spontaneity. Purportedly shot over a fortnight, the movie utilises guerilla energy that seems fitting for a movie about humans in ape form. Aaaaaaaah! is a tremendously distinct work, and a brave one too. Mercifully, it’s also very, very funny in spots.
Aaaaaaaah!‘s 10th annicerxsary screening takes place at the BFI on August 20th.
