Critical Week: The look of love

It's been a busy week for me, catching up on some awards-season movie-watching. And the Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday, with some nice surprises (Delroy Lindo, Kate Hudson) and surprising omissions (Paul Mescal, Wicked: For Good). As for the movies, I was looking forward to Francois Ozon's take on the Camus classic The Stranger, and the film certainly didn't disappoint. It's a luxuriantly gorgeous exploration of disaffection that feels eerily timely today. And Benjamin Voisin and Rebecca Marder (above) are superb. I also caught up with Cal McMau's impressive directing debut Wasteman, an intentive, involving and ultimately moving British prison movie starring the excellent David Jonsson and Tom Blyth.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The History of Sound
H Is for Hawk
No Other Choice • Heavyweight
ALL REVIEWS >

Further off the beaten path, the doc D Is for Distance is an artful cinematic essay by a filmmaking couple exploring their son's health issues with kaleidoscopic skill. It's also a bit indulgent. From Mexico, the observant and mesmerising Copper is an idiosyncratic drama about a man and a moral dilemma. From Germany, Phantoms of July is an enjoyably deadpan comedy that connects characters in unexpected ways. And I caught up with two more documentary contenders: Come See Me in the Good Light is the rightfully acclaimed (and now Oscar-nominated) depiction of a poet's strikingly straightforward approach to mortality, while Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story is pretty much what it says: a sparky, hugely entertaining look at the life of Liza Minnelli through her own eyes. 

Beyond movies, I attended the premiere of Ryan Murphy's new grisly, camp, compulsively watchable TV series The Beauty, and chatted with cast members Evan Peters, Ashton Kutcher, Rebeccal Hall, Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope at the appropriately gorgeous afterparty (see below). And there was also a live performance of Gecko's wondrous The Wedding at Sadler's Wells East.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Jason Momoa in The Wrecking Crew, Olivia Colman in Jimpa, Riz Ahmed in Hamlet, Milla Jovovich in Worldbreaker, James McAvoy's directing debut California Schemin', the Aussie family adventure Kangaroo and Mark Jenkins' new film Rose of Nevada. And Bafta nominations are out next Tuesday.

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Critical Week: Take a leap

I travelled back from rainy California to icy London this week, having submitted my final ballot for the Golden Globes last weekend. So I look forward to seeing what our international group of critics chose to take home prizes on Sunday night in Los Angeles. I also caught up with two films opening this week: Kristen Stewart's writing-directing debut The Chronology of Water is a challenging arthouse collage, based on a dark memoir. Imogen Poots is superb in the lead role, although the film is a bit too fragmented to pull us in. By contrast, People We Meet on Vacation is a charming and silly romantic comedy (now on Netflix) that's a bit too slick and long, but has some underlying themes that resonate. Plus ridiculously likeable leads in Emily Bader and Tom Blyth. Still, Chloe Zhao's Hamnet is hands down the best film out this week.

I also caught up with the acclaimed German drama Sound of Falling, an ambitious and luxuriant multi-generational epic that continually sends shivers down the spine with its darkly astute observations. Another awards contender, the doc Orwell: 2+2=5 is expertly assembled by Raoul Peck to explore how George Orwell's prescient novels have been echoed in global politics over the past century. It's essential viewing, partly because of the rather terrifying things it says about humanity. And then there were two movies I finally caught up with on the plane flight home: Megan 2.0 is an enjoyably bonkers sequel that is unafraid to get both silly and sharply pointed. I loved it. And gifted filmmaker Kogonada takes a huge swing with A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, a surreal romance starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell. It's skilfully crafted, but almost nothing about the story works at all.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo in Crime 101, survival horror Primate, Palestinian drama All That's Left of You and catching up on films and TV I haven't had time to watch over the past few weeks. There are also more voting deadlines to contend with.

Critical Week: And they called it puppy love

It's been another busy week in awards season, with screenings every night and lots of films to watch at home on links during the day. I also somehow have to find time to write about them all. It was great to catch up with festival breakout hit Pillion, Harry Lighton's offbeat romance starring Harry Melling (above) and Alexander Skarsgard. It's notorious for its dominant-submissive sexuality, but is actually a rather sweet and moving drama. By far the biggest movie was the European premiere of Wicked: For Good and I got to meet Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, along with director Jon Chu, at a reception before the screening. Unsurprisingly, the film is spectacular, much darker and more emotional than the first part. I also saw two gorgeous animated adventures: In Your Dreams is a fabulously colourful trip into the imagination, and Arco skilfully uses hand-drawn style anime to tell a pointed story from the future.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
In Your Dreams
Arco • Jay Kelly
Night of the Juggler
ALL REVIEWS >

At another starry awards screening, Kate Winslet presented her directing debut Goodbye June, alongside costars Toni Collette, Timothy Spall, Andrea Riseborough and Johnny Flynn, plus gifted young screenwriter Joe Anders (who happens to be Winslet's son). It's a funny and moving ensemble film. The Broadway cast of Merrily We Roll Along, including Tony winners Daniel Dadciffe and Jonathan Groff, features in a superbly filmed stage performance of Stephen Sondheim's powerful exploration of art and friendship. 

A bit further afield, Tom Blyth stars in the perhaps too-snappy investment banking comedy Bull Run. Jorma Tommila is back for the entertaining and outrageously grisly Finnish action sequel Sisu: Road to Revenge. The Danish drama Sauna is a darkly thoughtful romance. Hong Kong drama Valley of the Shadow of Death, explores grief and redemption in an involving faith-based story. From Argentina, 300 Letters deconstructs a romance in ways that are sexy, funny and moving. And I finally caught up with the breakout animated hit KPop Demon Hunters, which is a lot of bright-hued fun, packed with great music. On top of all of that, I attended the seriously epic UK premiere of the first episode of Stranger Things season 5.

Coming up this next week, I plan to watch Timothee Chalamet in Marty Supreme, Amanda Seyfried in The Testament of Ann Lee, Nicolas Cage in The Carpenter's Son, Emma Mackey in Ella McCay, June Squibb in Eleanor the Great, British-Nigerian drama My Father's Shadow, Iraqi drama The President's Cake, French drama Nino and Taiwanese drama Left-Handed Girl, plus a premiere screening of Landman season 2.

SXSW London: Free your mind

The inaugural SXSW London festival as been fascinating to explore, with so many spaces around Shoreditch being used for exhibitions, music gigs, conferences and films. Being the first year, there were the usual teething problems with crowds, confusing queuing systems, ticketing issues, transport problems and so on. But the sheer quantity of arts on display will leave people looking forward to more. The festival wrapped up tonight with the UK premiere of The Life of Chuck, based on the Stephen King story. And another King novel, The Institute, is the basis for a new TV series that held its world premiere at the festival this year. It was fun to attend that, and to get a chance to chat at the afterparty with actors Ben Barnes, Mary-Louise Parker, Joe Freeman (above), Fionn Laird and Simone Miller, plus director Joe Bender (Lost). The show is creepy and cleverly put together to pull the audience in tightly. Meanwhile, I've also been watching more movies...

The Life of Chuck

dir-scr Mike Flanagan; with Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay 24/US ***.

Based on Stephen King's novella, this ambitious drama takes its inspiration from Walt Whitman's line "I am large, I contain multitudes" as it explores identity and mortality. Writer-director Mike Flanagan amps up the sentiment, aided by a proscriptive Newton Brothers score. And deliberately artificial elements undermine the inventive storytelling. Even so, the film is packed with powerfully involving moments and terrific characters sharply played by a solid cast... FULL REVIEW >

Plainclothes
dir-scr Carmen Emmi; with Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey 25/US ****
Inventively shot and edited to give the viewer an internalised perspective, this intense but also warmly observational film explores a pivotal moment in a young man's life. Mixing romance, family drama and a coming out story, writer-director Carmen Emmi uses extreme closeups, kaleidoscopic editing and various film and video formats to add a tactile kick to an already pungent narrative. So it's both involving and very sexy.

The Old Woman With the Knife
dir Min Kyu-dong; with Lee Hye-yeong, Kim Sung-cheol 25/Kor ***
A messy swirl of revenge and regret, this Korean action thriller is packed with vivid characters and superb set-pieces. But the plot is a bit loose on connective tissue, leaving many questions unanswered. As a result, character motivation begins to feel somewhat blurry, which makes it tricky to fully invest in the story. That said, it's sharply well-directed by Min Kyu-dong and played with plenty of emotional spark.

Love & Rage: Munroe Bergdorf
dir Olivia Cappuccini; with Munroe Bergdorf, Reece King 25/UK ****
In recounting the life of the British model, author and activist, much of this documentary feels like the fairly standard journey of a trans woman. But Munroe Bergdorf's story has taken several unexpected turns. In this empowering film, she honestly speaks about her notoriously confrontational relationship with the media. While tracing dark situations unflinchingly, director Olivia Cappuccini adeptly captures this smart, articulate, fierce woman and her passion for justice.

Toro
dir-scr Rocco Di Mento; with Rocco Di Mento, Angelo Caruso 25/Ger ****
With this funny and warmly insightful autobiographical documentary, Italian filmmaker Rocco Di Mento takes a voyage of self-discovery relating to the picture of masculinity instilled in him as a child. The result is a complex, thought-provoking journey into manliness, unearthing some deeply personal issues that make the film universally resonant. Most intriguing is a depiction of machismo as something far more textured than we usually see on screen.

Full reviews are coming, and will be linked to Shadows' SXSW LONDON PAGE >