Critical Week: Do some digging

Awards season continues to surve forward, as I work to catch up on contenders. Jodie Foster stars in the French-language comedy-thriller A Private Life, an engaging mystery with a terrific all-star French supporting cast. Josh O'Connor leads Kelly Reichardt's delightful comedy-drama The Mastermind, about a quirky art theft and the unexpected fallout from it. And Wagner Moura leads the Brazilian offbeat thriller The Secret Agent, an involving epic packed with comical moments and wonderfully colourful characters.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Hamnet • Pillion
Wake Up Dead Man
The Secret Agent • Eternity
The Thing With Feathers
Zodiac Killer Project
ALL REVIEWS >

Even more epic, Filipino master filmmaker Lav Diaz's gorgeous biopic Magellan traces the life of the 16th century Portuguese explorer (played by Gael Garcia Bernal) from a surprising point of view. And then there was Oliver Laxe's Spanish adventure Sirat, which takes us far into the North African desert and leaves us changed. Yes, it's that good. I also caught two animated films: this week's release Zootropolis 2 (aka Zootopia 2) is another extremely lively madcap, action-packed romp; and Little Amelie is a beautifully bright-hued trip into the mind of a cheeky little Belgian girl growing up in Japan. I also somehow found time to attend three live performances: Ballet Black: Shadows at Sadler's Wells, Growled at the RVT and The Magic of Christmas at Brick Lane Music Hall.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching the mega-sequel Avatar: Fire and Ash, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Square Pants, Jim Jarmusch's Venice-winning Father Mother Sister Brother, Fred Hechinger in Preparation for the Next Life, Agniezka Holland's Franz, Brazilian drama Manas, the documentary Cover-Up, and the premiere of Fallout season 2, plus three live holiday-themed stage performances: Ebony Scrooge at Sadler's Wells East, Beauty and the Beast at Charing Cross Theatre and The Great Christmas Feast in West Kensington.

Critical Week: Keep an eye out

Working on a television crew kept me out of cinemas for much of this week, but I had a couple of days off to catch up on movies and other things. New films this week included Salem's Lot, yet another adaptation of one of my favourite Stephen King novels, although this film's approach features standard cheap scares rather than the book's brainer chills. Joaquin Phoenix is back for Todd Phillips' sequel Joker: Folie a Deux, starring with Lady Gaga in a very well-made, twisted drama about mental illness. But it's unnecessarily bleak. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Things Will Be Different
Daaaaaali • Maya and the Wave
PERHAPS AVOID:
Salem's Lot
ALL REVIEWS >

Further afield, there was Quentin Dupieux's wonderfully surreal biopic Daaaaaali!, taking an appropriately bonkers look at the iconic artist. Two low-budget American films were worth a look: All Kinds of Love is a relaxed romcom with strong characters, while Beauty Grace Malice is an offbeat thriller with engaging themes. And the doc Maya and the Wave recounts the astonishing story of surf champ Maya Gabeira with some jaw-dropping footage. I also attended a special screening of the TV series La Máquina with a lively intro from Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna. And I reviewed two live events: Frontiers: Choreographers of Canada at Sadler's Wells and Foreverland at Southwark Playhouse.

The TV series I'm working on wraps this week after shooting eight episodes, just in time for the start of the 68th London Film Festival on Wednesday. In the diary this coming week: Steve McQueen's Blitz, Sean Baker's Palme d'Or winner Anora, Ralph Fiennes in Conclave, Samuel L Jackson in The Piano Lesson and the Chinese action movie Stuntman, plus Chicos Mambo's live show Tutu. 

Critical Week: Camera ready

It's been a ridiculously busy week, with too many film releases and too many screenings as well, perhaps because Venice Film Festival ended last weekend. Eclectic screenings this week have included the terrific Gael Garcia Bernal in the biopic Cassandro, a colourfully well-made biopic about the exotico wrestler. Ken Loach's latest, and perhaps final, film The Old Oak is a triumph, a staggeringly clear-eyed depiction of ugly British attitudes with an emotive glimmer of hope. And Pablo Larrain's El Conde is a viciously inventive satire that depicts Augusto Pinochet as a 250-year-old vampire with a jaw-dropping mentor.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Golden Delicious • Love Life
Cassandro • Fremont
A Haunting in Venice
ALL REVIEWS >

Kenneth Branagh is back this week with another all-star Agatha Christie adaptation, and A Haunting in Venice is the best one yet, a superbly gothic mystery thriller packed with shifty characters. Michael Jai White directs and stars in Outlaw Johnny Black, an enjoyable 1970s style action-comedy Western. Aaron Pierre lights up the screen in the small Canadian drama Brother, a dark drama celebrating tenacious immigrant mothers. And Pablo Berger's animated Robot Dreams is a pure delight, tracing the complex friendship between a lonely dog and his robot friend.

And there were even more: Bolan's Shoes is a melodramatic British drama that's beautifully acted but deliberately enigmatic. The Latent Image is an inventively freaky meta-thriller about storytelling; 20,000 Species of Bees is a moving Spanish drama about an 8-year-old wondering why he feels so uneasy about his gender; Gurkha Warrior is a skilfully made rah-rah celebration of the military prowess of the Gurkhas; and Samsara is an offbeat experimental drama that takes the audience on an inventive trip between lives. There were two docs: Carlos is a chatty visit with legendary musician Carlos Santana, while Summer Qamp profiles an extraordinary retreat centre for queer kids in rural Canada. There were also live shows Deeper and Deeper and Myra Dubois: Be Well.

Films this coming week include the all-star action sequel Expend4bles, Almodovar's Western A Strange Way of Life, Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson in The Great Escaper, Accused, Relax I'm From the Future, Ballywater, Rebel and the live show The White Factory.

Critical Week: Reach out

After the pageantry of last Saturday's coronation event and a national holiday on Monday, it was back to normal for most of us. For me, this week's films included Jennifer Lopez taking on some serious action in The Mother, which thankfully undermines its genre cliches with character detail. Set in 1970s London, Dead Shot is a thoughtful thriller starring Aml Ameen and Colin Morgan. It has a nicely gritty period feel, and while it never quite kicks into gear, it's worth a look.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Still: A Michael J Fox Movie
The Eight Mountains • L'Immensita
ALL REVIEWS >

Even more satisfying on the action front, Sisu is a bonkers Finnish thriller about a lone prospector taking on a range of Nazis who are trying to steal his gold as they flee at the end of WWII. In another genre entirely, A Place of Our Own is a lovely drama from India that subtly explores the everyday life yearnings of marginalised trans women. And Anton Corbijn's strikingly visual doc Squaring the Circle traces the work of Hipgnosis, the British design group that created many of the most iconic album covers in the 1970s and 1980s.

This next week I'll be watching Vin Diesel's supposedly penultimate action romp Fast X, the drama Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, Kelsey Grammer in Jesus Revolution and the doc Being Mary Tyler Moore. I'll also attend the press night for Skid/Saaba at Sadler's Wells (review here soon).

Critical Week: Beach weather

The heatwave continues to bake Britain, with the promise of thunderstorms to cool things off this weekend. Cinemas are open to full capacity, and their air conditioning is a great way to escape the stickiness. Although there's still a sense that people are looking to stay safe from this new surge in the pandemic. Critics have been wearing masks at screenings, including M Night Shyamalan's new thriller Old, starring Thomasin McKenzie, Alex Wolff and Gael Garcia Bernal. It's an enjoyably head-spinning freak-out. Matt Damon stars Stillwater, which recently screened at Cannes. It's a big movie, overlong and a bit contrived, but beautifully performed by Damon, Camille Cottin, Abigail Breslin and especially little scene-stealer Lilou Siauvaud.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Night of the Kings • Kandisha
The Man With the Answers
PERHAPS AVOID:
Joe Bell
ALL REVIEWS >

Mark Wahlberg stars in Joe Bell, a solidly made true drama that kind of misses the central point of its homophobia theme. Nicolas Cage is terrific in the above-average offbeat drama Pig. Ben Platt and Lola Kirke are both strong in Broken Diamonds, a slightly too-gentle look at mental illness. The solid horror thriller The Boy Behind the Door has two excellent young teen stars and some properly nerve-jangling suspense. The Pebble and the Boy is a slightly awkward British road-trip drama infused with Mod culture. And the superb French thriller Kandisha puts a multi-cultural community at risk from a demon, while filling scenes with nuance.

Sundance Film Festival London returns to Picturehouse Central next week, and I have 12 in-person press screenings in the diary for that, plus Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in Jungle Cruise, the drama Lorelei and horror The Offering.

Critical Week: Window shopping

There's yet another heatwave in London this week, which makes sitting at home watching movies less enticing! But lockdown rules continue, even if they're being loosened each week at the moment by the government on the basis of the economy, not the science. So I'm still being careful out there. Cinemas are set to open on July 4th, with distancing in place. They're saying no masks required, but that seems dangerous. And I suspect it will be much longer before we have a press screening.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Nobody Knows I'm Here
Irresistible • Fanny Lye Deliver'd
On the Record • Beats
PERHAPS AVOID:
Inheritance
FULL REVIEWS >

In the meantime there are some good movies to watch on streaming sites. I loved Jon Stewart's Irresistible, a snappy political satire with Rose Byrne and Steve Carell (above) as big-time political operatives squaring off in a small-town campaign. Wasp Network tries to cram an entire miniseries worth of story into a two-hour movie. At least it's very well-made, with an ace cast (Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal, Edgar Ramirez, Ana de Armas). And Lily Collins and Simon Pegg do their best despite being miscast in Inheritance, an underwritten thriller that's far too serious for its own good.

Maxine Peake is terrific in the astonishing British thriller Fanny Lye Deliver'd, which takes on Puritanism in 17th century England. The true story of groundbreaking jockey Michelle Payne, Ride Like a Girl is a rousing Aussie feel-good drama. The dance-competition comedy Feel the Beat is a thinly developed star vehicle for the Insta-ready Sofia Carson. Homewrecker is a vicious black comedy that centres on a standoff between two tough women. From Chile, Nobody Knows I'm Here is a flat-out gorgeous drama with a lot to say, and a wonderful central performance from Jorge Garcia (Lost). It's very subtle and slow, but worth the time. And the skilfully made doc On the Record properly challenges the audience as it explores sexual harassment against black women in the music industry.

This coming week, I'm looking forward to watching Will Ferrell's pastiche Eurovision Song Contest, the adventure Four Kids and It, Disney's film of the stage hit Hamilton, the German thriller Cut Off, Swedish war thriller The Spy, the Danish fantasy adventure Valhalla: Legend of Thor, and the WWII drama Shepherd: The Hero Dog.

London Film Fest: Hang on tight

As we roll into the final weekend of the 63rd London Film Festival, there are a lot of films to catch up with and not much time left. Today, two press screenings I wanted to get into were full, so I saw two alternate movies instead (the results were mixed). And the online links I have for watching other films simply won't stream. So maybe I'll get some free time this evening! Anyway, here are some highlights for Friday...

Ema
dir Pablo Larrain; with Mariana Di Girolamo, Gael Garcia Bernal 19/Chl ****
Deliberately messy, Pablo Larrain's Chilean drama challenges the audience to both take sides and admit that there may not be any sides to take. It's a riveting cinematic journey, packed with moments that are darkly chilling as well as sweetly moving. And even as it follows characters who largely behave like villains, the movie encourages the viewer to identify and sympathise with them, perhaps against our instincts. Not many films can make us think or feel this deeply.

First Love
dir Takashi Miike; with Masataka Kubota, Sakurako Konishi 19/Jpn ***.
It's difficult to imagine another filmmaker who could so effortlessly combine such a relentlessly nasty bloodbath with a warm romantic-comedy. But Takashi Miike makes it work in this bonkers thriller about a chaotic series of clashes between Japanese and Chinese mobsters, all while a sweet love story evolves in between the bullets and flashing swords. It's all a bit messy and frantic, with a lot of characters to keep straight, but it's also hilarious and involving.

Give Me Liberty
dir-scr Mikhanovsky; with Chris Galust, Lauren 'Lolo' Spencer 19/US 1h50 ***
This comedy has vivid characters and subject matter so strong that it becomes hugely important. But the filmmaking itself is exhausting, most notably because the script just won't stop piling chaos upon mayhem. It's definitely a case where less would have said more. But perhaps filmmaker Mikhanovsky does this deliberately, creating such an overwhelming series of events that it can't help but snap viewers out of any complacency.

Burning Cane
dir-scr Phillip Youmans; with Wendell Pierce, Karen Kaia Livers19/US 1h17 **
Clearly a fan of Terrence Malick, writer-director Phillip Youmans began making this drama while he was still in high school. And while the themes and characters show maturity and find some resonance, the film itself never quite comes together. Shot by Youmans himself in deep, impenetrable shadows and edited impressionistically, there are moments of beauty even as scenes drift along, just out of reach of the audience. But the tone is overserious and rather pretentious.

Rare Beasts
dir-scr Billie Piper; with Billie Piper, Leo Bill 19/UK **
Actress Billie Piper turns writer and director for this British drama, which inventively plays with the usual tropes of the romantic-comedy as it spins a complex story. Although ultimately it collapses under the weight of its ambitious approach. Still, it's skilfully shot, and the cast is particularly strong in an intriguing range of playful twists on stereotypes. And the film also carries a solid message about female empowerment, even if it's delivered somewhat awkwardly.

Links:

Shadows LONDON FILM FEST homepage (full reviews will be linked here) 

Official LONDON FILM FEST site 

LFF 8: Own the moment

It's was the dame's turn to hit the red carpet at the London Film Festival last night: Maggie Smith out for the European premiere of The Lady in the Van. I've kind of hit the wall today - there hasn't been enough time to see all the films and write about them, perhaps because I'm seeing four movies every day! But tomorrow I only have two in the diary, so that should help restore a sense of balance. Here are some more highlights...

Carol
dir Todd Haynes; with Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara 15/US *****
With delicate precision, this story unfolds in a way that's both true to its period and fully relevant now. A beautiful companion piece to director Todd Haynes' own Far From Heaven, this is based on a Patricia Highsmith novel about two women trying to live their lives the best they can, but finding themselves against the grain of society. And it carries a powerful kick.

Take Me to the River 
dir Matt Sobel; with Logan Miller, Robin Weigert 15/US ***. 
After starting as a gently witty drama, this film turns dark quickly, sending its central character on an unexpected odyssey. The themes it's exploring are so intense that the film feels creepiest when everyone is smiling broadly. And even though the film is flooded with a sense of foreboding, where it goes is utterly unpredictable.

The Ones Below 
dir David Farr; with Clemence Poesy, Stephen Campbell Moore 15/UK ****
As it puts an infant child in jeopardy, this fiercely clever psychological thriller draws easy comparisons with the iconic The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. But this is no schlock horror movie; it's a much more subtle exploration of parental paranoia and urban angst in which every moment is soaked in echoes of impending doom. And screenwriter-turned-director David Farr keeps his wits about him, while scaring us out of ours.

Our Little Sister 
dir Hirokazu Kore-eda; with Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa 15/Jpn ****
Exquisitely observed, this warm and gentle drama prowls around generational relationships without too much plot but plenty of resonant impact. Filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda continues his astute depiction of family interaction with characters are remarkably authentic. And the situations are lively and witty without ever tipping over into melodrama.

Desierto
dir Jonas Cuaron; with Gael Garcia Bernal, Jeffrey Dean Morgan 15/Mex **. 
While this strikingly well-made thriller touches on big issues regarding migration, it ultimately settles for being merely violent, almost wallowing in the hideous immorality of right-wing Americans who believe they should be allowed to take the law into their own hands. This lack of complexity leaves the film superficial and pointless. So forget the subject matter - the filmmakers did - and enjoy this as a ghastly horror thriller.

LFF 4: The boys of Rosewater

Jon Stewart (right, above, with actors Amir El-Masry, Dimitri Leonidas, Kim Bodnia and journalist Maziar Bahari) hit London this weekend for the gala screening of his directing debut Rosewater, the staggering story of Bihari's 118-day imprisonment in an Iranian prison. It's one of my favourites of the festival so far - a proper punchy political drama packed with wit and emotion. Another is 10,000 Km (also reviewed below), a bracingly realistic romance.

Meanwhile, I kept myself to one movie today - needed a bit of a break and some time to write! There's still a long way to go to catch up. And here are some more festival highlights...

Rosewater
dir Jon Stewart; with Gael Garcia Bernal, Kim Bodnia 14/US ****.
Based on London-based journalist Maziar Bahari's book Then They Came for Me, this film is a strikingly even-handed exploration of the situation in Iran, telling a harrowing story that never turns into a rant. The key here is a smart, knowing, mercifully witty screenplay, plus performances that dig far beneath the surface.

The Drop
dir Michael R Roskam; with Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini 14/US ****
A dark dramatic thriller, this film keeps the suspense intimate right to the heart-stopping climactic scene. It's an unusually internalised approach to a crime drama, and it pays off in fine performances from an excellent cast, plus moral dilemmas that properly draw in the audience. In the end, it kind of leaves the viewers in the dust, but it's been a great ride.

The Keeping Room

dir Daniel Barber; with Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld 14/UK ***.

Set at in the final onslaught of the American Civil War, this offbeat film combines a war movie with a horror thriller as three women make one last stand against encroaching violence. It's an unnerving, haunting film that isn't afraid to take eerily emotional punches without lessening the suspense for a second.

The Dead Lands

dir Toa Fraser; with James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare, 14/NZ ***

What starts as an intriguing fable about early life in New Zealand spirals quickly into a rather dim-witted action movie. But the Maori setting and culture add plenty of intrigue, and the plot has the heft of an enduring legend. So even though it's all faintly ridiculous, it's easy to just sit back and go with it. And fans of the haka will love it. FULL REVIEW >

10,000 Km

dir Carlos Marques-Marcet; with Natalia Tena, David Verdaguer14/Spain ****.

Spanish filmmaker Marques-Marcet gives this film a disarming tone so realistic that it almost feels like a doc. From the intimate 24-minute opening take to a series of webcam chats, this seems like real people living out a long-distance relationship. Impeccably shot, edited and played, it's impossible to watch this film without seeing yourself on-screen.

LFF 5: Dangerous blonde

At the 56th BFI London Film Festival last night, two quartets were joined by their directors for Leicester Square premieres. First there was the quartet from Quartet (below): Tom Courtenay, Maggie Smith, Pauline Collins and Bill Connelly with the film's director Dustin Hoffman. Then the Sapphires from The Sapphires (far below) appeared: Deborah Mailman, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell and Jessica Mauboy with Chris O'Dowd, who plays their manager. Tonight's guests include Argo's Ben Affleck, John Goodman and Bryan Cranston. Some more highlights...


In the House
dir Francois Ozon; with Fabrice Luchini, Ernst Umhauer 12/Fr **** 
Ozon playfully takes on the nature of storytelling in this black comedy about an unusual teacher-student relationship. Sharply written and directed, the film is a bundle of provocations, forcing us to think about the way we see, or imagine, the people around us. Luchini stars as a teacher who is bewildered by a student (Umhauer, above) who writes unusually riveting stories about a classmate's family. But are these stories true? Or is the student manipulating the teacher and his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas)? Ozon unveils the story expertly, with sure-handed direction that glides smoothly through the convolutions of the plot, keeping a tight focus on the characters. Yes, it's twisty and surprising, but we are held firmly in his grip all the way through.

I, Anna
dir Barnaby Southcombe; with Charlotte Rampling, Gabriel Byrne 12/UK ***
Rampling gets yet another terrific character in this dark British mystery-drama, which reveals its secrets very slowly as it goes along. Yes, this gets a bit annoying, since it's merely a filmmaker's conceit to manipulate the audience. But Rampling is so watchable that we go with it. She plays a woman trying to get her life back on track as a mature single woman, attending speed-dating while helping her daughter (Hayley Atwell) care for her granddaughter. And when she meets Bernie (Byrne) she has no idea that he's a cop watching her as part of a murder investigation. Annoyingly, the whole movie is a bit of a cheat, only holding together because the filmmaker lies to us at every opportunity, then pulls the rug out. Although we can see all of this coming. But Rampling never puts a foot wrong, and Byrne has a haunted quality that keeps us gripped.


No
dir Pablo Larrain; with Gael Garcia Bernal, Alfredo Castro 12/Chl ****.
Here's another fiendishly clever drama from Chilean filmmaker Larrain that continually subverts our expectations. Like Tony Manero and Post-Mortem, the film uses structure and genre-styles to throw us off its scent, entertaining us while giving us another haunting lesson from Chilean history. Here, it's 1988 and Chile is getting ready for a referendum to ratify Pinochet for another 10 years of rule - a simple yes or no vote. On the yes side of the right-wing establishment is an ad agency boss (Castro), while his top employee (Garcia Bernal) heads up the no campaign seeking freedom of expression and an end to human rights violations. Obviously, "no" doesn't have a chance of winning, but they take advantage of their 15 minutes of nightly television. The film is shot like a 1980s video diary that's been locked away somewhere for all these years, mixing real TV footage seamlessly with the comedy and drama in the script. It's smart, hilarious and utterly unmissable. Not to mention eerily timely.

Dead Europe
dir Tony Krawitz; with Ewen Leslie, Marton Csokas 12/Aus ***
An intensely dark, foreboding tone is the best thing about this perplexing thriller. While playing around intriguingly with issues of race, religion and sexuality, the film gets under our skin even though we are never quite sure what's actually going on. Kind of like the central character himself. That would be Isaac (Leslie), son of a Greek immigrant in Melbourne who travels to the home country against his parents' wishes. There he is caught up in his family's past, including a curse on them all, and his search for the truth takes him from Athens to Paris to Budapest. The film has a fable-like quality, playing with how guilt passes from generation to generation, although it remains enigmatic to the end, playing on the sinister overtones and leaving us a bit shaken.

Kelly + Victor
dir-scr Kieran Evans; with Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Julian Morris 12/UK ***
Based on Niall Griffiths' 2002 novel, this story of violent sexual obsession is too deliberately dark for us to sympathise with the central couple. But it's well-shot and nicely played by both actors. And its cautionary message, while rather heavy-handed, does leave us thinking... REVIEW >