Critical Week: A star is born

As we approach Oscar weekend, there is always a flurry of activity in trying to predict the possible winners. And it's great that this year's race seems much more up in the air than usual. So I'm rooting for some surprises (and I'll post predictions as usual on Saturday). Meanwhile, there have been more new movies to watch, including the finely produced British biopic Mr Burton, which recounts the early days of Richard Burton (played by Harry Lawtey, above) and his English teacher mentor Philip Burton (Toby Jones). Another British true story is set off the Scottish coast: Last Breath is a taut thriller adaptation of the nailbiting 2019 documentary about deep-sea divers (Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu and Finn Cole) caught in a terrifying situation. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Last Showgirl • Chang'An
The Summer With Carmen
My Dead Friend Zoe
Superboys of Maleagon
ALL REVIEWS >

Taking on the finale of Homer's Odyssey (and perhaps offering a preview for Christopher Nolan's forthcoming epic), The Return stars Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus, arriving home in Ithaca to find chaos presided over by his faithful wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche). It's rivetingly played and a bit stagey. One of Them Days is a very silly but strongly engaging comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA as best pals on a momentous day in their Los Angeles neighbourhood. Bruno Dumont's The Empire is a wacky alien invasion thriller disguised as an edgy social satire, set in an offbeat French seaside village. And the Georgian drama April follows a doctor on her illicit rounds with audacious visual and thematic style and bizarrely indulgent flourishes.

This coming week I'll be watching Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17, John Lithgow in The Rule of Jenny Pen, Bruce LaBruce's new film The Visitor, the drama Throuple, the animated adventure Giants of La Mancha and the documentary Riefenstahl.

Critical Week: Let your colours burst

Pride month kicked off this week, and I had my first few LGBTQ+ movies to watch. Showing at San Francisco's Frameline, Being Thunder is a remarkable documentary about Sherente Harris (above), a two-spirited Native American teen from Rhode Island who is challenging artificial gender roles. It's a gorgeously observant film worth looking for. Offbeat indie comedy-drama The Carnivores takes a loose, skilfully improvised approach as it tells the story of two Texan women with dog and relationship issues. And from Chile, My Tender Matador stars the great Alfredo Castro as a crossdresser who befriends a revolutionary in the Pinochet-era. It's moving and beautifully thought-provoking.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
A Quiet Place Part II • After Love
My Tender Matador • The Carnivores
Undine • I Am Samuel • Gunda
PERHAPS AVOID:
Introducing Jodea • Gully
ALL REVIEWS >

Closer to the mainstream, Flashback is a swirly thriller starring Dylan O'Brien in his meatiest role yet, although the supernatural elements kind of blur everything. An edgy drama set in inner-city Los Angeles, Gully features another terrific role for Kelvin Harrison Jr, although the movie is too fragmented to ever come into proper focus. The micro-budget comedy Introducing Jodea has some charm as it tells a story in the movie industry, but the cast and crew reveal their inexperience. And finally, I indulged myself in Friends: The Reunion, a couple of hours of shameless nostalgia that felt a bit contrived and over-structured. It was fun to see these six iconic actors in their less orchestrated reactions and interactions. And the celebrity fans were fun (Gaga! Bieber!), although they highlighted a number of recurring cast members who were oddly missing.

Films to watch this coming week both in cinemas and on screener links include Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical In the Heights, Aussie romcom Ellie & Abbie (and Abbie's Dead Aunt), horror comedy School's Out Forever, Spanish romance Carmen and Lola and Hungarian drama Treasure City.

LFF: Inhale on day 1

The 61st BFI London Film Festival kicked off tonight with the UK premiere of Andy Serkis' directing debut Breathe (pictured above). I feel like I barely caught my breath in the one week between my trip to the Venice Film Festival and the start of press screenings for this festival. It's been an intense two and a half weeks, and now we have 12 days of even more! The trick isn't watching four films a day, it's finding the time to write about them and keep up to date on my work in general. And I'm too old to skip sleeping! Anyway, here are some highlights from today and tomorrow, including a couple of films I saw in Venice now linked to full reviews...

Breathe
dir Andy Serkis; with Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy 17/UK ****
For his directing debut, Andy Serkis tells the true story of Robin Cavendish, a pioneer who sought independence for the disabled, including himself. With this subject matter, the film is obviously inspirational. But it's nade with splashes of colour and personality, dcatching the imagination to help redefine what it means to lead a fulfilling life. It's also finely shot by cinematographer Robert Richardson and beautifully acted by a sparky cast... FULL REVIEW >

Lean on Pete
dir-scr Andrew Haigh; with Charlie Plummer, Steve Buscemi 17/US ****.
There's an unusual depth of character to this finely crafted odyssey about a teen who hits the road in a last-gasp effort to find some hope. While there's plenty of potential for bleakness, writer-director Andrew Haigh instead infuses the film with warmth and honesty, facing the darkest moments head-on as the only way to get through them. It's an extraordinarily tough story told with a light touch that brings the viewer right into the journey... FULL REVIEW >

Brigsby Bear
dir Dave McCary; with Kyle Mooney, Matt Walsh 17/US ****
Like a fanboy-infused variation on Room, this darkly comical drama takes on a potent story about a young man rescued from a lifelong kidnapping. The clever script is very funny, keeping the audience laughing brittlely. And the film is also grappling with some rather intense issues in a meaningful way. This is a striking feature debut for director Dave McCary... FULL REVIEW >

Racer and the Jailbird
dir Michael R Roskam; with Matthias Schoenaerts, Adele Exarchopoulos 17/Bel ***.
Filmmaker Michael Roskam reteams once again with Matthias Schoenaerts for this personal drama set against the criminal scene in Belgium. More of an epic romance than a thriller, the film has plenty of emotional moments that draw the audience into the central romance. Although it's all perhaps a bit too dark for its own good, as the film runs out of hope before we're ready to give up on these people... FULL REVIEW >

The Cakemaker
dir-scr Ofir Raul Graizer; with Tim Kalkhof, Sarah Adler 17/Isr ***.
Warm and open, this Israeli-German drama takes a sensitive approach to a complex relationship. Writer-director Ofir Raul Graizer stirs in strong issues without ever losing sight of the internal journeys the characters are taking, and how their interaction helps them move forward. And with its low-key style, the film is beefed up with some powerfully resonant undercurrents... FULL REVIEW >

Roller Dreams
dir Kate Hickey; with James Lightning, Sara Messenger 17/Aus ***.
It may seem like a straightforward documentary about a specific time and place, but this film mixes its frankly awesome archival footage with both a moving narrative arc and powerfully resonant political themes. So it becomes much more than the story of a multi-ethnic community's nostalgia for a lost time. It's also darkly personal journey and a striking chronology of a city's shockingly racist history... FULL REVIEW >

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C R I T I C A L   W E E K
I've only had three non-festival films this past week, namely Denis Villeneuve's astonishing sequel Blade Runner 2049, Jessica Chastain in Aaron Sorkin's fast-talking true story Molly's Game, and Josh Hartnett in the true survival thriller 6 Below.

Venezia74: Celebrations on Day 11

The 74th Venice Film Festival came to a close tonight with a starry awards ceremony at which Guillermo del Toro unsurprisingly took the top prize for his superb The Shape of Water. Earlier in the day I spent a couple of hours out in the sunshine and then caught my final film of the festival (see below). Here the winners in the bigger categories and sections, as well as my 10 favourite films of the festival...

Golden Lion: THE SHAPE OF WATER
Grand Jury Prize: FOXTROT
Director: Xavier Legrand (CUSTODY)
Actress: Charlotte Rampling (HANNAH)
Actor: Kamel El Basha (THE INSULT)    
Screenplay: Martin McDonagh (THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI)
Special Jury Prize: SWEET COUNTRY
Mastroianni Award: Charlie Plummer (LEAN ON PETE)
Lion of the Future: Xavier Legrand (CUSTODY)
Glory to the Filmmaker: Stephen Frears
Lifetime Achievement: Jane Fonda and Robert Redford

Horizons
Film: NICO, 1988
Director: Vahid Jalilvand (NO DATE, NO SIGNATURE)
Jury Prize: CANIBA
Actress: Lyna Khoudri (LES BIENHEUREUX)
Actor: Navid Mohammadzadeh (NO DATE, NO SIGNATURE)
Scr: Dominique Welinski and Rene Ballesteros (LOS VERSOS DEL OLVIDO)

Venice Days
People's Choice: LONGING
Director: Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza (CANDELARIA)

Critics' Week
Film: TEAM HURRICANE
Audience Award: TEMPORADA DE CAZA

Queer Lion: MARVIN
Fipresci: EX LIBRIS: THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Fipresci - Debut Film: Kim Nguyen (LOS VERSOS DEL OLVIDO)
Fedeora - Film: EYE ON JULIET
Fedeora - Debut Dir: Sara Forestier (M)
Fedeora - Actor: Redouanne Harjane (M)
Doc on Cinema: THE PRINCE AND THE DYBBUK
Mouse d’Oro: MEKTOUB, MY LOVE: CANTO UNO
Leoncino d’Oro: THE LEISURE SEEKER

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RICH'S 10 BEST OF THE FEST

1. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2. Lean on Pete
3. M
4. Custody
5. The Third Murder
6. Suburbicon
7. The Shape of Water
8. Love and Bullets
9. Nico, 1988
10. Brawl in Cell Block 99

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M
dir-scr Sara Forestier; with Sara Forestier, Redouanne Harjane 17/Fr ****.
An unusually involving and offbeat romance, this is a remarkably assured writing-directing debut for actress Sara Forestier. With a clever premise, the film brings two marginalised people together, forcing them to address personal issues they would rather hide from the world. Forestier packs the film with little unexpected details about these characters, both of whom are so beautifully played that we can't help but root for them as we vividly identify with their longing and frustration as well as their joy.

I'll be straight back into screenings in London starting on Monday, and this coming week includes Borg vs McEnroe, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, The Glass Castle and Brakes.

Venezia74: Flying the flag on Day 3

The weather shifted here on the Lido with an extended series of thunderstorms in the middle of the night, which left the Venice Film Festival rather drippy and wet for most of the day, a drastic change after the sunshine of the previous two days. There was also a shift in the films, from the thematically overheated to more overwhelmingly emotional adventures. Here's what I saw today, including one film that will surely be among my best of the whole year...

Brawl in Cell Block 99
dir-scr S Craig Zahler; with Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter 17/US 2h12 ****
After infusing the Western with horrific new life in 2015's Bone Tomahawk, S Craig Zahler is back with a thunderous reinvention of the prison movie. Set in the present day but playing out like a 1970s exploitation thriller, this increasingly grisly story unfolds with choreographed precision, grinding the audience into its emotional depths with several genuinely hideous plot turns. And it's anchored by a superbly thoughtful/fierce performance from Vince Vaughn.

Lean on Pete
dir-scr Andrew Haigh; with Charlie Plummer, Steve Buscemi 17/US *****
There's an unusual depth of character to this finely crafted odyssey about a teen who hits the road in a last-gasp effort to find some semblance of hope in his life. While there's plenty of potential for bleakness, writer-director Andrew Haigh instead infuses the film with warmth and honesty, facing the darkest moments head-on as the only way to get through them. It's an extraordinarily tough story told with a light touch that brings the viewer right into the journey

Our Souls at Night
dir Ritesh Batra; with Jane Fonda, Robert Redford 17/US ***.

In addition to screening their new film,
Redford and Fonda are receiving
a special award here in Venice.

Gentle and never pushy, this homespun drama spins a love story between two people who are pushing 80. Although it might be a little unrealistic, since they're played by perhaps the fittest 79 and 81 year-olds on earth: Jane Fonda and Robert Redford. Both actors easily reignite their on-screen chemistry, adding character details that give the film a strong emotional kick. It's all a bit cozy, but it touches on some sharper-edged themes.

Tainted Souls [Il Contagio]
dir Matteo Botrugno, Daniele Coluccini; with Vinicio Marchioni, Maurizio Tesei 17/It **.
This ambitious multi-character drama takes aim at several potent issues plaguing Italian society, from organised crime and drug abuse to the machismo that leaves men too proud to get a job. But the film's tone is all over the place, veering from quirky comedy to gruelling nightmare, more like a melodramatic TV series than a feature film. And the characters feel equally uneven as they look for happiness in all the wrong places.