LFF 6: Charm the fans

More glamour on the red carpet last night at the 59th BFI London Film Festival, with the premiere of Black Mass, attended by filmmaker Scott Cooper and actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Depp - who got the crowds cheering. On the red carpet tonight: Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen for Brooklyn; top filmmakers Hirokazu Kore-eda and Hany Abu-Assad; and writer-director Robert Eggers and his entire cast from The Witch. A few more highlights...

Brooklyn
dir John Crowley; with Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson 15/Ire ***.
Constantly surging emotions become a little overwhelming very soon after this film opens, never letting up until the very end. Most of this is genuinely resonant, thanks to a sensitive script and transparent performances from the entire cast. But even a slight hint of loose energy wouldn't have gone amiss, and might have helped balance the romantic suds with earthy realism.

From Afar [Desde Allá]
dir Lorenzo Vigas; with Alfredo Castro, Luis Silva 15/Ven ****
Twisty and unexpected, this Venezuelan drama stars acclaimed Chilean actor Alfredo Castro as a lonely man who strikes up a tentative relationship with a young street thug. It's a remarkably involving film, because the characters have so many sides that they lead the audience on a quest for understanding. Equally impressive is how first-time filmmaker Lorenzo Vigas never sensationalises the subject matter.

The Witch 
dir Robert Eggers; with Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson ****
Taking elements from historical accounts that would go on to become classic fairy tales, filmmaker Eggers creates a period movie that plays on our culture's deepest fears. It's also a strikingly well-made horror film, offering eerily realistic settings that are filled with character subtlety, unnerving details and plenty of big jolts. Although genre fans might find its arthouse pacing a bit dull.

My Skinny Sister [Min Lilla Syster]
dir Sanna Lenken; with Rebecka Josephson, Amy Deasismont 15/Swe ***.
Essentially an issue movie, this Swedish drama is effective because it sticks closely to an unusual perspective, drawing out resonant themes in a variety of relationships. The topic is eating disorders, and seeing it through a little sister's  gradually dawning understanding adds unusual angles to the film. Which makes it more involving than expected.

LFF 5: Enjoy the high-life

Sienna Miller, Tom Hiddleston and Elisabeth Moss were on the red carpet last night at the London Film Festival for the opening of their new film High-Rise. Yes, the parade of filmmakers and stars continues at a fairly brisk clip. As always at the LFF, there are two events going on here: a festive party for VIPs and an intensive film season for everyone else, including the press. This is my 18th year covering the festival, and I have still never been invited to an official LFF party. For me it's about the films, and here are some more highlights...

Room
dir Lenny Abrahamson; with Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay 15/Ire *****
With goosebump-inducing skill, Lenny Abrahamson and novelist-turned-screenwriter Emma Donoghue dig deep beneath a notorious global headline. In the process they tell a story that actually changes the way we see the news. And the use of a young child's perspective gives it undeniable power, especially since every scene is so inventively directed and played


Black Mass
dir Scott Cooper; with Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton 15/US ***
Gritty and muscular, this is the true story of James "Whitey" Bulger played as a rather standard FBI/mob thriller. It's sharply well-made, capturing a strong sense of the period, but nothing about the film sets it apart from the pack. Without an original angle, it feels like the same story of criminal ambition, betrayal and violence that we've seen countless times before... MORE >

Queen of Earth
dir Alex Ross Perry; with Elisabeth Moss, Katherine Waterston 15/US ****
After Listen Up Philip, Perry continues his wilfully arty approach to filmmaking with this florid drama how lifelong friendships flip and slip. Using complex editing and sound, plus a B-movie vibe that indulges in lingering emotive closeups, this observant, expressive film cleverly mixes raw feelings with brittle black humour... MORE >

The Assassin 
dir Hou Hsiao-Hsien; with Qi Shu, Chen Chang 15/Chn **.
Exquisitely crafted, this film features sumptuous cinematography, costumes and settings. So it's very frustrating that the story is so poorly told. While the basic outline of the plot becomes clear eventually, there's virtually no development to the characters, while the connections between them remain maddeningly vague. And the talky dialog is simply impenetrable, never conveying much meaning about the culture or situation.

Listen to Me Marlon
dir Stevan Riley; with Marlon Brando, Stella Adler 15/UK **** 
Expertly edited together from archival footage and never-released private material, this documentary offers a startlingly intimate look into the mind of an iconic actor. Marlon Brando reveals himself to be a fascinating character full of wit, passion and artistic insight. And defiantly unlike his public image.

Live From New York! 
dir Bao Nguyen; with Lorne Michaels, Chevy Chase 15/US ***.
This documentary explores a show that has reflected and influenced American culture for more 40 years. The film takes a serious look at an iconically hilarious programme that's well-known for its political parody and brightly talented cast. It's a surprisingly balanced, in-depth documentary, although it's likely that only fans of the show will enjoy it.

LFF 4: Strike a pose

The 59th London Film Festival forges ahead with more red carpet mania (that's Bryan Cranston, Helen Mirren and John Goodman out last night, for Trumbo). It's only Day 4 and I'm already suffering from burn-out, so tonight I'm taking a break and heading to the theatre! That should help me face the coming eight days, even with those nasty 8.45am press screenings. Thankfully the films have been good enough to (mostly) keep me awake. More highlights...

Bone Tomahawk 
dir S Craig Zahler; with Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson 15/US ***.
A fresh take on the Western genre, this film combines dark drama with snappy wit and grisly horror to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. So while it's riveting and unpredictable, with strikingly bold performances from the entire cast, it's also vaguely ridiculous in its grotesque exaggeration of frontier fears about Native Americans.

The Program
dir Stephen Frears; with Ben Foster, Chris O'Dowd 15/UK ***. 
With a quick pace and steely tone, this drama traces Lance Armstrong's career in a strikingly lucid way. Never simplistic, it sees the events through the cyclist's own perspective, acknowledging the moral issues while carefully exploring why a sportsman would cheat his way to success. Anchored by a bracing performance from Foster, this is also one of the edgiest movies in Frears' eclectic filmography

Couple in a Hole 
dir Tom Geens; with Paul Higgins, Kate Dickie 15/UK **. 
Like something from the Greek new wave, this film takes a surreal look at fundamental human emotions through a premise that feels both fantastical and eerily realistic. On the other hand, this particular parable is far too on-the-nose, never quite coming up with anything very insightful. Still, it's packed with unexpected twists and characters that defy expectations.

Men & Chicken 
dir Anders Thomas Jensen; with Mads Mikkelsen, David Dencik 15/Den **** 
A wickedly grotesque look at family connections, this Danish black comedy is both hugely entertaining and utterly bonkers. A mixture of scientific creepiness and Three Stooges-style slapstick, the film defiantly refuses to fit into a genre. Which makes it gloriously entertaining in all the wrong ways.

Aligarh
dir Hansal Mehta; with Manoj Bajpai, Rajkummar Rao 15/Ind ****
It would be easy to write off this true drama as something that could only happen in India, but the film has striking layers of global resonance. Not only is it a vivid depiction of the struggle for human rights, in this case relating to sexuality, but it's also a subtle indictment of how Western media have created a need for everyone to be put into their appropriate box. And it's written, directed and acted with remarkable sensitivity and insight.

LFF 3: Take a walk

The nightly parade of stars continued last night at the 59th London Film Festival, as the cast of Trumbo trooped down the Leicester Square red carpet - including Bryan Cranston, Helen Mirren and John Goodman. Tonight it'll be the teams from High-Rise (Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller, Elisabeth Moss, Ben Wheatley), A Bigger Splash (Ralph Fiennes, Luca Guadagnino) and Tangerine (Sean Baker and actress Mya Taylor, pictured above with Kitana Kiki Rodriguez). Thankfully the weather has turned bright but crisp, so no soggy carpets tonight. Here are some more highlights...

Tangerine
dir Sean Baker; with Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor 15/US ****.
This film is so fresh and original that it's easy to forget that it was shot entirely on an iPhone, proving that money isn't what makes a movie engaging. With snappy dialog, colourfully complex characters and a farcical plot that's genuinely hilarious, this is a seriously unforgettable Christmas comedy.


A Bigger Splash
dir Luca Guadagnino; with Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton 15/It ****
A remake of the 1969 French classic La Piscine, this is a fresh, enjoyably twisted drama about a group of people whose lives are inextricably entangled. With fine performances from the eclectic cast and the striking visual stylings of director Luca Guadagnino, this is a fast, funny little romp. And it carries a surprisingly nasty sting in its tail.

High-Rise
dir Ben Wheatley; with Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller 15/UK **
With a string of triumphs behind them, Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump hit a rough patch in this adaptation of JG Ballard's dystopian social satire. The political observations are strong, but oddly stuck in the 1970s period setting. And it isn't easy sitting through chaotic violence when there isn't a single sympathetic character.

The Invitation
dir Karyn Kusama; with Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard 15/US ***.
This unnerving, contained thriller pours on suggestions of horror until the audience begins to believe that the terror might only be in the central character's mind. But even so, there are so many nagging incongruities that it's impossible to sit back and relax. This is fiendishly clever filmmaking, with sharply layered performances and a terrific sense of a single setting.

Beeba Boys
dir Deepa Mehta; with Randeep Hooda, Ali Momen 15/Can ***
An disarmingly comical tone undercuts any point this movie might be making about gang violence, as it portrays murdering thugs as hapless dandies who don't realise that they're playing with fire. Even so, the film is sharply well-made, with a strikingly watchable cast (in largely unlikeable roles) and enough humour and energy to keep us entertained.

LFF 2: Tell the truth

The opening night red carpet at the 59th London Film Festival was interrupted last night by a group of activists protesting government cuts in programmes to help abused women. A rather appropriate action for the premiere of Suffragette, as cast members in attendance noted. The festival gets up to speed today with the first full day of programming - and it's my busiest yet, with four press screenings. Here are some more highlights...

Trumbo
dir Jay Roach; with Bryan Cranston, Helen Mirren 15/US ****
It's a good thing this film has a sharp screenplay, since it's about one of Hollywood's most notorious screenwriters. Sharp, funny and cleverly resonant, this true drama explores a grim period in American history with intelligence and emotion. And it's packed with superb performances from a skilled cast.

He Named Me Malala
dir Davis Guggenheim; with Malala Yousafzai, Ziauddin Yousafzai 15/US ****
Filmmaker Guggenheim manipulates the audience with a rather jarring story structure in this documentary, choosing to place events in order to build the maximum emotional punch. But when the subject is this strong, the audience doesn't mind too much. And Malala Yousafzai is inspirational even without all of these cinematic flourishes... MORE >

The Club
dir Pablo Larrain; with Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers 15/Chl ****
Exploring a topical issue with invention and insight, Chilean filmmaker Larrain tells a haunting but magnetic story about disgraced Catholic priests caught in a kind of pergutory of self-deception. It's a stunningly clever film, packed with quietly pointed commentary and darkly involving drama.

Truman
dir Cesc Gay; with Ricardo Darin, Javier Camara 15/Sp ****
With vivid characters and a superb blend of comedy and drama, this story about two lifelong friends continually catches the audience off-guard, revealing layers of resonant detail that can't help but draw out a strong emotional response. It's a thoroughly likeable film featuring spiky characters who speak their minds. But it's what isn't spoken that carries the real punch.

Blood of My Blood
dir-scr Marco Bellocchio; with Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, Lidiya Liberman 15/It ***.
Ambitious and assured, this Italian drama shifts between time periods to explore issues of morality and mortality through the filter of religion and, ahem, vampires. Using the same setting several hundred years apart, the film has an eerie, mesmerising quality that holds the attention, even if the plot isn't very easy to unpick.

Brand: A Second Coming
dir Ondi Timoner; with Russell Brand, Noel Gallagher 15/UK ****
Fast-paced and abrasively entertaining, like Russell Brand himself, this is a documentary about a man who throws himself into everything with wild enthusiasm. It demonstrates vividly how he wins over everyone he meets, against all odds. And it explores why the things everyone wants - fame, money, power - mean nothing and bring no happiness. So he has set out to disrupt the prevailing ideology.

LFF 1: Kick it off

The 59th BFI London Film Festival kicks off tonight with the red carpet European premiere of Sarah Gavron's Suffragette. Over the next 10 days, a busy programme of acclaimed films floods cinemas across the city, largely drawn from the premiere festivals Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Toronto and Venice. So this is a great chance for Londoners to see many of this year's awards hopefuls before they arrive in cinemas, plus a lot of superb smaller independent and foreign titles that will sadly never get UK distribution. Here are some highlights from the first two days...

Suffragette
dir Sarah Gavron; with Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter 15/UK ****
With a smart script by Abi Morgan, this drama about the British suffrage movement is challenging and deeply moving, avoiding cliches to find present day relevance in a fight that took place a century ago. And it's elevated by a full-throated performance from Carey Mulligan that never hits a false note... MORE >

Beasts of No Nation
dir Cary Joji Fukunaga;
with Abraham Attah, Idris Elba
15/US ***.
Strikingly well shot and edited, with rumbling, raw performances from its cast, this dark thriller immerses its audience in the chaotic horror of civil war in Africa, where young boys are pressed to participate in atrocities. And filmmaker Fukunaga's remarkable attention to detail just about sustains the story when it loses focus in the final third... MORE >

Grandma
dir Paul Weitz; with Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner 15/US ****
A sharp script and another beautifully measured performance from Lily Tomlin seamlessly mix comedy and pointed drama to tell an engaging story that isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers along the way. It may feel both constructed and slight, but between the lines there's plenty of gristle to chew on... MORE >

James White
dir Josh Mond; with Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon 15/US ***.
This is an unusually focussed character study, both in terms of script and camerawork, offering a seriously complex role for likeable actor Abbott. It sometimes gets bogged down in its central melodrama, almost sidelining the eponymous character's journey, but it continually catches the audience with its resonant themes and emotions... MORE >

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C R I T I C A L    W E E K

Non-festival films screening to London critics this week included Ryan Reynolds in the entertaining but thin Mississippi Grind; Patrick Stewart in the moving but melodramatic Match; Gaspar Noe's controversial and rather brilliant Love; nutty British animation for adults in The Big Knights; and the engaging astronomer doc Star Men. Everything else was festival related, as is my intensely overcrowded screening schedule over the next 10 days. The only two non-LFF titles are Guillermo Del Toro's Crimson Peak and the circus acrobat doc Grazing the Sky.

Critical Week: Women on top

Two big films screened to London press this week have strong female voices. Lily Tomlin stars in Grandma, as a sparky 70-year-old on a mission with her granddaughter (Julia Garner). It's a funny, involving film with unexpected depth. Much more overtly political, Suffragette explores the real events a century ago when women demanded that they should no longer be treated like slaves, beginning with the right to vote. It features a blistering performance by Carey Mulligan, plus strong support from Anne-Marie Duff, Helena Bonham Carter, Natalie Press and, in a cameo, Meryl Streep.

Women are also at the centre of the scruffy comedy Addicted to Fresno, starring Judy Greer and Natasha Lyonne as sisters who get involved in a silly caper. A Haunting in Cawdor is a moody horror thriller centres on a young woman (Shelby Young) in a summer work-release theatre camp. And the messy British comedy Convenience stars Vicky McClure as a savvy mini-mart clerk dealing with two idiotic robbers.

Both Grandma and Suffragette are screening in the London Film Festival, for which we also had press screenings including: Clemence Poesy and David Morrissey in The Ones Below, Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation, Mads Mikkelsen in Men & Chicken, Deepa Mehta's Beeba Boys, Marco Bellocchio's Blood of My Blood and the British addiction doc Chemsex. More comments on these as the festival gets underway.

Coming up this week we have Ryan Reynolds in Mississippi Grind controversial filmmaker Gaspar Noe's Love, the doc Listen to Me Marlon and the British animated romp The Big Knights. London Film Festival screenings include Truman, The Invitation and James White.