Critical Week: You're a superstar

It's still been relatively quiet in London, a short week following the Cannes Film Festival. But things kick off next week with Sundance Film Festival: London; I'm looking forward to this four-day burst of cinematic life at Picturehouse Central. It's a fluke of the releasing schedule that I've seen 17 films that are being released this week in the US and/or UK. These are films I've seen over the course of bout a year and a half (many screened at festivals), but they are for some reason converging now in cinemas or streaming! All of the reviews are on the website. 

BEST OUT THIS BUSY WEEK:
Robot Dreams • The Beast
The Dead Don't Hurt
Big Boys • What You Wish For
A House In Jerusalem
Pandemonium • Hidden Master
The Pilgrimage of Gilbert & George
ALL REVIEWS >

Double Oscar-winners featured in two films I saw this past week. Jessica Lange is radiant in The Great Lillian Hall, a lovely drama about a fading theatre icon costarring Kathy Bates and Jesse Williams (above). And Anthony Hopkins shines in Freud's Last Session, a fictionalised meeting between the iconic psychoanalyst and author CS Lewis (Matthew Goode) that's beautifully written and packed with provocative ideas.

Offbeat films this week include Isabelle Huppert once again delightfully stealing the show in Francois Ozon's skilfully arch mystery comedy The Crime Is Mine; the warm and witty assembled family drama The Mattachine Family, starring the hugely likeable Nico Tortorella and Emily Hampshire; Richard Armitage in the often harrowing true-life WWII survival adventure The Boy in the Woods; the dark, moving British-Palestinian drama A House in Jerusalem; and the eye-opening London artists doc The Pilgrimage of Gilbert & George.

This coming week I'll be watching Will Smith in Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Jennifer Connelly in Bad Behaviour, David Duchovny in Reverse the Curse, Ciaran Hinds in Cottontail, British sci-fi drama Sky Peals, Wyoming-set fantasy Riddle of Fire, Belgian drama Here and road trip drama Summer Solstice, plus lots of movies at the Sundance Film Festival: London. 

Critical Week: Into the sea

While the Cannes Film Festival continues in the South of France until this weekend, I've been keeping busy here in London with an eclectic collection of screenings. Most unusual was the Chinese animated adventure Deep Sea, which is dazzling to look at even if the story feels a bit busy. It's definitely worth seeing on the biggest screen possible.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Hit Man • Solo
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
In Flames • Kidnapped
PERHAPS AVOID:
The Garfield Movie
ALL REVIEWS >

Last Friday I attended the UK premiere of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, attended by the cast and crew. Anya Taylor-Joy is terrific in the steely title role, and the film boasts terrific action sequences even if it feels a bit thin. Jennifer Lopez stars in the sci-fi thriller Atlas, which is fairly simple but enjoyably packed with very cool tech. Greg Kinnear stars in two movies I watched this week: alongside Isla Fisher in the silly but cute family fantasy comedy The Present and opposite Terry Chen in the inspirational and relentlessly preachy fact-based drama Sight. And from Canada, the drama Solo is a gorgeously observed character study set in the drag scene. 

After seeing Hit Man last week, I thought I should perhaps catch up with Glen Powell's last hit, the romcom Anyone But You, which is deeply goofy but also sunny, charming and sometimes even a bit sexy. On stage, I also watched the superbly provocative musical comedy drama Piece of Me at Camden People's Theatre.

This coming week I'll be watching Jessica Lange in The Great Lillian Hall, Anthony Hopkins in Freud's Last Session, Richard Armitage in The Boy in the Woods, Francois Ozon's The Crime Is Mine, Palestinian drama A House in Jerusalem and the doc The Pilgrimage of Gilbert & George. 

Stage: Living on-camera

Piece of Me
by Claire Gaydon
with Claire Gaydon, Yasser Zadeh, Alex Roberts
director Eleanor Crouch • songs Claire Gaydon
music producer James Jacob
designer Charlotte Espiner • lighting Amy Daniels
choreo Seke Chimutengwende, Olivia Shouler
Camden People's Theatre • 21.May-1.Jun.24 ★★★★

With a hilariously deadpan sense of humour, this thought-provoking musical comedy drama springs from the life of writer-performer Claire Gaydon, which adds an unusually personal touch to the rather offbeat juxtaposition of pop stardom and social surveillance. It's a brightly energetic 70-minute show that holds the attention with its wry observations and almost pathologically catchy tunes, then turns into something darkly intriguing. 

The story opens on 8-year-old Claire (Gaydon), who lives in Lincoln and hangs out with her best pals Natalie (Zadeh) and Chloe (Roberts). Then Britney Spears' first mega-hit rocks their world. Diehard fans, they live vicariously through her stardom, and decide they need to be popstars themselves. So Claire writes a song, and they become celebrities in their school when they perform at an assembly and record a demo. But the band fizzles out when they're 14. Years later, they reunite to perform at a London venue, and Claire's obsession with CCTV cameras leads them to launch their own facial recognition company.

This last turn of events feels like it comes from nowhere, drastically changing the play's tone. Earlier scenes are punctuated with snappy video montages and elaborately choreographed musical performances, complete with complex lighting and costume changes. Then the final section sees these three childhood friends in an office discussing the nature of their work, differing in their opinions about video surveillance and data mining. But there is a fascinating thread here, as this springs from their conversations about how Britney has lived even the most private moments of her life in the full public glare.

The characters are skilfully performed by this tight trio. Gaydon cleverly nails Claire's intense enthusiasm alongside the dryly amusing Zadeh and Roberts, who bring terrific textures as the open-handed Natalie and sassy Chloe. Zadeh also plays DJ Andy, who happily joins the band when he can. The actors create infectious chemistry on stage that makes the characters both laugh-out-loud funny and also deeply endearing.

Gaydon's observations are often astonishing, comparing CCTV with paparazzi while offering brief blasts of lacerating social satire. The show is quick and clever, and also both wry and raucous. And in several meta moments it digs beneath the surface to question the nature of fame and privacy, the true meaning of success and the way politics almost always leads to manipulation. It's also so much fun that we want to see this band put on a full concert.

For info, CAMDEN PEOPLE'S THEATRE >

photos by Harry Elletson • 23.May.24

Stage: Killer punchlines and guitar riffs

Caveman in a Spaceship
Dave Hill
Soho Theatre • 15-18.May.24 ★★★★

American comic and musician Dave Hill has built a following with his appearances on a range of TV shows and in various bands, one of which supported Tenacious D on a recent tour. Now he is taking this solo piece on the road. Hill's middle-aged personal and rapid-fire performance are almost literally breathtaking, barely allowing the audience to pause between the constant barrage of hilarious punchlines, throwaway gags and musical riffs. His deferential delivery is hugely engaging, as he bares his soul to the audience while also striking several painfully cool poses.

This performance begins with a blast of chaotic energy, as he charges the stage on a BMX bike in a jumpsuit accompanied by a strobe light, fireworks and foam machine, twirling nunchucks and playing fearsome chords on his guitar while singing the title song, which speaks about keeping one foot in the past and the other in the future. "I nailed it," he sighs breathlessly at the end, and launches straight into a stream of consciousness that includes playing audience requests, running through an extended comedy sketch about Poundland and offering specific pick-up lines for Londoners to use. All of this is delivered with a surreal grin, thanking the audience for every laugh.

At one point he's joined by a couple of backup musicians who ably keep up with him even though he continually asks them to hold back. Throughout, Hill creates a surprisingly smooth vibe that's both groovy and very silly. Standout moments include a wildly paraphrased retelling of the gospel story of the loaves and fishes, which climaxes in a song about getting into a fight with his girlfriend's sister's annoying boyfriend. Every moment of this feels improvised, thanks to Hill's flailing, slightly out-of-control persona, but it's clearly very carefully put together, from the nutty flourishes to the expert guitar playing that punctuates everything.

When this brisk hour is up, the audience simply doesn't want it to end. Like all the best Fringe shows, this one leaves us longing for more. Judging by the audience's reaction, it's obvious that Hill has well and truly conquered London, and now we want to see whatever he does next. The question is whether we'll be able to keep up with him.

For more, DAVE HILL >

16.May.24

Critical Week: Baby you're a firework

While most London critics decamp to the South of France for 10 days, I prefer to avoid the chaos of the Cannes Film Festival if I can, as screening rooms get a bit quieter here. But it's not easy to read about all the intriguing films screening over there. While I have a bit more free time, there are still movies to watch! This week's films included the warm and properly inspiring biopic Young Woman and the Sea, starring Daisy Ridley as groundbreaking swimmer Trudy Ederle. This week's big release is IF, a child-friendly movie from actor-filmmaker John Krasinski that's remarkably sweet, warm and funny. And next week's kids' movie is The Garfield Movie, a frenetic animated romp that will keep very, very young children happy.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Tiger Stripes • IF
ALL REVIEWS >

A bit more high-brow is the fact-based action romcom Hit Man, starring the terrific Glen Powell as a teacher pretending to be an assassin to help a police sting operation. It's a great story, very well-told by Powell and director-cowriter Richard Linklater. Elizabeth Hurley stars in the sudsy erotic thriller Strictly Confidential, which is so camp that it's hilarious. JK Simmons goes all-in to play a ruthless killer menacing a nice family in the harrowing and rather harsh thriller You Can't Run Forever. From Pakistan, In Flames is an inventive dramatic horror film about women confronting the patriarchy. And I also caught up with Guy Ritchie's new film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a snappy WWII adventure based on a true story. A terrific cast led by Henry Cavill, Eiza Gonzalez, Alan Ritchson and Henry Golding keeps it funny and sometimes thrilling. There was also a live performance by musical stand-up comic Dave Hill with his riotously hilarious Caveman in a Spaceship at the Soho Theatre.

This coming week I'll be watching Anya Taylor-Joy in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Greg Kinnear in both The Present and Sight, the Canadian drama Solo and the animated adventure Deep Sea. Plus on stage I have Pieces of Me at Camden People's Theatre.

Stage: Queens of the night

The Opera Locos
created and directed by Yllana
with María Rey-Joly, Mayca Teba, Jesús Álvarez, Enrique Sánchez-Ramos, Michaël Koné
music Marc Álvarez, Manuel Coves
choreography Carlos Chamorro
sets Tatiana De Sarabia, David Ottone, Yeray González
lighting Enrique Toro • costumes Tatiana de Sarabia
Peacock Theatre, London • 8-11.May.24 ★★★★

A spicy blend of music, clowning, melodrama, mime and slapstick, this show centres around a series of proper operatic performances, delivering a greatest hits of popular pieces that pretty much anyone will recognise (such as O Sole Mio or Nessun Dorma), plus several lesser-known numbers and a few snippets of pop songs. There might be too much opera here for mainstream audiences, and it might be a bit broad for purists, but everyone will have a great time with these talented singer-comics.

The five performers from the Spanish theatre troupe Yllana play out three interwoven romances as they move from one sketch to the next, vocalising their dialog without using words and performing arias at full belt. The introductory piece highlights each of their colourful personalities before dissolving into a hilarious competition between Jesus Alvarez and Michael Kone, who ultimately dissolves into a full rock-god style performance of Mika's Grace Kelly. There are no more pop intrusions until the big finale, unless you count Alvarez's darkly amusing version of My Way. Instead, scenes feature seriously powerful renditions of Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Bizet and more as the performers playfully enact their running plot threads.

The central plot is a straightforward backstage love story between a tenor (Alvarez), who feels beyond his heyday and is having suicidal thoughts, and an ardent fan who becomes a rising star soprano (Rey-Joly). Meanwhile, the baritone (Sanchez-Ramos) is trying to get the counter-tenor (Kone) to take the music more seriously, and it takes awhile for their flirtation to blossom into something sweet. Finally, the mezzo-soprano (Teba) cheekily courts a partner in the audience. All of this takes place vaudeville-style on a fairly simple steampunk stage augmented by rich-hued lighting and fantastically camp costumes and hair.

Yes, there's quite a bit of audience participation, from stand-up style comedy bits to Sanchez-Ramos' operatic masterclass, in which he gets puts various attendees on the spot. There are also a couple of enthusiastic sing-alongs as well. All of this is a lot of fun, with a continual stream of witty gags to keep us chuckling. And the songs are performed with big emotions, so they're hugely involving. But the troupe misses a trick by leaving nuance and surprise from the storylines, and they only rarely play around with the intriguing connections between musical genres. 

As a result, the medley of pop hits at the end feels triumphant, a reminder of what a serious singer can do with any song.Scattering more of this clever juxtaposition throughout the show would have deepened the experience, but there's plenty of passion among these adept performers, and their camaraderie is infectious. So even if, at just over 90 minutes, the show feels somewhat slight, it's a lot of fun. And the sparky cast gets us on our feet cheering at the end.

For information, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Lighuen De Santos • 8.May.24

Critical Week: Fun in the sun

The sunshine finally emerged in London this week, which won't bode well for this week's box office as everyone takes advantage of the weather. It's also not great for film critics who spend more time than most in darkened basement screening rooms. At least one of the films this week was bright and summery: Two Tickets to Greece is a French road trip movie about two old friends island hopping in the Cyclades. It's watchable because of stars Laure Calamy and Olivia Cote (above), plus the always incandescent Kristin Scott Thomas. There was also this week's blockbuster Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which has markedly upped the impressive digital effects and performance-capture work, but feels more formulaic than the previous trilogy.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
La Chimera • Aisha
ALL REVIEWS >

Less flashy was the British drama The Almond and the Seahorse, which features Rebel Wilson in a rare serious role in a story about the repercussions of brain injury. The Image of You is a feverishly trashy thriller with Sacha Pieterse and Parker Young, a proper guilty pleasure. Lazareth is a gripping but somewhat overserious post-apocalyptic thriller with Ashley Judd. Hazard is a raucous action comedy from Poland, an enjoyably messy guilty pleasure with an emotional core, And Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is a fiercely impressive action thriller from Hong Kong with a vivid narrative and fabulous characters. I also caught rather bonkers and thoroughly crowd-pleasing The Opera Locos at the Peacock theatre.

This coming week I'll be watching Ryan Reynolds in IF, Chris Pratt in The Garfield Movie, Daisy Ridley in Young Woman and the Sea, Lena Dunham in Treasure, Elizabeth Hurley in Strictly Confidential and the horror thriller In Flames. I'mm also watch Dave Hill's stand-up show Caveman in a Spaceship.

Stage: Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out

King Lear
presented by Tang Shu-wing Theatre Studio
with Cecilia Yip, Lindzay Chan, Amanda Leung, Cassandra Tang, Peggy Chow, Ting-Kwan Lau, Ki-yan Ko, Corina Druc, Costinela Ungureanu
director Shu-wing Tang
sets and costumes Hon-wai Yuen • music Billy Ng
sound Anthony Yeung • lighting Tsz-yan Yeung
Riverside Studios, Hammersmith • 2-12.May.24 ★★★★

Strikingly visual and unnervingly visceral, this all-female performance piece reinterprets Shakespeare's masterpiece using movement, light, sound and fiercely expressive acting, but no words at all. It requires some knowledge of the play, although even that won't make everything clear. Instead, this is an impressionist piece that mixes comedy and drama with echoes of chilling horror, like a Lynchian fever dream about the corrupting effect of power in both families and politics.

Performances are remarkably controlled, as the actors wear emotions on their faces like expressive masks while moving in deliberate, choreographed interaction. In the demanding role as Lear, Cecilia Yip uses her full physicality to reveal compassion and yearning, as well as madness and fury. A monarch trying to find an heir to the kingdom, Lear's feelings move like a storm across the stage, pushing and pulling other characters while also having an impact on the sound and lighting around them. The sneering false love from eldest daughters Goneril and Regan (Lau and Chow) and their husbands (Ko and Ungureanu) is heartbreaking, as is the much more darkly intense connection with the younger Cordelia (Tang). Even those loyal to Lear, like Gloucester (Chan) and Kent (Leung), are unusually complex.

Each role requires an intensity that locks us in our seats, with a flurry of forceful glances, vicious attacks and desperately warm hugs. As Lear spirals around, trying to figure out who to trust, the situation itself pulls us in, and it doesn't really matter that we're not quite sure who's who. The staging is continually eye-catching, with an inventive use of costumes, sound, light and props that bring each moment to vivid life. This includes some startlingly violent sequences, with red laser pointers creating a scary counterpoint to the audible gunfire and swinging samurai sword. But the shadows visible in these characters' souls are what's most harrowing.

While Shakespeare's play can easily run to four hours, this 90-minute adaptation is remarkable for the way it conveys the underlying story using moods and intentionality. Facial expressions, gestures and movement create powerful feelings, while the audio and visual effects add atmosphere. So even if it's difficult to make clear sense of what we're seeing on-stage, or to decipher the symbolism that is cleverly woven into the simple but often dazzling sets and costumes, this is an exhilarating piece of physical theatre, performed by an astonishingly focussed cast.

For details, RIVERSIDE STUDIOS >

photos by Tik Hang Cedric Yip • 3.May.24

Critical Week: Head over heels

The weather warmed up considerably in London during the week, but has reverted back to near-wintry just in time for the long weekend, which perhaps will drive up cinema attendance. There was a big romcom this week, with Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine in The Idea of You, an unusually well-written movie that's smart and very sexy. But we're now officially in blockbuster season, with a major release each week for the next few months. This week's big movie was The Fall Guy, a meta-action comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. It's hugely entertaining, even if it's not quite as funny as it should be.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Love Lies Bleeding • The Idea of You
The Lost Boys • Evil Does Not Exist
Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry
Blue Giant • Jeanne du Barry • Drifter
ALL REVIEWS >

I also caught this week's big online release Unfrosted, Jerry Seinfeld's outrageously silly retelling of the birth of the Pop Tart, which is riotously packed with enjoyable cameos. Josh O'Connor stars in the offbeat Italian drama La Chimera, which is magical in the way it plays with the past and present. Lea Seydoux and George MacKay are terrific in The Beast, a freak-out with several fiendishly clever futuristic twists. There was also the photogenic German romp Lassie: A New Adventure, which is enjoyably predictable. From Argentina, the tango-infused Adios Buenos Aires tells an involving story about personal connections. And from England, the observant, charming doc Much Ado About Dying traces the final four years in the life of an eccentric actor.

I've got several films to watch over the coming week, including an Imax screening of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Rebel Wilson in The Almond and the Seahorse, Ashley Judd in Lazareth, Mira Sorvino in The Image of You, the Hong Kong action thriller Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, the action-comedy Hazard and the Guatemalan drama Our Mothers.