LFF: Find your family

As the London Film Festival continues, I enjoyed attending one of the live virtual screenings last night, at which the filmmaker and lead actor of Days (see below) offered an engaging Q&A. Otherwise, it's been more about watching one movie after another on my computer, without much sense that a festival is happening. But there have been some great films already, and we're only three days in. Here are four more highlights - full reviews will be up this weekend...

Herself

dir Phyllida Lloyd; with Clare Dunne, Harriet Walter 20/Ire ***.

Intensely personal, this Irish drama quickly gets under the skin as it centres on a woman who has been a victim of horrific domestic violence finds an inventive solution to her precarious situation. It's an intriguing mix of the happy and bittersweet, plus a few downright awful moments, beautifully directed by Phyllida Lloyd to catch internal feelings and earthy realism. And actor-cowriter Clare Dunne is terrific in the central role.

Relic

dir Natalie Erika James; with Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin 20/Aus ***.

Overloading the creepy atmosphere from the start, filmmaker Natalie Erika James unnerves the audience with the usual cinematic freakery. Although the film's murky imagery and achingly slow pace may challenge some viewers, it immediately becomes clear that there's something more profound going on here, as decay in the family house has a bigger metaphorical meaning. This may be somewhat obvious, but it plays out with a beautiful darkness.

180º Rule

dir-scr Farnoosh Samadi; with Sahar Dolatshahi, Pejman Jamshidi 20/Irn ***.

This drama vividly highlights the lack of power women have in Iranian culture. It's a gripping story, beautifully well-told to explore the issues without preaching, even though it's precisely clear what is so drastically wrong. With her first feature, writer-director Farnoosh Samadi skilfully explores a situation in which a seemingly easy decision becomes bleakly momentous. It's somewhat melodramatic in its approach, but the film carries a strong wallop.

Days

dir-scr Tsai Ming-liang; with Lee Kang-sheng, Anong Houngheuangsy 20/Tai ****

Opening with long static shots of a man staring at the rain and sleeping in a bath, there's a sense that veteran filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang is indulging in cinematic imagery, with movement only in the faintest ripples. This style continues throughout this essentially wordless film, but both movement and a narrative emerge from the stillness. This is a gloriously filmed meditation on human connection, but it does demand patience.

NB. My anchor page for the LFF is HERE and full reviews will appear in between these daily blog entries. That's the plan anyway.

Critical Week: Don't panic

It's been one of my most eclectic weeks of the year as far as screenings go. And actually, most of these films were watched at home on screening links. The biggest film was the comedy romp Rough Night, starring Scarlett Johansson as a woman on her hen night with a group of friends, having a Hangover-style adventure. It's sharp and nutty and not remotely original. And then there was this year's sequel Sharknado 5: Global Swarming, another cameo-packed barrage of inane action led by Ian Ziering and Tara Reid. Surprisingly, a new screenwriter has breathed some wit into this idiotic franchise.

More highbrow fare included Sally Potter's stylised The Party, a jagged black comedy with political edges and scene-stealing performances from Kristin Scott Thomas and Patricia Clarkson. Moon Dogs is a smart and endearing Scottish road movie about three misfits travelling from Shetland to Glasgow for darkly resonant reasons. Alex Barrett's London Symphony is an exquisite ode to the city with original music and black and white footage beautifully assembled to catch detail rather than the obvious sites. And The Daydreamer's Notebook is a moody collection of short films by Michael Saul, all of which centre rather pretentiously on light filtering through trees, but there's also a superb sense of nostalgia running through them.

Coming up this week, I'll be seeing Tom Cruise in American Made, Channing Tatum and Adam Driver in Logan Lucky, Glenn Close and Patrick Stewart in The Wilde Wedding, Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen in Wind River and the body-swap comedy Unleashed.