LFF 2011: That's a wrap

And so the London Film Festival comes to an end for another year, leaving my October (and much of September as well) a blur of film screenings. I saw 65 films at this year's festival, which is about normal for me. Sadly, this is the last of nine LFFs organised by artistic director Sandra Hebron (pictured above with Jude Law on opening night). Over her tenure, she has hugely expanded the scope and profile of the festival, and she'll be missed. Here are a few more films, plus my favourites and the award winners...

Play
dir Ruben Ostlund; with Sebastian Hegmar, John Ortiz 11/Swe **** 
This bold, ambitious Swedish drama explores some potent issues in any melting-pot society without ever overstating them. And with its striking visual style, it leaves us deeply haunted by the issues it explores in a very personal way. It centres on a clash between two groups of young teens, as five black boys target three white boys to steal their mobile phones. But it's much more complex than that, as they talk and interact, travelling out of the city for a strange series of confrontations. Filmmaker Ostlund is exploring the whole culture of bullying, while making an intriguing comment on the nature of a melting-pot society. Cleverly shot in long takes from askance angles, it's not an easy film to watch, but it really gets under the skin.

Without 
dir Mark Jackson; with Joslyn Jensen, Ron Carrier 11/US ***
For a low-budget, meandering American indie movie, this film actually has a lot more going on than most of them. Sure, the plot feels aimless and rather uninvolving, but the filmmaking is especially sharp, and there's a lot going on beneath the surface. It also features a terrific central performance from Jensen, as a young woman housesitting a disabled man (Carrier) in an isolated island home. But it's her internal journey that becomes the focus, even though most of it happens in subtext. She's recovering from a relationship that we later learn took an unexpected turn. Her experience is haunting and creepy and also blackly funny. And in the end we're surprised at how much we care about her.

King Curling
dir Ole Endresen; with Atle Antonsen, Linn Skaber 11/Nor ****
With garish production design and bone-dry wit, this raucously entertaining film finds comedy in a story about mental illness, terminal disease and the sport of curling. Only in Norway. It centres on the obsessive-compulsive curling star Truls (Antonsen), who is released from a mental facility after 10 years and brashly decides to reform the old team. But this puts him back on a collision course both with the judges and his arch-rival (Kae Conradi). The film is designed with bright colours and hilarious costumes, and the character interaction sometimes feels very cartoonish. But it's very funny and surprisingly involving as the big final competition approaches.

My top 10 films of the fest...

1. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (Ramsay, UK)
2. THE ARTIST (Hazanavicius, Fr)
3. WEEKEND (Haigh, UK)
4. SHAME (McQueen, UK)
5. THIS IS NOT A FILM (Panahi/Mirtahmasb, Irn)
6. WILD BILL (Fletcher, UK)
7. ALPS (Lanthimos, Gr)
8. BEAUTY (Hermanus, SA)
9. DREAMS OF A LIFE (Morley, UK)
10. SHE MONKEYS (Aschan, Swe)

Honourable mention: INTO THE ABYSS (Herzog, US), THE DESCENDANTS (Payne, US), THE KID WITH A BIKE (Dardenne/Dardenne, Bel), CARNAGE (Polanski, Fr) and SNOWTOWN (Kurzel, Aus).

And the festival awards go to...

• Best Film: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
• Best Doc (Grierson Award): INTO THE ABYSS
• Best First Feature (Sutherland Award): LAS ACACIAS
• British Newcomer: Candese Reid (JUNKHEARTS)
• BFI Fellowship: Ralph Fiennes (CORIOLANUS) and David Cronenberg (A DANGEROUS METHOD)

LFF Day 16: Men in skirts

Tom Hiddleston and Terence Davies led the charge on closing night at the London Film Festival with the red carpet premiere of their film The Deep Blue Sea, starring Rachel Weisz, who of course also starred in the opening night film. I'll have a wrap-up tomorrow, but here are some more highlights...

The Deep Blue Sea
dir Terence Davies; with Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston 11/UK ****
Based on the 1952 Terence Rattigan play, this exquisitely made British drama moves at its own slow pace, pitting repressed emotions against reckless passion. It's also rather gloomy and downbeat, almost reluctant to let us see glimmers of hope in the story... FULL REVIEW >

This Must Be the Place
dir Paolo Sorrentino; with Sean Penn, Frances McDormand 11/Ire ***
Italian filmmaker Sorrentino creates a Jim Jarmusch-style odyssey from Ireland to America and back. Witty filmmaking and Penn's quirky performance keep it watchable, even though the story and themes are vague and elusive... FULL REVIEW >

We Have a Pope
dir Nanni Moretti; with Michel Piccoli, Jerzy Stuhr 11/It ***
Cleverly filmed to look like the real thing, this papal drama is infused with such a lively sense of humour that we often start it think it's a comedy. So when something serious happens, it feels a bit jarring. And in the end, unsatisfying. When the Pope dies, the cardinals meet to select his successor, but when the decision is made, the new Pope (Piccoli) has a crisis of conscience. Until he sorts this out, the cardinals must remain sequestered in the Vatican. And so must a shrink (played by director Moretti) brought in to help the new Holy Father, who meanwhile takes a secret pilgrimage into the streets of Rome. The film is a rather odd mix of slapstick (as if anything the priests do is funny) and religious exploration. And the two don't blend very easily, leaving the film feeling a bit fragmented and ultimately unconvincing. While the film is often very entertaining and engaging, it's ultimately a bit frustrating.

Footnote 
dir-scr Joseph Cedar; with Lior Ashkenazi, Shlomo Bar-Aba 11/Isr **** 
Essentially a father-son drama, this extremely clever Israeli film expands to explore huge issues from religion to politics with a strikingly ethical slant. It also maintains a comical tone even when things get very serious indeed. It centres on a Talmud expert (Ashkenazu) who can't quite cope with the fact that his father (Bar-Aba) has never been acknowledged for his contributions to the field. So when Dad wins the prestigious Israel Prize, the son couldn't be prouder. Until he finds out that there was an error and actually he won it, not his father. Personal vendettas, long histories and some ongoing feuds feed into the events that follow. And filmmaker Cedar injects the film with more humour than theological pondering. The result is a smart, involving film that keeps us on our toes.

LFF Day 15: Starry night

Tuesday night was one of the starriest of the London Film Festival, with the casts of films like Anonymous and Hunky Dory parading through Leicester Square for crowds of adoring fans. Meanwhile, most critics were on the other side of the square, avoiding the red carpet insanity for the UK press screening of the 3D Greek god romp Immortals. Here are

Anonymous
dir Roland Emmerich; with Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave 11/UK **
Based on the long-mooted Oxfordian theory about the true authorship of Shakespeare's plays and poems, this film undermines its own point by over-egging the story. An over-complicated script and arch performances don't help the case... FULL REVIEW >

Hunky Dory
dir Marc Evans; with Minnie Driver, Aneurin Barnard 11/UK ***
With a lively recreation of the 1970s in South Wales, this relatively standard nostalgic teen drama holds our interest through its colourful settings and characters. Although without a clear central character, the film feels rather diffuse. It's set at a Swansea school, where unorthodox drama teacher Viv (Driver) is mounting a rock-infused version of The Tempest. But of course, this causes problems with the school board and the community. Meanwhile, various students are having coming-of-age issues involving romance, sexuality and hanging with the wrong crowd. But all of them are hugely talented singers, which kind of makes the film feel like a groovy, soulful version of Glee. It's also very colourful, catching the period with style and energy. And the characters are all engaging. But the film doesn't have a central point of view, jumping from plot to plot and leaving each strand somewhat undercooked.

The Dish and the Spoon

dir Alison Bagnall; with Greta Gerwig, Olly Alexander 11/US **
With its deliberately quirky characters and meandering, seemingly random series of events, this mumblecore movie is enjoyably ramshackle, constantly catching us off guard with moments of spiky humour or warm emotion. But it's also infuriatingly vague about everything, from the plot to the characters' names... FULL REVIEW >

Target
dir Alexander Zeldovich; with Maksim Sukhanov, Justine Waddell 11/Rus ****
This astonishing 2.5-hour long Russian epic takes us into the near future with glassy-eyed production values that are reminiscent of vintage TV shows like UFO and The Avengers. In fact, Waddell often looks rather a lot like Diana Rigg as she prowls through this story. She plays the wife of a government official (Sukhanov) who joins a group that travels to an isolated valley, where a disused scientific station has been shown to permanently stop ageing. But the five characters who have this experience all find their lives drastically changed by the experience, mainly because of their own reactions to their newfound immortality. The film is both gorgeous to look at and so packed with unsettling themes that it's deeply haunting in all the right ways. It's also vague enough to please arthouse film fans and probably alienating everyone else.

In non-festival screenings, I've caught up with the muscled Greek god romp Immortals, Daniel Craig's muddled Dream House, Annette Bening's moving Mother and Child, Marcia Gay Harden's intriguing If I Were You and Wayne Wang's girly Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Still to come: Justin Timberlake's In Time, Johnny Depp's The Rum Diary, the remake/prequel The Thing and the sequel The Human Centipede 2. Not to mention lots and lots of writing to catch up after the festival. And some sleep too.

LFF Day 14: Danger!

Michael Fassbender was back at the London Film Festival yesterday to promote his second film here, A Dangerous Method, costarring Viggo Mortensen and Keira Knightley and directed by David Cronenberg. This made for a lively press conference, as well as a paparazzi-friendly red carpet later in Leicester Square. Amid the general exhaustion on the faces of film journalists here, there's finally a sense that the festival is coming to an end in a couple of days and we'll be able to sleep - Freudian dream alert! - again. Here are some more notes on festival films...

A Dangerous Method
dir David Cronenberg; with Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley 11/Ger ****
Cronenberg's brainy approach makes this film fascinating but demanding as it traces the birth of psychoanalysis through the relationship and rivalry between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. The film radiates intelligence through clever direction and strong performances... FULL REVIEW >

Bernie
dir Richard Linklater; with Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine 11/US ****
Jack Black delivers one of his strongest performances in this rather outrageous true story from East Texas, which Linklater tells with a witty blend of comedy, drama and documentary. It's played dead straight, but it's consistently hilarious... FULL REVIEW >

The Monk
dir Dominik Moll; with Vincent Cassel, Deborah Francois 11/Sp ***
This 16th century freak-out is ravishingly beautiful to look at. but it's also turgid and relentlessly grim. So what's essentially a dark supernatural thriller will only really appeal to arthouse audiences. Based on the 18th century novel by Matthew Lewis, it's the gothic saga of a priest (Cassel) who was raised from infancy by monks. Now a celebrated preacher, he begins to have increasingly dark encounters with the supernatural through dreams, visions and a stranger who offers him demonic powers. This is a seriously bleak story that's clearly not heading for a happy ending, but it's so gorgeously designed and shot by Moll that we can't look away. And Cassel's performance is deeply haunting.

Dreams of a Life
dir Carol Morley; with Zawe Ashton, Alix Luka-Cain 11/UK ****
This beautifully assembled exploration of the life of a Londoner is hauntingly, desperately sad as it reveals a person living in such isolation that she could simply fall through the cracks. And while the filmmaking is skilful and powerfully moving, it does feel a bit more lit a TV doc than a feature film. That said, the story is astonishingly gripping: it's the 2006 case of Joyce Vincent, who was found dead in her North London flat with her TV on, after being undiscovered for three years. There was no foul play, and the film is a potent mix of re-enactions and interview with her friends, who talk about her as the life of the party. But she also had a dark side, and drifted out of their lives to the point where no one ever asked where she had gone. The film may feel a bit padded out, but it's utterly riveting, and hugely moving.

Dreileben
1. Beats Being Dead: dir Christian Petzold; with Jacob Matschenz, Luna Zimic Mijovic 11/Ger ***
2. Don't Follow Me: dir Dominik Graf; with Jeanette Hain, Susanne Wolff 11/Ger ****
3. One Minute of Darkness: dir Christoph Hochhausler; with Stefan Kurt, Eberhard Kirchberg 11/Ger ****
This trilogy tells three distinct stories that take place in the same time and place and overlap at various points. And in the final film, we also a more over-arching drama emerges from the shadows of the first two films. All three are extremely well shot and edited, packed with insinuation and clever touches in the styles of their respective directors. The three films stand alone as a twisty romance, friendship drama and dark thriller, respectively. And they also have some strongly echoing themes about human fragility and the way our private obsessions have a potent impact on the people around us. You also get the feeling that these aren't the only three stories you could tell from this setting.

LFF Day 13: The dark side

One of the overwhelming feelings from this year's London Film Festival is that the world isn't a very nice place. Sure, there have been a few moments of joyous relief (The Artist has been the bright point), but most films are grappling with very dark themes or genres. Here are notes on just five of them....

The Awakening
dir Nick Murphy; with Rebecca Hall, Dominic West 11/UK ***
A nifty twist on the standard ghost story, this British period drama starts extremely well and then slips into overwrought melodrama. And while the plot feels a little too gimmicky, at least it's complex enough to hold our interest... FULL REVIEW >

Martha Marcy May Marlene
dir Sean Durkin; with Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson 11/US ****
With a disturbing tone and skilful filmmaking, this insinuating drama completely unsettles us as it delves into the mental life of its central character. And it has a lot to say about how relationships affect us... FULL REVIEW >

Hors Satan
dir Bruno Dumont; with David Dewaele, Alexandra Lematre 11/Fr ****
Ever the provocateur, Dumont fills this story with religious iconography, blurring the lines between Jesus and the devil. It's about the thin line between good and evil, suggesting that positive actions must sometimes involve violence. And the filmmaking is both bold and elusive as it follows a drifter (Dewaele) along the French coastline as he has a supernatural impact on the villagers. Virtually dialog-free, the film is packed with eerie scenes that echo Biblical stories, from healing the sick to walking on water to exorcising a demon, so watching it is thoroughly unsettling. And while Dumont's central point is a little hard to find, it's rare that any filmmaker deals with religious themes. Especially one who knows how to push our buttons.

Beauty
dir Oliver Hermanus; with Deon Lotz, Charlie Keegan 11/SA ****
An intensely personal filmmaking style takes us deep into this darkly involving drama about a man who simply doesn't have the skills to deal with his inner desires. Watching it is a remarkably challenging, involving experience. It centres on a middle-aged man (Lotz) who is married with two grown daughters and a very dark secret: he's actually gay but can never come out in his rural society. This repression has left him unable to cope with his own urges, which makes his growing obsession with a young family friend (Keegan) increasingly worrying. But what makes the film so riveting is the way writer-director Hermanus tells this story in such an intimate way: we are right inside this man's mind all the way through, understanding his thoughts and actions. And the subtle skill in the way it's shot, edited and acted is simply astounding.

Into the Abyss
dir Werner Herzog; with with Michael Perry, Jason Burkett 11/Ger ****
Herzog departs sharply from the quirky tone of his recent documentaries to offer a startlingly astute and sensitive exploration of a horrific murder case. And more generally, he's also looking at the issue of America's death penalty. The case is genuinely disturbing, especially as Herzog talks to policemen, townsfolk, the victims' families and the killers themselves (Perry and Burkett), one of whom is awaiting his execution. What emerges are details that thoroughly disarm our expectations, quietly observing facts and emotions that challenge ideas of an-eye-for-an-eye justice. It's one of those films that gets deeply under your skin, and without ever preaching makes you examine your prejudices an probably change the way you think.

LFF Day 12: Royal performance

At the UK premiere of her film W.E. at the London Film Festival, Madonna is flanked by actors Richard Coyle, James D'Arcy, Andrea Riseborough, Laurence Fox and Katie McGrath. It was quite possibly the starriest night of the festival, and Madonna received a warm welcome from the audience as she introduced her film and then gave a long, candid Q&A after with the festival's artistic director Sandra Hebron. It was great to be there - probably my only gala event this year. Here are some comments on the film, as well as a few other highlights...

W.E.
dir Madonna; with Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough 11/UK ***

Madonna takes an ambitious approach to the story of Wallis Simpson (Riseborough) and King Edward VIII (James D'Arcy), merging their history-making romance with the story of another Wallis (Cornish) in modern-day New York. Frankly, it's all a bit overwrought as it parallels the two stories and even merges them surreally several times along the way. The swings in mood are vast, from cheeky comedy to wrenching violence to political intrigue to sweet romance. And while the performances are good, only Cornish really connects with the audience. That said, the film's sheer ambition makes it worth seeing, as it is packed with terrific scenes that stand on their own. And it's also rather nice to see a big historical story like this seen from a woman's viewpoint, which brings out some issues most filmmakers are happy to pretend don't exist. So even if it's a bit of a mess, it still has relevance and resonance.

Take Shelter
dir Jeff Nichols; with Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain 11/US ****
Shannon reteams with Shotgun Stories writer-director Nichols for another exploration of one man's wobbling mental state. But this time the story is much more introspective, and watching it is thoroughly unnerving... FULL REVIEW >

Wild Bill
dir Dexter Fletcher; with Charlie Creed-Miles, Will Poulter 11/UK *****
British actor Fletcher makes a terrific directing debut with this sharply told story of a family struggling to survive in a bleak environment. But this film is so full of hope that it thoroughly engages our emotions even when things get scary... FULL REVIEW >

The Future
dir Miranda July; with Miranda July, Hamish Linklater 11/US ***
While this film is a bit too precious and offbeat, it also makes some striking observations on the nature of relationships and the fears we have about moving ahead into the unknown. And the engaging cast keeps us involved... FULL REVIEW >

LFF Day 11: Tess goes east

Freida Pinto and Michael Winterbottom turned up at the London Film Festival today with Trishna, their India-set version of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Meanwhile, Andrea Arnold was also on hand with most of the cast for her new film version of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Also in town today: Bruno Dumont (Hors Satan), Robbie Pickering (Natural Selection), Nirpal Bhogal (Sket) and Ole Endresen (King Curling). Here are comments on five of today's highlights...

Trishna
dir Michael Winterbottom; with Freida Pinto, Riz Ahmed 11/Ind ***
With this darkly edgy romance, Winterbottom adapts his third Thomas Hardy novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and sets the action in India. It's colourful and dramatic, but lacks the passion the story requires to grab our emotions... FULL REVIEW >

Wuthering Heights
dir Andrea Arnold; with Kaya Scodelario, James Howson 11/UK ****
Emily Bronte's novel is one of the most unsettling books you'll ever read, so it's about time a filmmaker made a darkly disturbing movie out of it. And Arnold's movie is like no other period adaptation we've ever seen: gritty, messy and thoroughly involving... FULL REVIEW >

The Ides of March
dir George Clooney; with Ryan Gosling, George Clooney 11/US ****
As a writer-director, Clooney delivers another complex exploration of American politics in this lively drama about the pressures of the campaign trail. The plot is somewhat theatrical, but the stellar cast brings it to life... FULL REVIEW >

Natural Selection
dir Robbie Pickering; with Rachael Harris, Matt O'Leary 11/US ****
A skilful mixture of comedy and drama makes this the kind of film that keeps us off balance from start to finish. Like the central character, we are challenged by every twist and turn of the plot. Which also means that it's hugely involving... FULL REVIEW >

Headhunters
dir Morten Tyldum; with Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau 11/Nor ****
Based on Jo Nesbo's bestselling novel, this freewheeling action-thriller is hugely entertaining because, besides being unpredictable and suspenseful, it's also relentlessly hilarious. But in fine Scandinavian style, it's played dead straight. It centres on the fast-talking job recruiter Roger (Hennie) who has a secret business in art theft to support his leggy blonde wife (Synnove Macody Lund), whom he knows is way out of his league. But one particularly tempting job results in him being hunted by a high-tech killer and the cops who now think that he's a vicious killer. The story propels Roger at full-speed through a series of outrageous situations that are amusingly deadpan while being genuinely scary at the same time. There's not much to the film, but it's so much fun, and the hero is so easy to identify with, that we can't help but be hugely entertained.