LFF 2: Nose to nose

A couple more days down in the 56th BFI London Film Festival and sleep-deprivation has already set in. On Friday, I was in cinemas from 9am to 10pm - and three of the films I saw were 2.5 hours long. That's excessive even for a film junkie like me. It's turned quite cold in London, but the rain has held off for the most part, which helps of course with all the red carpet premieres. Stars on hand over the past couple of days have included Quvenzhane Wallis (below, attending with her film Beasts of the Southern Wild); Marion Cotillard (Rust & Bone); Gillian Anderson, Martin Compston and Lea Seydoux (Sister); Jason Biggs (Grassroots); Mads Mikkelsen (Teddy Bear), Elle Fanning (Ginger & Rosa); and Melvil Poupaud and Suzanne Clement (Laurence Anyways). Here are some film highlights...

Robot & Frank
dir Jake Schreier; with Frank Langella, Peter Sarsgaard 12/US ***.
A warm tone masks the sharp edges of this film's script. It feels like a heartwarming story about an old man and his mechanical sidekick, but is actually about much more than that. It's often also very funny as it follows feisty retired cat burglar Frank struggling to get used to the robot his son (James Marsden) bought to help take care of him. But as he gets used to the idea, Frank starts teaching the robot his old trade, which sparks his imagine that maybe he can get back in the game as well as perhaps woo the local librarian (Susan Sarandon). The gentle pace understates the comedy and makes it feel a little light and goofy. But it's also engaging and entertaining, and reminds us that getting old doesn't mean giving up on life.

Beasts of the Southern Wild
dir Benh Zeitlin; with Quvenzhane Wallis, Dwight Henry 12/US ****
With a soaringly introspective style, this eerily dreamlike film is anchored on a thunderous performance from 6-year-old Wallis. Her tight perspective gives themes of inter-connectedness and perspective a startlingly childlike honesty... REVIEW >

Grassroots
dir Stephen Gyllenhaal; with Jason Biggs, Joel David Moore 12/US ***
Based on a true story, this film captures a real sense of underlying anger on the streets of America, as it traces how one offbeat campaign tapped into this passion. The characters are sharply drawn and well-played by a sparky cast, even if it feels a little too tidy in the end. It's set in 2001 Seattle, as Phil (Biggs) helps his rather nutty friend Grant (Moore) run for office against a long-time incumbent (Cedric the Entertainer). Their counter-culture campaign actually takes hold, and as election day approaches, things twist and turn - especially in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The film has a scruffy energy to it that holds out interest, and the actors are superb (including a nice supporting role for Lauren Ambrose). But the film kind of skirts around politics, never having the courage to nail its flag to the wall. So it's a good thing that, like Grant, the film has its heart in the right place. And that it's chaotic charm wins us over.

Ginger & Rosa
dir Sally Potter; with Elle Fanning, Alice Englert 12/UK **.
Set in 1962, this intensely personal drama captures the hysterical mood swings of youth in some surprising ways. But the fragmented structure makes it difficult to engage with, especially as the characters descend into dark melodrama... REVIEW >

Laurence Anyways
dir Xavier Dolan; with Melvil Poupaud, Suzanne Clement 12/Can ***.
With each feature, 23-year-old Dolan gets more ambitious. This third time out, the unusually gifted filmmaker pushes things just over the edge into self-parody, but still tells a powerfully provocative story with a strong emotional undercurrent... REVIEW >

Sister
dir Ursula Meier; with Kacey Mottet Klein, Lea Seydoux 12/Swi ****
This riveting, low-key drama has all kinds of dark corners but never feels bleak due to its honest approach to characters who are just trying to do the best they can. And as we get more involved in their life, the film becomes quietly moving... REVIEW >

Critical Week: Where'd the time go?

Time travel movies always do your head in a bit, although Rian Johnson's Looper isn't as impenetrable as some. No, my problem this past week was recovering from the full-on Paralympics schedule I kept up over the previous two weeks. But I'm starting to feel a bit more normal now, just as meetings are kicking in to organise the Critics' Circle Film Awards in January! Clearly there's no rest for me in the near future.

Anyway, back to Looper, which was screened last week to UK critics: we're embargoed from saying much about the film, which stars Joe Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis as the same hitman character meeting up in a time loop. So what can I write about. We also saw Woody Allen's latest Euro-pudding, To Rome With Love, which is very fluffy but still worth a look. Oliver Stone's Savages is a return to Natural Born Killers nastiness without the bite, mainly due to a pretty dire script that even a terrific cast can't rescue. And it gets worse: Sam Riley and Garret Dillahunt star in Walter Salles' take on the Jack Kerouac novel On the Road, which simply doesn't hold together at all, despite gorgeous production values.

The nicest surprise of the week was British comedy sequel Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger, of which I didn't expect much. It starts in the same annoying vein as its predecessor, but wins us over with an infusion of Christmas spirit that worked on me even on a sunny September morning. Two other independent films held my interest even though they're both flawed: Sally Potter's drama Ginger & Rosa is a dark coming-of-age drama starring Elle Fanning and newcomer Alice Englert. While Jason Biggs is superb in the lively grassroots politics comedy titled, erm, Grassroots.

This coming week is even busier, screening-wise, with Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson in the comedy Pitch Perfect, Olivia Munn and Paul Schneider in The Babymakers, the British action thriller Tower Block, the Swedish political comedy Four More Years and the Queen documentary Hungarian Rhapsody, plus a chance to revisit Raiders of the Lost Ark on the Imax screen.