Critical Week: Take the call

Once again, I am avoiding the chaos of the Cannes Film Festival and enjoying the much lighter screening schedule in London these days. I know I'll catch up with the best from Cannes over the coming months. And I'm abandoning London myself next week until early June. Back to the movies, we had a lively themed screening of rising-star filmmaker Curry Barker's horror thriller Obsession. It's an unusually engaging scary movie, funny and moving. And hugely unnerving too.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Orphan • Diamonds • Obsession
High Tide • The Christophers
The Wizard of the Kremlin
ALL REVIEWS >

There were also several starrier movies to watch. The comedy-drama Miss You Love You is essentially an extended conversation between Allison Janney and Andrew Rannells. But they are so good that it's riveting, beautifully written and directed by Jim Rash. Sally Field and Lewis Pullman make a terrific duo in Remarkably Bright Creatures, a heartwarming tale about being open to the world around you, centring around an octopus. Scoot McNairy and Emilia Jones are excellent as a father and daughter in the sensitive memoir Fairyland, which skilfully captures the subculture of 1970s-80s San Francisco. And from Hong Kong, We're Nothing at All is an extraordinary blend of personal drama and riveting procedural thriller, circling around a bomb explosion on a bus. I also watched a live performance of Remachine at Sadler's Wells East.

Coming up this next week, I only have one press screening due to the Cannes slump, but it's the first Star Wars movie in seven years, The Mandalorian and Grogu. I may see it twice. And of course it's the 70th Eurovision Song Contest live from Vienna on Saturday night. Another reason for so few screening is that I'm flying to California next week to visit family. I'll be sure to report back on my in-flight viewing and whatever else I get up to over there. 

Critical Week: Let it all go

I've been working very long hours on a TV crew these days, so haven't had a lot of time to keep up with film releases. So I only managed to see four movies in the past seven days! (But I am very much enjoying working on set each day.) One of the big releases this week, Speak No Evil stars Scoot McNairy and James McAvoy (above) in a hugely unsettling thriller that starts light and almost comical before twisting the suspense to nail-biting levels in the final act. And then Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield came along for a Q&A with director John Crowley for We Live in Time, a powerfully involving emotional drama that feels bracingly authentic. It's bound to get awards-season attention.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
My Old Ass • In Camera
Speak No Evil • Winner
My Favourite Cake
ALL REVIEWS >

The biopic Winner is the third movie in recent years to tell the story of the whisleblower Reality Winner, this time with a snappy comical edge. Emilia Jones is excellent in the title role, and the film properly gets under her skin. And Dead Teenagers is the third scary film in writer-director Quinn Armstrong's Fresh Hell trilogy, this time cleverly twisting the teenage summer movie into something meta and genuinely creepy.

I'll have a little more time to attend screenings this coming week, so I'm planning to see the animated adventure Transformers One, Will Ferrell's documentary Will & Harper, reform school drama Nickel Boys, British comedy-drama Portraits of Dangerous Women, New York comedy Notice to Quit and British horror Inherit the Witch, plus anything else I can find time to see. 

Sundance London: Feel the Love

The ninth Sundance Film Festival London kicked off tonight, bring a selection of top movies from the January festival to Picturehouse Central for four days of screenings and special events. Press screenings were packed into three days earlier this week, and I'm also planning to attend a couple of screenings on Sunday to watch some shorts and see what the Surprise Film turns out to be. This is always an enjoyable micro-festival, with lots of filmmakers present and a nicely relaxed atmosphere. I'll be back with daily blog entries, starting with three of my favourite films. The first won the top awards at Sundance in January.

Coda 
dir-scr Sian Heder; with Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur 21/US ****
Beautifully written and directed by Sian Heder, this enormously engaging story digs deep into its themes, challenging us to look at deafness through a new perspective. Even if the open-hearted story is familiar structurally, there's an edge to the character interaction that resonates strongly through joy, pain and a steady stream of sharp humour. This allows the strong cast to create people who resonate deeply, and perhaps even inspire us.

Censor
dir Prano Bailey-Bond; with Niamh Algar, Michael Smiley 21/UK ****
Set in the late 1980s, this horror thriller is infused with political issues of the era that are equally fresh today. It's strikingly directed by Prano Bailey-Bond in genre period style, taking a dreamy dive into the mind of the central character, who is played with thoughtful intensity by Niamh Algar. Knowingly subverting the genre, this unusually witty, challenging freak-out also has an appropriately emotional gore-filled payoff.

The Most Beautiful Boy in the World
dir-scr Kristina Lindstrom, Kristian Petri; with Bjorn Andresen, Robine Roman 21/Swe ****
Combining artful new footage with astonishing archival clips, this documentary works on various levels to explore the nature and impact of beauty. It's a profile of Bjorn Andresen, cast as the representation of beauty by iconic filmmaker Luchino Visconti in his 1971 classic Death in Venice. Half a century later, Bjorn remains haunted by this. And the film reveals him as a man making peace with some powerful ghosts... FULL REVIEW >

• For more festival information: PICTUREHOUSE: SUNDANCE
• Visit Shadows on the Wall's anchor page for SUNDANCE LONDON for links to all reviews.

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CRITICAL WEEK

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Limbo • The Sparks Brothers
The Boy Behind the Door • Ailey
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World
ALL REVIEWS >

There were also a few non-festival films this week. Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and Jack Whitehall are hugely entertaining in the Disney adventure Jungle Cruise, which might be overblown, bit it's also a lot of fun. The well-made Spanish dramatic thriller The Offering is dark and sinister, and hides its secrets too long. The beautifully assembled doc Ailey traces the life and legacy of the iconic Alvin Ailey with terrific archive footage. And I also caught up with this one on a big screen...

Nowhere Special
dir-scr Uberto Pasolini; with James Norton, Daniel Lamont 20/UK ****
Beautifully written and directed, and inspired by a powerfully emotional true story, this film follows a single dad (James Norton) seeking a home for his young son (Daniel Lamont) before cancer takes him. While the premise is wrenching, scenes are packed with buoyant life, revealing the terrific connection between a wryly funny working-class father and his wide-eyed son. Both Norton and the bright little Lamont are first-rate, avoiding sympathy to create a vivid, life-affirming exploration of the impact of mortality. Definitely worth a look.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching James Gunn's sequel/reboot The Suicide Squad, coming-of-age thriller John and the Hole, the caper thriller Playing God, the Scandi-thriller Wildland, Brazilian drama The Fever, animated adventure Moonbound.

Raindance: Express yourself

It's been an eventful weekend, with Halloween, a blue moon and the announcement that London is going back into lockdown for a month. At least we have the Raindance Film Festival to distract us, even if we're watching it on our own at home. Here are some highlights from this weekend...

Under My Skin

dir-scr David O'Donnell; with Liv Hewson, Chloe Freeman 20/Aus ****

With his feature debut, Australian filmmaker David O'Donnell uses some clever visual touches to reveal the inner life of the central character, whose various sides are played by four different actors. The film's sensitive tone is powerfully involving, and O'Donnell never takes a simple route through the material, quietly digging deeper into a provocative situation. And while it's a big topic, the story remains personal, never preachy.

Nuclear

dir Catherine Linstrum; with Emilia Jones, Sienna Guillory 19/UK ***

Dark and unnervingly intense from the opening shot, this slow-burn drama churns with emotion. Director-cowriter Catherine Linstrum ambitiously uses dreamlike elements and unusual settings to create intrigue while unpicking a dysfunctional family. Beautifully shot and performed, it's quiet and artful, although the narrative has a couple of grinding gear shifts along the way. Still, the underlying feelings have resonance that gets stronger as things gradually comes into focus.

Materna

dir David Gutnik; with Kate Lyn Sheil, Lindsay Burdge 20/US ***

This anthology tells four separate stories that converge at a pivotal event in the life of four women. It's packed with skilled depictions of the tension between independence and vulnerability, taking almost surreal routes beneath the surface. There are some clear connections between the strands, as the film explores the impact of demanding mothers on both children and society at large. These are strong stories that leave us thinking.

Madame

dir-scr Stephane Riethauser; with Caroline Della Beffa, Stephane Riethauser 19/Swi ****

Using an archive of home movies, Swiss filmmaker Stephane Reithauser takes the audience on a meaningful trip through his relationship with his larger-than-life grandmother. It's a bracingly original exploration of how gender roles force people into double lives, written as a nostalgic message to a woman who, through her unflinching honesty, encouraged him to be himself. The kaleidoscopic approach and lively characters make it both engaging and powerfully important.

NB. My anchor page for Raindance is HERE and full reviews will appear in between these daily blog entries. Much more to come...