LLGFF 2: Take a ride

In the documentary Interior. Leather Bar., directors James Franco and Travis Matthews are trying to challenge their own preconceptions by reconstructing 40 lost minutes from William Friedkin's notorious 1980 thriller Cruising. At the 27th BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, the doc was shown with a couple of similarly themed shorts, providing a rather steamy night for those in attendance. Here are some festival highlights...

Interior. Leather Bar.
dir James Franco, Travis Mathews; with Val Lauren, James Franco 13/US ****
A fascinating exploration of artistic expression on a range of levels, this documentary is just as provocative for its cast as it is for the viewer. Although it's easy to miss the point of it all if you're not paying attention. Franco and Matthews set out to recreate the 40 minutes censored from William Friedkin's shocking 1980 thriller Cruising, in which detective Al Pacino goes undercover in New York's gay fetish scene. Franco's long-time friend Lauren plays Pacino here, and his reaction is the fascinating as he grapples with the ramifications of appearing in a project that can be defined as almost-porn. He spends a lot of time on the phone to his agent and girlfriend, and discusses it at length with Franco and his fellow actors. This behind-the-scenes footage is far more informative than the slickly produced scene fragments they come up with. But the film's real value is in how it explores the line between movie-sex and porn, and between prejudice and diversity.

Facing Mirrors
dir Negar Azarbayjani; with Shayesteh Irani, Ghazal Shakeri 11/Irn *****
There's real tension in this steely, low-key Iranian drama, which outlines the moving story of two women who are struggling against the demands of their culture. Hinging on their unusual friendship, this sharply well-observed film gets deep under the skin as it traces a very difficult story to an overwhelming conclusion. The women are Rana (Shakeri), whose husband is in prison as she illicitly drives a taxi to make ends meet, and Edi (Irani), who wants to return to Germany for a sex change operation before her father marries her off. Their meeting is anything but smooth, as Rana certainly has no sympathy for Edi's situation. But both of them are transgressive in their own way, and as they begin to see things through each others' eyes, a surprising friendship develops. Officially sanctioned by the powers that be (trans-gender operations are legal in Iran), the film is impeccably written, directed and acted to draw us into a complex story with a serious punch of emotional resonance.


Jack & Diane
dir Bradley Rust Gray; with Juno Temple, Riley Keough 12/US **
Even though it's infused with moody atmosphere that captures the confusion of first love, this gimmicky romance is indulgent and infuriatingly hesitant about its plot and characters. A clever horror subtext rendered in Quay Brothers' animation helps, but it's so relentlessly low-energy that it feels like it simply won't end. The title characters are two young women played by Keough and Temple, respectively. Jack is tomboyish and quirky, Diane is sickly and quirky, and both mope everywhere they go, rarely speaking above a squeaky whisper. They're so annoying that we really don't care that Diane is about to move to Paris, certainly not because we believe they have discovered true love and don't want to be separated. Oddly, it's the fantasy animated sequences that ring truest in this mumbly, inarticulate film.


My Brother the Devil
dir-scr Sally El Hosaini; with James Floyd, Fady Elsayed 12/UK ****
Punchy and emotive, this British drama deals with intense themes in its story of two brothers caught between subcultures in northeast London. Even though it gets a bit overwrought, this is a beautifully observed film that gets us thinking... REVIEW >

LFF 10: Big finale

The 56th BFI London Film Festival came to a close tonight with the European premiere of Mike Newell's new version of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, which brought Helena Bonham Carter back out to the red carpet just a night after she and her partner Tim Burton (himself an LFF red carpet veteran from opening night) attended the glamorous festival awards presentation, where they were each awarded the BFI Fellowship. Here are all of the winners:

• Film: RUST AND BONE
• Documentary (Grierson Award): MEA MAXIMA CULPA
• First Feature (Sutherland Award): BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
• British Newcomer: Sally El Hosaini (MY BROTHER THE DEVIL)
• BFI Fellowship: Tim Burton (FRANKENWEENIE) and Helena Bonham Carter (GREAT EXPECTATIONS)

Here are my own 10 favourites from the festival:

1. RUST AND BONE
2. SIGHTSEERS
3. AMOUR
4. NO
5. OUR CHILDREN
6. KEEP THE LIGHTS ON
7. ERNEST & CELESTINE
8. ARGO
9. MY BROTHER THE DEVIL
10. BEYOND THE HILLS

Saturday also included Silver Linings Playbook as the surprise film (I'm seeing it on Tuesday) - pictured (right) at the surprise screening are David O Russell, LFF director Clare Stewart and Bradley Cooper.

And here are a few final highlights...

Great Expectations
dir Mike Newell; with Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter 12/UK ***.
Charles Dickens' oft-adapted novel is faithfully transferred to the screen barely six months after another BBC television version. And while this film is very nicely made and played, it's impossible not to wonder why they've done it again so soon... REVIEW >

Celeste & Jesse Forever
dir Lee Toland Krieger; with Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg 12/US ***.
With a snappy script and observant filmmaking, this enjoyable rom-com refuses to fit into the standard movie formula. It also offers both Jones and Samberg the chance to give much more layered performances than usual... REVIEW >

Our Children
dir Joachim Lafosse; with Emilie Dequenne, Tahar Rahim 12/Be, ****.
Based on a true story, this film paints a picture of happy but complicated domestic bliss before quietly shifting into something very unsettling. The understatement is likely to annoy some filmgoers, but it allows the cast to deliver devastating performances... REVIEW >

Ernest & Celestine
dir Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner; voices Lambert Wilson, Pauline Brunner 12/Fr ****.
Charming and adorable, but not remotely childish, this animated French adventure has a terrific sense of anarchy that will appeal to adults as much as kids. It's also a superb fable about standing up for yourself even when you challenge society's traditions... REVIEW >

LFF 8: Something completely different

There was a mini Python reunion at the 56th BFI London Film Festival as Michael Palin and Terry Jones came out for the premiere of the offbeat Graham Chapman animated bio A Liar's Autobiography. For us bleary-eyed critics, the end is finally in sight as the festival winds down on Sunday. Here are some more highlights...

A Liar's Autobiography
dir Bill Jones, Jeff Simpson, Ben Timlett; voices Graham Chapman, John Cleese 12/UK ***
Using recordings of Chapman reading the book about his life, several teams of animators have ambitiously created a kind of stream-of-consciousness 3D tribute. And his Python partners are on board as well to recreate their surreal journey to stardom. The result is wildly inventive but difficult to engage with, even if you're a fan. This is certainly not a straightforward retelling of Chapman's life story. Every element of this film is infused with the same surreal absurdity that infused Python's comedy: much of it feels like distracted sideroads, there are frequent moments that cross lines of taste and propriety, some scenes go on far too long before reaching their punchlines, and other sequences are simply sublime. This is aggressively experimental storytelling without a proper narrative; instead, what we get is a thematic, stylised sense of a man who with his friends helped change forever what we find funny.

Good Vibrations
dir Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn; with Richard Dormer, Jodie Whittaker 12/UK ***
A colourful biopic of Belfast's "godfather of punk", this 1970s romp is packed with lively characters, outrageous situations and terrific music. But while its heart is in the right place, the plot is too fragmented to really resonate with audiences who might not already know the story. Good Vibrations is the iconic record store opened in 1960s Belfast by Terri Hooley (Dormer), who despised the religious and political violence around him and just wanted music. And when he discovered punk he started a record label to promote the bands, but he never bothered about the business side of things, and was continually in danger of bankruptcy. It's a colourful film packed with entertaining details of the period, great music and larger-than-life characters. But for those unfamiliar with the real-life events, it feels chaotic and uneven, so it's not easy to keep up with. Even so, it's a warm portrait of a man who did everything for love of the music.

My Brother the Devil
dir Sally El Hosaini; with James Floyd, Fady Elsayed 12/UK ****
Punchy and emotive, this British drama deals with intense themes in its story of two brothers caught between subcultures in northeast London. Even though it gets a bit overwrought, this is a beautifully observed film that gets us thinking... REVIEW >

Shell
dir Scott Graham; with Chloe Pirrie, Joseph Mawle 12/UK ****
An impressive feature debut for writer-director Graham, this contained drama creates a vivid sense of time and space in a bleak corner of the Scottish Highlands. And with minimal dialog, he explores hugely involving characters facing their own unexpected internal crises. Shell (Pirrie) is a 17-year-old living with her father (Mawle) at an isolated petrol garage. She knows all the customers, who are perhaps a bit too friendly with her, and there's a young man (Iain De Caestecker) who wants to take her away from all of this. The film is a marvel of observation, catching the tiniest details of interaction between these people. And most impressive is the way we begin to understand Shell's confused, hopeful longings.

Sleeper's Wake
dir Barry Berk; with Lionel Newton, Deon Lotz 12/SA ***
From South Africa, this darkly unsettling drama gets under the skin with its vivid characters and creepy situations. It's often very difficult to watch, as internal problems drive people to do inexplicable things. And the filmmaking is perhaps a bit too taken with some sort of depth of meaning we can't quite access. It's about a man (Newton) grieving over the death of his wife and daughter in a car crash he feels responsible for. He heads to an isolated cabin to get away from his life, and there he meets another grieving family - the father (Lotz, who starred in Beauty) is a fiercely religious man with a hot temper, the daughter (Jay Anstey) is overtly sexual and determined to rebel against her dad however she can. As these people swirl around each other, tension rises on all kinds of levels, all mixed in with the raw beauty and danger of the nature around them. It's gorgeously shot and acted, but perhaps a bit over-directed, which leaves it feeling somewhat stagey as everything boils over.

And finally, as promised: The Rolling Stones from last night's premiere of Crossfire Hurricane - Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Mick Jagger.