Critical Week: Humbug

It's been another busy week of screenings, as I get ready to travel for a few weeks. The weather turned colder, Christmas lights were switched on across London, and we also had our first holiday movie of the season: Ebenezer is a new take on Dickens' A Christmas Carol, starring Johnny Depp as Scrooge. Of course horror director Ti West leans into the ghostly spookiness, but it's a perhaps too-faithful adaptation. Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller are back for more embarrassing antics in Focker-in-Law, which adeptly shifts the nuttiness to a new generation thanks to the up-for-it Ariana Grande. And Nicholas Hoult leads the charge in How to Rob a Bank, an undercooked action romp that isn't as cool or meaningful as it thinks it is. But it's just about watchable.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Bitter Christmas
Being Heumann • 1 in 2
Fjord • The Good Lawyer
PERHAPS AVOID:
Confession
ALL REVIEWS >

Off the beaten path, I finally caught up with Wicker at my local cinema, and it was worth the trip: Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgard are superb in this hilariously deranged, surprisingly sweet fairy tale romance. Andrew Garfield plays OpenAI founder Sam Altman in Luca Guadagnino's Artificial, assembled with skill, some nutty edge and terrifying implications. And Yura Borisov is terrific in the central role. 

From Spain, The Beloved is a complex, provocative father-daughter drama starring Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo, eye-catchingly set on a film set in the Canary Islands. Rob Lowe and James Franco lead the starry cast of Confession, a murky Soviet prison drama written unsubtly by Ben Shapiro. Mike Leigh's Tender Loving Care is a thoughtful slice-of-life exploring how we need support from family and friends. And the documentary 1 in 2 offers a fascinating and urgently important look at cancer treatment, complete with a dash of hope.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching the much talked about documentary You Can See Everything, Lucas Dhont's Coward, Israeli drama A Man Walks Down the Street, Argentine drama Before We Forget, Iranian doc An Eye for an Eye and two live performances: Act of God and My Fierce Ignorant Step. Then I'm off to California for a couple of weeks visiting family.

Dance: All the drama

Germán Cornejo’s
Tango After Dark
director-choreographer Germán Cornejo
dancers Germán Cornejo & Noelia Pizzo; Nicolás Schell & Nair Schinca; Esteban Simon & Marilu Leopardi; Guido Palacios & Florencia Zarate; Juan Cupini & Erica Rossi
singers Vanina Tagini, Jesus Hidalgo
musicians Diego Ramos, Matias Rubino, Gemma Scalia, Tomas Falasca, Jeronimo Izarrualde
music Astor Piazzolla
lighting Charlie Morgan Jones • sound Gaston Briski
costumes Germán Cornejo, Alberto Mauri, Mimi Pinzon
Sadler's Wells, London • 5-9.Nov.26 ★★★

Back in London after a sold-out run in 2018, Germán Cornejo's dance company takes the audience on an immersive journey into Argentina's tango subculture, rippling with kicks, flicks, hooks and outrageous lifts. This is a slick, expertly performed show that demonstrates a wide range of tango styles, accompanied by gifted on-stage musicians. As enjoyable as it is, there's a nagging sense that it could be even more adventurous, especially in the choreography and costumes, both of which feel a bit repetitive. That said, the explosive emotionality is riveting.

The dancers appear as five couples, sometimes swapping partners or performing as trios or quartets. Although despite tango's well-known history, there are no male-only pairings. But this is an astonishingly exacting display of skill from first-rate performers who time every move to perfection. Boleos and ganchos continually punch the musical beats, as feet whip around each other in ways that feel wonderfully dangerous. The enganches are even more impressive, as women wrap their legs around their partner's bodies with thrilling precision.

While there isn't an overriding narrative to the show, several dance pieces contain emotive mini-storylines. And everything is punched with high drama, from the whizzy choreography to the riveting presence of evocative singers Vanina Tagini and Jesus Hidalgo. Even when the dancers are floating smoothly across the stage, there is propulsive energy in their attitude. And the four-piece band traces the mood with music that ranges from staccato attack to soulful jazz to rhythmic bounce. Along with a couple of musical interludes, each of them also gets to play a show-stopping solo.

Dancers also get their moments in the spotlight, with twirls and poses that continually catch the eye, led by Cornejo himself, plus the notably expressive Nair Schinca. The complex lifts are often heart-stopping, augmenting the flashy footwork as stiletto heels seem to whisk perilously close to the other dancers, creating dazzling optical illusions. So it doesn't really matter that the striking costumes are mainly one-note: shimmery dresses for women, black and/or white suits for men. These are perfect for the larger ballroom sequences, which surge with intentionality, leading to a triumphant encore that sends us off with a snap in our step.

For info, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Danny Kaan • 8.Nov.26

Critical Week: Go long

Another busy week in the cinema catching up with awards contenders and box office hopefuls, and a few that fall in between somewhere. Several of the best films of the year are in cinemas this weekend. Easily the most earnest one was The Mosquito Bowl, a true story starring Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgard, Ray Nicholson and Tom Francis as four American football players serving as US Marines during WWII. It's a great story, but the film feels a bit too reverential. And then there was the Japanese post-war sequel Godzilla Minus Zero, catching up with the characters from Godzilla Minus One as they face both the familiar monster and a new three-headed beast. It's melodramatic but also thrillingly massive.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Club Kid • La Bola Negra
Wild Horse Nine • I Play Rocky
Being Heumann
Onwards and Sideways
De Gaulle: Resistance
ALL REVIEWS >

Smaller films included the Sundance-winning drama Josephine, starring Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan and remarkably young newcomer Mason Reeves. It's a fiercely inventive take on a troubling topic. Chris Rock wrote, directed and stars in the involving Hollywood drama Misty Green, which stars the excellent Rosalind Eleazar as an actress trying to get her life on track, with mixed results. The Czech thriller Manipulation is packed with sinister twists and insidious turns, but is a bit too murky to pull us in. The Mexican comedy-drama The Divine Tragedy is a grippingly funny and moving story about two gay brothers who need each other. There were also two docs: Ava DuVernay's fiercely urgent 14th, about the Constitutional amendment guaranteeing citizen's rights that is being unpicked piece by piece, and the strikingly well-edited Barbara Forever, tracing the work of experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer, I also attended a live performance of Germán Cornejo's Tango After Dark. 

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Robert De Niro in Focker-in-Law, Andrew Garfield in Artificial, Johnny Depp in Ebenezer, Javier Bardem in The Beloved, Mike Leigh's Tender Loving Care, Rob Lowe in Confession and the documentary 1 in 2.

Critical Week: A fellow of infinite jest

It's been another busy week in the screening rooms, with a mix of current releases and awards contenders. One of the best was Elsinore, which stars Andrew Scott as actor Ian Charleson preparing to perform Hamlet at the National Theatre in 1989 while grappling with the effects of Aids. It's a powerfully involving film, and Scott is terrific. Robert Pattinson plays journalist Chris Hansen in Primetime, which chronicles his TV series To Catch a Predator. The subject matter is intense, but the film has a superbly unhinged energy that forces us to think more deeply.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Devils • Queen at Sea
Gentle Monster • Primetime
Everest: The Other Side
ALL REVIEWS >

Meanwhile, there was also the sunny and very goofy British comedy Blueberry Inn, starring Jack Davenport. The Indonesian prison thriller Ghost in the Cell is inventively packed with bonkers humour and nasty horror. And there were three docs: Making Marie Antoinette goes behind the scenes on Sofia Coppola's 2006 classic, directed with a personal eye by Sofia's mum Eleanor. Taking in both the majestic filmography and messy private life, Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean is an entertaining slice of movie history. And Nuisance Bear skilfully uses an engaging polar bear to explore the legacy of commercialism and colonialism in Canada. I also attended a live performance of Pia at Milton Concert Hall.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Nicholas Galitzine in The Mosquito Bowl, Channing Tatum in Josephine, Chris Rock's Misty Green, Japanese sequel Godzilla Minus Zero, Czech thriller Manipulation, Mexican comedy-drama The Divine Tragedy, horror icon doc Barbara Forever, Ava DuVernay's doc 14th and a live performance of Germán Cornejo's Tango After Dark.

Dance: Adventures in space

Pia
director-choreographer Katya Bourvis
performers Sonia Marie Dvorak, Sirena Tocco, Janet Amsden, Christian Michael Tworzyanski, Tala Lee-Turton, Benji Knapper, Phoebe Higgins, Zac Priestley
music Hannah Peel • dramaturg Tala Lee-Turton
voice artists Dan Moore, John Parkin
musicians Zone One Brass • costumes Katherine Watt
lighting Jackie Shemesh • sound Andrew Morgan
Milton Court Concert Hall, London • 23.Oct.26 ★★★

Commissioned by the Barbican and Barnsley Civic, this ambitious new dance piece takes a fantastical journey through a woman's life, tackling big issues like memory, imagination and dreams. It is packed with dazzling sequences that catch the eye and ear in powerfully resonant ways, as the skilled performers evoke a range of emotions. That said, it's impossible to escape the feeling that this is also a rather indulgent show in need of some editing.

From Barnsley, Pia is continuously on-stage at three ages: as an older woman (Janet Amsden) dealing with memory loss, in vibrant middle age (Sirena Tocco) sorting through souvenirs and as a young dancer (Sonia Marie Dvorak) performing with an ensemble. Katya Bourvis' complex choreography depicts scenes that include simple everyday realities, issues surrounding her life in a mining community and larger earth-shattering events. And dancer-writer Tala Lee-Turton forms this into a lovely non-linear narrative.

Through all of this, Pia's creativity emerges in colourful flights of fancy as she becomes fascinated by space travel, ultimately seeing herself as an astronaut visiting the stars. All of this coalesces into a gorgeous portrait packed with elements that we can vividly identify with, from yearning to pain to celebration. Accompanying this is a live 17-piece brass band playing music inspired by Hannah Peel's record Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia, with added flourishes from the themes for Star Trek, Barbarella, Dr Who and 2001: A Space Odyssey, plus Tainted Love and snippets from a 1980 Arthur Scargill speech.

The excellent dancers perform the precise, intricate and eye-catching choreo as a mix of classical ballet and expressive modern movement. Dressed in eclectic costumes, their physical strength and stamina is impressive, as are the beautiful shapes they form all the way through the show. There's a memorable duet for Dvorak and Christian Michael Tworzyanski, performed without music to an ambient soundscape. And the seriously gifted Benji Knapper has a series of stunning solos.

Throughout this performance, there were some lighting issues that left performers in shadows. And the ending feels oddly anticlimactic, as it continues through a series of codas (one of which is oddly inert) following what felt like a satisfying finale. But the show is packed with meaning, balancing aching grief, soaring romance and joyously funny moments. And the dancing has a wonderfully weightless quality that lingers.

For information, KATYA BOURVIS >

photos by Foteini Christofilopoulou, workshop photos by Camilla Greenwell,
artwork by Hannah Brewerton • 23.Oct.26

Dance: A message from Mother Earth

Dickson Mbi Company
Tellus
by Dickson Mbi & Nick Drake
composer-choreographer Dickson Mbi
performers Hannah Joseph, Harvey Burke-Hamilton, Kenny Wing Tao Ho, Rose Sall Sao, Monique Jonas, Jonadette Carpio, Nathan Goodman, Siyu Lu, Moses Ward, Fukiko Takase, Robert Dunkley-Gyimah
musicians Lara Aisha Ali, Meera Priyanka Raja, Toril Azzalini-Machecler
costumes Debbie Duru • set Ruby Law
lighting Lee Curran • sound Tony Gayle
video art Yeast Culture
Sadler's Wells East, Stratford • 21-24.Oct.26 ★★★★

With his distinctive visceral choreography and music, Dickson Mbi continues to explore his Cameroonian heritage with this strikingly epic folk tale drawn from the myth of Mami Wata, the source of life and love, and also destruction. Its lavish visuals and thumping rhythms speak directly to our bodies, pulling us into the emotions of the piece. And cleverly integrated video projection gives the show a powerfully effective kick.

The narrative follows a young man (Harvey Burke-Hamilton) through an odyssey into the predicament of his parched village, which is dying off due to drought. He is taken through the veil between the living and the dead by Mother Earth (Hannah Joseph), who guides him on a journey to heal the land. The energy grows beautifully over the course of the show, as three on-stage musicians appear in the background playing flute, cello and percussion in an increasingly insistent style that matches the dancers' impressive physicality.

Full-bodied movement intensifies from the austere opening section through a series of transitions that are marked by shifts in lighting and the skilful use of a string curtain at the back of the stage. This creates several breathtaking moments, combining with the expressive mix of modern and classical dance, eclectic-earthy music and a soundscape that features whispering and breathing. And when performers begin to interact with images projected onto both the curtain and a scrim, the effect becomes dazzling.

Through all of this, Mbi's inventive choreography challenges the dancers to use physical strength and endurance, evoking a wide range of emotions. There's a particularly lovely section in which four pairs move around the stage with the women leading and lifting the men. Other moments feature crawling, swaying and energetic bouncing, with arms and hands extended into the air. It's a punchy piece that culminates in a vivid catharsis, celebrating the fact that the earth will heal itself whether or not we do our part.

For details, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by RULA • 21.Oct.26

Critical Week: A warm hug

The 70th London Film Festival wrapped up on Sunday evening, and I'll be catching up with movies I missed over the next few months, including Elsinore, A Long Winter, Godzilla Minus Zero, Artificial, Tender Loving Care, the list goes on a bit. Meanwhile, Jordan Firstman's filmmaking debut Club Kid became my favourite film of the fest. It's an unusually engaging film with huge emotional resonance. Firstman and newcomer Reggie Absalom also deliver knock-out performances. As does Julianne Moore in Jesse Eisenberg's comedy The Debut, a riotous odyssey set in a community theatre run by a wonderful Paul Giamatti. Clio Barnard creates an astonishing camaraderie amongst the ensemble cast of the lively drama I See Building Fall Like Lightning. And Harvey Zielinski's superbly written and played Australian drama Sweet Milk Lake was a terrific discovery.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Possible Love
Wildwood • Fatherland
ALL REVIEWS >

Away from the festival, I saw Sacha Baron Cohen's new movie, Ali G: Who Iz I?, which uses the Borat/Bruno style to coax people into revealing their darkest impulses. It's pointed and important, but the connecting plot is very silly. Then there was the first-person action thriller Bad Day at the Office starring John Hannah and Radha Mitchell. It's nonstop chaos, and a little exhausting due to the shaky-cam perspective. I also caught an early screening of The Asscher Cut: A Timeless Legacy, a beautiful and remarkably detailed look at the diamond industry over the past two centuries. And it was fun to revisit Ken Russell's astonishing masterpiece The Devils on the big screen, now with censored scenes restored. Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave are unforgettable in this outrageous, pointed historical romp. There was also a live performance of Tellus at Sadler's Wells East.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Andrew Scott in Elsinore, Jack Davenport in Blueberry Inn, Indonesian horror Ghost in the Cell, behind-the-scenes doc Making Marie Antoinette, David Lean doc Maverick and polar bear doc Nuisance Bear, plus live performances of Pia at the Guildhall School and Motionhouse's Hidden at Sadler's Wells.