LFF12: Red carpet glamour

Eva Green gave the red carpet a blast of movie star glamour on Sunday night in Leicester Square as the London Film Festival entered its final stretch. She was there with the cast and crew of her thriller Cracks, including director Jordan Scott and her dad Ridley. Highlights from Sunday's films...

Cracks

dir Jordan Scott; with Eva Green, Juno Temple 09/UK ***

Gorgeously photographed, sharply acted and hauntingly moody, this period boarding-school drama keeps our interest even though the story is extremely thin. And there doesn't really seem to be much of a point to it ... REVIEW >

Passenger Side

dir Matt Bissonnette; with Adam Scott, Joel Bissonnette 09/US ***
This road movie has a thoroughly indie tone: it's indulgent and cute and features a great soundtrack. It also has terrifically snarky dialog and a growing sense of mystery that keeps us gripped ... REVIEW >

No One Knows About Persian Cats

dir Bahman Ghobadi; with Hamed Behdad, Ashkan Koshanejad 09/Iran ****
Iranian filmmaker Ghobadi examines the underground music scene in his country by telling a fictional story that's based on "real events, locations and people". The film vividly shows that the young people of Teheran aren't any different from anyone else. Although they have a lot more obstacles ... REVIEW >

Villa Amalia

dir Benoit Jacquot; with Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Hughues Anglade 09/Fr ***

Huppert is terrific as usual in this enigmatic and insinuating drama about a woman who decides to upend her entire life - leaving her job, home, boyfriend, everything, including her identity. The plot is a bit meandering and ill-defined, but there are terrific moments along the way, mainly due to Jacquot's telling direction and Huppert's subtle performance. It also helps that the settings - from urban Paris to an isolated Italian island - are so vividly portrayed. And the idea of escaping from the craziness of life certainly has a strong appeal.