Critical Week: It's party season

December is here and festive gatherings have started to pop up, a nicely warming alternative to cold, damp winter nights. I'm still catching up on movies, seeing things for various awards voting deadlines. Nominees start coming in next week. This past week's films included Daniel Levy's warm-hearted Good Grief, an uneven comedy-drama that has some strong things to say about grief (above: Himesh Patel, Levy, Jamael Westman and Ruth Negga). Pierce Brosnan loses none of his charm as a grizzled fixer in Fast Charlie, a predictable crime thriller that's surprisingly engaging.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Poor Things • Wonka
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
The Boy and the Heron
Origin • The Peasants
ALL REVIEWS >

Higher brow films included George Clooney's The Boys in the Boat, which recounts a wonderful true story in an oddly bland way. Ava DuVernay's Origin tackles a massive issue with an involving story and perhaps too much to think about. Kelly Reicherdt reunites with Michelle Williams for Showing Up, a loose but observant comedy about the art world. Juliette Binoche cooks up a storm in the French period drama The Taste of Things, which is overlong and far too mouthwatering. Trace Lysette is magnetic in Monica, a tough and moving drama about a mother and daughter. From Poland, The Peasants is an superb historical drama with a strong kick, animated using oil paintings. And I also saw three live on-stage performances: Lunar Halo at Sadler's Wells, Tossed at Royal Vauxhall Tavern and Gary Starr Performs Everything at Southwark Playhouse.

Movies this week include Jodie Comer in The End We Start From, Eva Longoria's Flamin' Hot, Michael Winterbottom's Shoshana, the Turkish drama The Teachers' Lounge and more that need catching before the next voting deadline.

LFF: Under a big sky

Yes, there was more queuing today for the journalists covering the 65th London Film Festival, but by now we're getting better at using the hours standing in the alleyways to write up film notes on our phones or get to know our fellow delegates. Today's weather was variable, with both sunshine and rainshowers. But it was worth it for the movies. Meanwhile, somewhere far from us there's an actually festival going on, with star-studded red carpets, private parties and lots of schmoozing. Or so I imagine. Here are some more highlights...

The Power of the Dog
dir-scr Jane Campion; with Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst 21/NZ ****.
Writer-director Jane Campion masterfully combines spectacular landscapes with complex internal journeys in this provocative Western set in 1925 Montana (which is beautifully played by New Zealand). A collection of characters and connections are delicately played to pull the audience into an intriguing web of desire, expectation and legacy. And while much of the big emotion is under the surface, the film still packs a vivid punch.

Passing
dir-scr Rebecca Hall; with Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga 21/US ***.
Shot in iridescent high-contrast monochrome, this brittle period drama raises some powerfully haunting themes before its more standard plot takes over. Finely written and directed by Rebecca Hall, and circling around a remarkably layered performance from Tessa Thompson, the story offers a lot to think about. This helps make the film involving even when the metaphors get a bit obvious, and when the story seems to veer off-topic.

Boiling Point
dir Philip Barantini; with Stephen Graham, Jason Flemyng 21/UK ***.
Bravura filmmaking elevates this propulsive British drama, as personal issues engulf a group of characters over one fateful evening in a busy restaurant. Unfolding in real time as a single, continuous handheld take, it remains fast and busy all the way through, and frequently gets very intense. The collision of momentous plot lines in a small space feels somewhat overwrought, but the ace cast make it gripping.

Playground
dir-scr Laura Wandel; with Maya Vanderbeque, Gunter Duret 21/Fr ****
Despite a tough theme, this film has such a bracing sense of authenticity that it can't help but deeply engage the audience even as it gets under the skin with some provocative issues. Actor-filmmaker Laura Wandel shoots it with both doc-style urgency and intimate emotionality, while eliciting powerfully complex performances from a cast of young children. It's a remarkable achievement, putting us into the perspective of a little girl.

Full reviews of festival films will be published as possible and linked at Shadows' LFF HOMEPAGE 
For full information, visit BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL