BFI Flare: Live it up

This is a busy week at the 40th BFI Flare with a flurry of premieres, including the world premiere of the flambuoyant British biopic Madfabulous, with much of the cast and crew in attendance. I've enjoyed watching shorts and features every day, and now we're heading into the final weekend (epic party incoming!). Here are five more highlights from the festival, and Critical Week is down below...

Madfabulous
dir Celyn Jones; with Callum Scott Howells, Ruby Stokes 26/UK ***.
An outrageous figure from the British aristocracy gets the lively biopic treatment here. Wrestling his unruly story into a movie structure weakens the momentum in the second half, but this is a superb depiction of how difficult it is to be yourself within the constrains of polite society. Director Celyn Jones creates several superb sequences, augmented by particularly magnificent costumes. And the performances have a lovely depth.

Big Girls Don't Cry
dir-scr Paloma Schneideman; with Ani Palmer, Noah Taylor 26/NZ ****
From New Zealand, this introspective drama follows a teen girl on a journey of discovery that's involving, moving and sometimes disturbing. Writer-director Paloma Schneideman evokes her perspective beautifully, complete with contradictions and misconceptions. So the film continually finds inventive ways to challenge the audience to understand the messiness of navigating a desire that doesn't fit with everything you've been taught. 

On the Sea
dir-scr Helen Walsh; with Barry Ward, Lorne MacFadyen 25/UK ****
Earthy and realistic, this understated drama set in North Wales quietly explores masculinity with characters ranging from 15 to 70. It's an observational film that gets under the skin with layers of interaction that's dryly humorous, and a central storyline about a man taking an unexpected journey into his own sexuality. Writer-director Helen Walsh has a terrific eye for complex family dynamics and deeper personal feelings.

To Dance Is to Resist
dir Julian Lautenbacher; with Jay LeReve, Vol'demar Kabus 26/Ukr ****
Spanning four years in Kyiv from Russia's February 2022 invasion right up to the present, this documentary centres on two young men who demonstrate their resilience through performance art. The film vibrates with a rave-style vibe, blending rehearsals and shows with fly-on-the wall scenes of everyday life, all under the constant threat of bombs. It's an engaging, evocative expression of personal freedom and, yes, resistance.

Mickey & Richard
dir Ryan A White, AP Pickle; with Richard Bernstein 26/US ***.
Shot in black and white with full-colour clips, this documentary tells the story of Richard Bernstein, better known as the beefy 1980s pornstar Mickey Squires. Narrated by Richard, this is a frank and openhanded walk through the life of a man who simply took advantage of everything that came along and enjoyed every moment of the ride. And filmmakers Ryan A White and AP Pickle allow his warm sense of humour to shine.

Full reviews will be linked to the SHADOWS @ BFI FLARE page.

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C R I T I C A L  W E E K

Party alert! There were three festive screenings this week that inspired special posts on my Instagram: Halle Bailey and Rege-Jean Page star in the corny but entertaining romcom You, Me & Tuscany; Zazie Beetz leads the charge in the nutty horror comedy They Will Kill You; and Riz Ahmed premiered his hilariously sharp new TV series Bait. I also caught up with Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes and Jacki Weaver as sassy nuns in the charming New Zealand road movie Holy Days, plus lots of movies at BFI Flare. There was also a live performance of Where There Is No Time at Seven Dials Theatre

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Adam Scott in Hokum, horror thriller Undertone, Laszlo Nemes' new film Orphan, and a special screening of the Marilyn Monroe/Clark Gable classic The Misfits, plus many more films at BFI Flare.

Critical Week: Up against the wall

London is gearing up for Sunday night's Baftas (aka the British Academy Film Awards), which sends awards season into its final lap before Oscar night in three weeks. I still have a few nominees to catch up with (namely documentaries), and I will be rooting for underdogs while watching the ceremony on TV on Sunday ... then congratulating them in person at the after-party. As for movies watched this past week, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die is an energetic and very scrappy sci-fi action comedy starring Sam Rockwell as a man from the future trying to recruit a team of sceptics to prevent an AI apocalypse. It's a lot of messy fun even if it doesn't quite hang together.

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Even messier is the crazy alien invasion mayhem of Jimmy and Stiggs, which was home-made by actor-filmmaker Jeff Begos. It's riotously yucky. And then there were the slick thrills of Scare Out, a spy thriller from China that has too much choppy dialog for its own good. But Jackson Yee and Zhu Yilong are terrific leads. From North Macedonia, DJ Ahmet is a wonderfully involving comedy-drama about the collision between sparky youth and old world tradition. And the gorgeously shot documentary Underland explores human fascination with travelling below Earth's surface. Speaking of underground, I also attended an immersive premiere for the second season of the Disney TV series Paradise, elaborately held in a network of caverns under Waterloo station (see below). And I was at the programme launch party for the 40th BFI Flare, a favourite festival that I have covered for 30 years.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Neve Campbell in Scream 7, the Lithuanian drama The Activist, the acclaimed one-man psychological thriller Disremember and the documentary Palestine Comedy Club. I'll also attend Netflix's big party after the Baftas on Sunday night and a special screening premiering Bridgerton Season 4 Part 2.

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Critical Week: Ladies who lunch

While many of my colleagues are in Cannes, I've been here in London catching up on lots of movies. Bigger titles included Book Club, which stars Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen as women who find new spark when they read Fifty Shades of Grey together. It's lazy but amiable enough. And then there was Deadpool 2, in which Ryan Reynolds reprises his irreverent superhero for another anarchic adventure. It's a lot better than the overrated first film, very funny but less smug and more complex.

Nicole Kidman goes enjoyably punk in John Cameron Mitchell's How to Talk to Girls at Parties, a punk sci-fi romance that's bursting with scruffy energy but struggles to maintain its oddball plot. The Sundance hit The Miseducation of Cameron Post stars Chloe Grace Moretz as a teen sent to gay therapy camp. It's strikingly realistic with terrific performances and an important theme. The American indie caper romp Carter & June is energetic but far too misogynistic for its own good. And the British indie thriller Welcome to Curiosity weaves a few plot strands together in ways that are colourful but ultimately flimsy.

There were also two films from Mexico: A Place to Be is a sensitive fact-based drama that explores immigration issues from unexpected angles, while Boy Undone is a gripping amnesia thriller with a romantic emotional core. And there were also two star-packed docs: in McKellen: Playing the Part, Ian McKellen recounts his life and career with honesty and insight, while 50 Years Legal features a range of noted figures (including McKellen of course) talking about the history of gay rights in Britain.

The big screening this coming week is, of course, Solo: A Star Wars Story. Looking forward to that. Also in the diary: Travis Mathews' drama Discreet, the street-life doc Hooked, Paul Wright's collage doc Arcadia, the film producer doc The Fabulous Alan Carr, the Mongol Derby doc All the Wild Horses and a restoration of The Beatles' animated romp Yellow Submarine.