Critical Week: Yet another night in

Aside from a certain royal interview and the evolving lockdown situation, the biggest news this week was the most diverse list of Bafta Film Awards nominations in history, a remarkably varied collection of movies, filmmakers and performances that breaks from their tradition of trying to predict Oscar. Attention to British gems and filmmakers outside the system is particularly notable this year, even with some surprising omissions. BAFTA 2021 NOMINEES >

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Human Voice
Judas and the Black Messiah
The Dissident • Verdict
ALL REVIEWS > 

As for movies this week, I caught up with two films recently out in US cinemas. Silk Road stars Jason Clarke and Nick Robinson (above with Alexandra Shipp) in a true story about the dark web that's fascinating but rather lacking in nuance. And Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley star in Doug Liman's conceptual sci-fi thriller Chaos Walking, a well-made Western-style adventure that fails to deepen its themes or characters.

Further afield, the prison drama Luz is an American independent film infused with Latin culture as it recounts an unusually introspective, tender romance between two inmates. From Germany, Undine is another seriously clever film by Christian Petzold starring Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, this time a fantastical, whimsical, darkly moving romance. From Australia, Sequin in a Blue Room is an artful coming-of-age drama about a young man on a journey of self-discovery and connection.From Bosnia, Quo Vadis, Aida? is a flatly stunning, unmissable drama about the Srebrenica genocide told from a powerfully involving perspective. From the Philippines, Verdict is an absolutely riveting drama about a woman navigating a torturous legal system. And I decided to catch up with this documentary on the day it received its Bafta nomination...

My Octopus Teacher

dir-scr Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed

with Craig Foster, Tom Foster 

release US/UK 7.Sep.20

20/South Africa Netflix 1h25 *****

Beautifully shot and edited, this documentary recounts an involving story in a way that's enormously engaging as it traces the extraordinary connection between a man and an octopus over nearly a year. It's a riveting exploration of the nature of student and teacher, friend and foe, predator and prey. And as both of them transform their perceptions of each other, the film becomes both moving and inspirational.

Struggling with burn-out, and worried about his ability to be a good father to his teen son Tom, filmmaker Craig Foster turns to the ocean for inspiration, drawing on his childhood in the ocean near his home at the tip of South Africa. In an effort to feel amphibious and to eliminate barriers, he eschews a scuba tank or wetsuit and returns into the kelp forest every day. And he becomes fascinated by an octopus, building trust that leads to an unexpected back-and-forth relationship with her. Their ongoing adventures are simply awesome, revealing the inter-connections between living things.

Cinematographer Roger Horrocks gloriously captures how it feels to float through an underwater forest amid a wide range of creatures. This is augmented by Foster's own work behind the camera, revealing the extravagant diversity, balance and beauty under the sea. Meanwhile, the narrative is grabbing hold of us as we watch these two very different creatures begin to interact in unexpected ways. And the ultimate message is simple and provoctive: "She taught me to feel that I'm part of this place, not a visitor."

9.Mar.21

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Next week's films include the new four-hour cut of Zack Snyder's Justice League, Robin Wright's Land, the romantic comedy Me You Madness, the comedy drama Shoplifters of the World and the acclaimed Russian drama Dear Comrades. There will also be press screenings for the forthcoming edition of BFI Flare, with the festival itself kicking off virtually on Wednesday 17th March. Reports to come!

 

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Critical Week: On the run

It's been the hottest week in Britain for 60 years, and I don't think I've stopped sweating for more than about 30 seconds. Great weather for heading to the cinema, if only there were press screenings! But no, I've watched everything this week in my very warm home office. And it's been another eclectic collection of films. Claes Bang (above) is terrific in The Bay of Silence, a slightly muddled mystery that spins a twisty Hitchcockian plot, costarring Brian Cox and Olga Kurylenko. Waiting for the Barbarians boasts the powerhouse trio of Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson, all excellent in an insightful and challenging exploration of imperialism.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Big Fur • Babyteeth
Waiting for the Barbarians
PERHAPS AVOID:
Endless
FULL REVIEWS >

Ethan Hawke is superb as Tesla in an odd, artful biopic that loosely depicts the genius' life story and celebrates a complex man who is still changing the world. Alexandra Shipp stars in Endless, a relentlessly sappy romantic drama that ultimately lets her down. Roberto Benigni is perfectly cast as Geppetto in an earthy, faithful adaptation of the classic Italian novel Pinocchio. Jay Baruchel writes, directs and costars in the comic book thriller Random Acts of Violence, which starts very well before giving into its own into grisliness. Anthony LaPaglia stars in Pearl as a failed filmmaker who finds meaning through the teen daughter he never knew he had. Yes, it's as sentimental as it sounds, but also surprisingly edgy. And there were two docs: Barbara Kopple's astonishing Desert One offers astonishing firsthand accounts of the failed US rescue mission to free the hostages in 1980 Iran, while the entertaining Big Fur is a cheeky profile of a taxidermist trying to recreate a sasquatch for the world championships.

I'm taking a few days off this next week, but I have some films to watch before and after the break, including Jamie Foxx in Project Power, Janelle Monae in Antebellum, the animated adventure The One and Only Ivan, the British drama S.A.M, the revenge thriller Message Man and the Iranian drama Ava.

Critical week: Life of the party

Even as this year's condensed awards calendar rockets ahead (how about those dull Oscar nominations?), screenings are slow to kick off this year. I've only seen four films this week. (Full disclosure: I did not chase an invite to the one press screening of Bad Boys for Life, as I'm still scarred from Bad Boys II ... 17 years ago). There are plenty of releases in the cinemas, but these are films I saw during the autumn film festival and awards-qualifying seasons. New movies are coming up, so hopefully screenings will materialise soon.

In the meantime, I caught up with Xavier Dolan's The Death & Life of John F Donovan, which premiered to harsh criticism at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival and has since been re-edited. There are issues with the structure, but Dolan is such a fine writer-director that the characters come alive gorgeously. And what a cast: Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, Michael Gambon! Another Brit, James Norton, stars in the true historical drama Mr Jones, which recounts a fascinating story just before the Second World War as a brainy journalist tries to get the British government to wake up to the threat of Hitler and the lies of Stalin. The British fact-based drama No Fathers in Kashmir is a moving and important story about two teens uncovering the truth in the nasty political situation in northern India. And then there was this one, already a contender for the worst film of 2020...

Jexi
dir-scr Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
with Adam Devine, Alexandra Shipp, Rose Byrne, Michael Pena, Justin Hartley, Ron Funches, Charlyne Yi, Wanda Sykes, Kid Cudi
release US 11.Oct.19 • 19/US 1h24 *. 

Opening as a playful satire of smartphone culture, it becomes quickly apparent that filmmakers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (The Hangover/Bad Moms) have nothing clever in mind, merely shouting the most obvious jokes rather than digging into the lively premise or characters. There was a chance to actually make a comedy that was cute and astutely pointed. But amid a flurry of strained in-your-face jokes that are actually embarrassing to watch, the plot is painfully predictable.

Working for a listicle website, Phil (Devine) is a loner whose phone is his only friend. One day he meets local bicycle shop owner Cate (Shipp), and in his excitement accidentally smashes his iPhone. The new one comes with an AI assistant called Jexi (voiced by Byrne) who takes over his life and issues instructions, ignoring anything he says. She bullies him into changing his diet, musical preferences and pretty much everything else. Then when his hugely unlikely romance with Cate begins to take off, Jexi gets jealous.

The idea is that Jexi is programmed to make Phil's life better in any way possible, but she does this primarily through foul-mouthed insults. Meanwhile, the filmmakers fill the brief running time with idiotic slapstick, wacky smut and unwarranted sentimentality. All of which makes it almost impossible to care what happens to Phil, even if Devine and Shipp have some genuine charm in between the lines. It's especially galling that after so much relentlessly inane stupidity, the filmmakers have the nerve to awkwardly try and create some sweet moments. And the simplistic finale is insulting.

13.Jan.20

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In the diary for this coming week, I have George MacKay in True History of the Kelly Gang, Kristin Scott Thomas in Military Wives, the Filipino political drama Quezon's Game and the acclaimed Sudanese documentary Talking About Trees.