Critical Week: Seeking a happy ending

Perhaps due to the London Film Festival, we had a glut of big-star screenings over the last week or so. London-based critics were screened Silver Linings Playbook, an edgy, crowd-pleasing rom-com with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence that's likely to scoop up serious awards attention in the coming months. We also saw Martin McDonagh's anxiously awaited second feature, Seven Psychopaths, with a fantastic ensemble cast making the most of a witty look at screenwriting and small-time criminals. The Impossible is a beautifully made drama about the 2004 tsunami starring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor - both excellent, although Watts will get the most attention.

And it doesn't stop there. Terence Stamp and Vanessa Redgrave star in the engaging and shamelessly weepy Song for Marion, Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks star in the enjoyable but awkward assembled-family drama People Like Us, and Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludvine Sagnier star in the offbeat and very creepy French drama Love Crime. Finally, we had three docs: the Rolling Stones celebrate 50 years in the business with Crossfire Hurricane, which only covers their first 20 years;  the Uganda activism doc Call Me Kuchu beautifully highlights the struggle for gay rights in a very violent place; and David Attenborough takes young children on yet another tour of an Antarctic penguin colony in the sharply photographed but unoriginal The Penguin King 3D.

THis coming week we have Philip Seymour Hoffman in A Late Quartet, the comedies For a Good Time Call and Fun Size, the British youth-culture drama Tempest and the artful doc Shock Head Soul.

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 9: At the movies

I decided to take a day off from the 56th BFI London Film Festival today - it was supposed to be a catch-up day seeing a few films I'd missed, but honestly I can't see everything! Instead I've been home writing. Not sure that was a wise choice - probably should have gone out for a bit of exercise. Anyway,  the red carpet last night featured Gemma Arterton and Terence Stamp at the Song for Marion premiere (below). And today Omar Sharif will attend the special screening of Lawrence of Arabia. There's only one day left in the festival, and the buzzy questions are (1) who will win at tonight's awards ceremony and (2) what will be tonight's surprise film? In the meantime, a few more highlights...

Seven Psychopaths
dir Martin McDonagh; with Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell 12/US ****
Both a freewheeling crime comedy and an astute exploration of the creative process, this clever film teeters on the brink of absurdity. But it's so much fun, and so brilliantly well-played, that it wins us over... REVIEW >

Song for Marion
dir Paul Andrew Williams; with Terence Stamp, Vanessa Redgrave 12/UK ***
After London to Brighton and Cherry Tree Lane, you'd never expect this kind of heartwarming drama from Williams. Maybe he's just cleansing his palate, but at least he injects some dark shadows into a predictable story, even if it feels like a geriatric episode of Glee... REVIEW >

Sightseers
dir Ben Wheatley; with Alice Lowe, Steve Oram 12/UK ****.
As with both Down Terrace and Kill List, director Wheatley playfully bends genres in this romantic-comedy road movie so we never know what might happen next. because this is also a serial killer movie, which adds a jolt of adrenaline that's both entertaining and unexpectedly engaging... REVIEW >

Lawrence of Arabia
dir David Lean; with Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness 62/UK *****
Digitally restored for its 50th anniversary, this film looks jaw-dropping on the big screen with a bright 4K digital image. Yes, this is the epic of epics, a staggeringly big movie that tells a remarkably intimate true story... 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.

LFF 7: Jumping Jack Flash

The Rolling Stones - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronny Woods - were on the red carpet tonight for the world premiere of their new film Crossfire Hurricane at the 56th BFI London Film Festival. People had started lining up by noon for a glimpse of them, as well as premiere guests like Liam Gallagher, Anita Pallenberg, Jeff Beck, Bryan Ferry and Bill Wyman. (I'll try to get a photo for tomorrow.) I had four movies today, so am feeling a bit blurry tonight. Thankfully tomorrow is my last early morning screening, and then this weekend is just catch-up time for me. Here are some more highlights...

Crossfire Hurricane
dir Brett Morgen; with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards 12/UK ***
The Rolling Stones commissioned this film for their 50th anniversary, so it's probably not surprising that it never delves too far beneath the surface. What's really surprising, though, is that it only covers the first two decades before stopping abruptly, leaving us waiting for Part 2. But until then, it's a fast-paced, entertaining trip backstage with the bad-boy band. From the 60s to the 80s, we see the Stones largely through home movies (often shot on Jagger's own camera), cavorting back stage and indulging in the rock-n-roll lifestyle, complete with plenty of sex and drugs. On stage footage is equally intimate, and there's also a collection of vintage TV interviews that show us the bandmates growing up through the years. All of this is overlaid with a recently recorded audio track that's like a DVD commentary, as the surviving musicians offer present-day observations on the events. It's certainly a lot of fun, and covers momentous events like the chaotic free concert in Altamont and Richards' life-changing heroin arrest in Canada. Plus of course the death of Brian Jones. But it never touches on their life outside the band. Perhaps that isn't the point, but it leaves the film feeling incomplete.

Hyde Park on Hudson
dir Roger Michell; with Bill Murray, Laura Linney 12/UK ***
This entertaining film takes us on a breezy journey through a pivotal point in 20th century history without any real sense of perspective. And while some of the characters seem oddly uninteresting, a couple of terrific performances make it worth a look... REVIEW >

The Reluctant Fundamentalist
dir Mira Nair; with Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson 12/US ***
Riz Ahmed stars in another complex, provocative film about terrorism, but this one isn't remotely as funny as Four Lions. No, this is a dead-serious drama that holds us gripped by its characters and situations until the story starts to sag under its own weight. And in the end, it feels oddly unsatisfying, simply because the film's structure undermines the point it's making. Ahmed plays Changez, a young Pakistani who attends Princeton in America and becomes a high-flying Wall Street analyst. But a series of events shake him, including 9/11 and subsequent harassment by police, immigration officials and security agents. Returning to Lahore, he becomes a lecturer specialising in violent uprisings. But is he a terrorist? The film frames this story as Changez narrates it to a journalist (Liev Shreiber) before a tense situation breaks out in Pakistan. But the script never quite connects the dots properly, abandoning characters along the way (such as Changez's parents) or distracting us with roles unnecessarily beefed-up for American actors (Hudson as his artist girlfriend, Keifer Sutherland as his boss). Fortunately, Ahmed is so good in the central role that his journey is both compelling and thought-provoking. But it should have been much punchier than this.

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CRITICAL WEEK: Festival schmestival. In addition to all of the movies I've seen at the LFF, I've had to keep up with all the usual movies coming out in cinemas. In the past week, London critics have had a chance to catch up with Cloud Atlas, the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer's ambitious multi-strand epic in which their cast members play six roles each. It's such a wildly huge undertaking that the high points outweigh the low ones. We saw the new James Bond movie Skyfall, which is startlingly personal, with great action and no main villainous plot; the incomprehensibly frantic Chinese 3D action epic Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, starring Jet Li; and the rather slow-paced American drama The Seminarian. I also got to see the 1954 classic Creature From the Black Lagoon in a sparkling new 3D digital projection - it looked pretty amazing, and wasn't nearly as cheesy as I remember.

Back to normal this coming week, I have screenings of Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook, Vanessa Redgrave in Song for Marion and Michelle Pfeiffer in Love Crime, plus a variety of other things I can't recall in my LFF haze.

Requisite Blog Photo: Back to school

If you're in London, be sure to visit the Art of Frankenweenie exhibition in the Southbank Centre. It's free (tickets from the BFI box office), and features several sets and figures from the film, plus other goodies like Tim Burton's artwork and production models. Plus you can have your photo taken peering into the classroom!

LFF 6: Beard vs beard

Today at the 56th BFI London Film Festival, the red carpet paved the way for filmmakers Ben Affleck (with Argo, above), Michael Winterbottom (Every Day) and Ben Lewin (The Sessions), who were accompanied by their cast members. Oddly, I read about these big gala events, but don't actually get to experience them myself, as I am sitting in press screenings all day, plus the occasional press conference when I have the time. In other words, for most journalists the LFF isn't very festive. But then we do have the films. Here are some more highlights...

Argo
dir Ben Affleck; with Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston 12/US ****
Based on an unbelievable true story, this entertaining thriller uses declassified documents to recount a news story from an angle never heard before. Both funny and thrillingly nerve-wracking, it also cements Affleck's status as an A-list director... REVIEW >

Keep the Lights On
dir Ira Sachs; with Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth 12/US ****
This gorgeously shot and edited film is an incisive exploration of two people struggling to make a relationship work over nearly a decade. Its honest perspective makes it thoroughly involving, even if it turns dreary in the final act... REVIEW >

The Sessions
dir Ben Lewin; with John Hawkes, Helen Hunt 12/US ****
Based on a true story, this quietly honest film manages to avoid sentimentality with startlingly earthy performances. And the straightforward filmmaking captures the inner life of the characters without becoming gimmicky... REVIEW >

Every Day
dir Michael Winterbottom; with Shirley Henderson, Jon Simm 12/UK ***
In the style of a fly-on-the-wall doc, this movie traces fictional events over a five-year period. And since it was actually shot over five years, it's a significant cinematic experiment. It's also moving story with very strong performances, although it's limited by the scale of the narrative as it follows a mother (Henderson) in Norfolk, coping with four precocious children on her own while her husband (Simm) serves a prison term. Over the years they learn to live without him, and enjoy being with him when they can. And that's about all there is to the film, which stirs in a few contrived events to liven things up. Without a more compelling plot, the movie is most notable for the fact that we watch the children grow up on screen in 94 minutes. Shot on grainy, hand-held video it looks like a TV doc, but Michael Nyman's surging score makes to feel more like a kitchen sink drama. It's a cool experiment, but it makes you wish more attention was paid to the story.

The Comedian
dir Tom Shkolnik; with Edward Hogg, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett 12/UK ***
This low-key improvised drama has a rather misleading title. Writer-director Shkolnik astutely explores the bleak aimlessness of his central character, drawing knowing performances from the cast. But it's so gloomy that it's difficult to connect emotionally... REVIEW >