Films round-up
It's awards season, which means an extremely varied choice of films have been doing the rounds recently, many (though not all!) of which have been very good:
Petite Maman - A short (72m) but perfectly-formed French film. Young Nelly's grandmother has just passed away. While helping her parents clear out her house, she encounters another girl in the woods, who seems to bear an impossible family connection. This reminded me a lot of "When Marnie Was There", which is perhaps not surprising, since director Céline Sciamma said she set out to make a live-action Ghibli film. The fantasy aspect is underplayed; at its heart this is about a family dealing with grief and reconnecting, and the simple joy of two children (portrayed by real-life twins, Joséphine and Gabrielle Sanz) playing together.
Encanto - Disney continue their admirable efforts to set their cartoons all over the globe. This time we're in Colombia, for a relatively small-scale story about the Madrigal family, who all have magical gifts they use to help their community. All, that is, except Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), who has no special power. This is just one of many cracks in the perfect image the family, led by matriarch Abuela (Maria Cecilla Botero) likes to portray. Behind the façade, we learn a lot of truths, with the magic going haywire serving as a metaphor for the family dramas (They "don't talk about Bruno"). But this is Disney, so none of it's done too seriously or without a catchy song.
Spider-Man: No Way Home - More a mash-up between previous Spidey films than a coherent story in its own right, this is nevertheless a fun ride and far more satisfying than it has any right to be. Beginning the exact moment "Far From Home" left off, Peter (Tom Holland)'s world has been turned upside down. Foolishly, he turns to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, filling in for Iron Man here) for help. Even more foolishly, Strange agrees to help, and soon villains from other Spidey franchises are running amok. A lot of it is played for laughs, but it hits the big emotional beats too. My only worry is Marvel's multiverse is in danger of becoming overblown, but that's a problem for future MCU films.
Titane - Beloved by critics, this 2021 Palme d'Or winner clearly wants to shock. Following a childhood crash which left her with a titanium plate in her head, Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) develops a car fetish, becomes an erotic dancer, fends off an attempted rape, kills a bunch of people, and goes on the run by disguising herself as the long-lost son of a fire chief (Vincent Lindon), who takes her/him in. Then it gets weird. There are serious statements here about gender politics and gender identity but mostly what director, Julia Ducournau, wants to do is freak you out with body horror, violence and twisted relationships. And she succeeds.
Nightmare Alley - I will happily watch anything by Guillermo del Toro, and this is one of his very best. Set in 1939 America, Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) leaves a dark secret behind him and joins the carnival. There he learns to become a mentalist and strikes up a relationship with Molly (Rooney Mara), before moving to the big city to make his fortune. There he meets his match in psychologist Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett) and takes ever more dangerous risks. This is a moody and suspenseful film noir, with all of del Toro's trademark kookiness, and which takes some very dark turns. Highly recommended.
Belfast - A very personal film from Ken Branagh, who gives us a child's eye view of growing up with The Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1969. It's shot (mostly) in black-and-white, which works effectively, but this is anything but pretentious. It's a down-to-Earth story of real families struggling to get on with their everyday lives and adapt to the conflict tearing their neighbourhoods apart. Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds steal the show as the grandparents of our 9-year-old protagonist, but this is a strong cast all round. The story still resonates politically today. A near-perfect blend of warm humour and social commentary.
Moonfall - Roland "Independence Day" Emmerich is back destroying the world in ludicrous fashion again, even outdoing his previous "2012". The moon is, uh, falling, somehow connected to black space goo encountered by astronauts, Jocinda Fowler (Halle Berry) and Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson). Cue tidal waves, inverted gravity, and the moon orbiting close enough to scrape the tops off mountains! To save the day, our heroes must launch a retired space shuttle in 24 hours! The plot is every bit as so-bad-it's-hilarious as the grasp of physics or the practicalities of a space mission. The cast deserve awards for playing it with a straight face. I haven't laughed so much in the cinema in a long time.
Amulet - Like "Titane", this is a female-directed blend of gender politics, body horror and warped relationships between psychologically damaged people. But (aside from sharing one-word/six-letter titles) there the similarity ends. This British offering is a more traditional "haunted house" style horror film, with more obviously supernatural overtones. Ex-soldier Tomaz (Alec Secareanu) is taken by Sister Claire (Imelda Staunton) to live with Magda (Carla Juri), whose dying mother is confined to the attic. But something is very wrong in the house, and all is not what it seems. Despite the 99-minute running time, it's a slow build, but the pay-off, when it comes, is well worth it.
Death on the Nile - Ken Branagh is back as Hercule Poirot, this time swapping a star-studded cast of privileged murder suspects on a train for a star-studded cast of privileged murder suspects on a paddle steamer. It's all sumptuous and entertaining on a shallow level, but this type of story-telling doesn't really work as a murder mystery. When every character has motive, means and opportunity, the reveal (when it comes) doesn't give you a sense you could've pieced the clues together so much as "Oh, you're going with that option, okay." At least the (still ridiculous and distracting) moustache gets explained this time.
Cyrano - A musical retelling of Edmond Rostand's 1897 play, swapping the big nose of the original for the diminutive status of scriptwriter, Erica Schmitt's real-life husband, Peter Dinklage. The unrequited love story is simple - Cyrano loves Roxanne (Haley Bennett). Roxanne and Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr) have fallen for each other, but Roxanne also loves words, and Christian is no poet, so Cyrano writes for him. Nothing could go wrong there... While it stretches credulity at times, the pomp and melodrama of a musical make it work, and the film is carried a lot by Dinklage's charisma and acting prowess. It's a boisterous yet engaging film about the lengths people will go to for love, and a tribute to the power and beauty of words.
The Duke - Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent) is a working-class Geordie eccentric with a penchant for taking up hopeless causes, like refusing to pay his TV licence on principle. Despite promising his long-suffering wife (Helen Mirren) he will stop, Bunton soon finds himself on trial for stealing the titular painting, insisting the taxpayers' money spent on purchasing it should've been put to better use. Although there is social commentary here, and it's based on a true story, this is a light-hearted comedy full of hijinks, bumbling authority figures and good humour. Good fun.
Petite Maman - A short (72m) but perfectly-formed French film. Young Nelly's grandmother has just passed away. While helping her parents clear out her house, she encounters another girl in the woods, who seems to bear an impossible family connection. This reminded me a lot of "When Marnie Was There", which is perhaps not surprising, since director Céline Sciamma said she set out to make a live-action Ghibli film. The fantasy aspect is underplayed; at its heart this is about a family dealing with grief and reconnecting, and the simple joy of two children (portrayed by real-life twins, Joséphine and Gabrielle Sanz) playing together.
Encanto - Disney continue their admirable efforts to set their cartoons all over the globe. This time we're in Colombia, for a relatively small-scale story about the Madrigal family, who all have magical gifts they use to help their community. All, that is, except Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), who has no special power. This is just one of many cracks in the perfect image the family, led by matriarch Abuela (Maria Cecilla Botero) likes to portray. Behind the façade, we learn a lot of truths, with the magic going haywire serving as a metaphor for the family dramas (They "don't talk about Bruno"). But this is Disney, so none of it's done too seriously or without a catchy song.
Spider-Man: No Way Home - More a mash-up between previous Spidey films than a coherent story in its own right, this is nevertheless a fun ride and far more satisfying than it has any right to be. Beginning the exact moment "Far From Home" left off, Peter (Tom Holland)'s world has been turned upside down. Foolishly, he turns to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, filling in for Iron Man here) for help. Even more foolishly, Strange agrees to help, and soon villains from other Spidey franchises are running amok. A lot of it is played for laughs, but it hits the big emotional beats too. My only worry is Marvel's multiverse is in danger of becoming overblown, but that's a problem for future MCU films.
Titane - Beloved by critics, this 2021 Palme d'Or winner clearly wants to shock. Following a childhood crash which left her with a titanium plate in her head, Alexia (Agathe Rousselle) develops a car fetish, becomes an erotic dancer, fends off an attempted rape, kills a bunch of people, and goes on the run by disguising herself as the long-lost son of a fire chief (Vincent Lindon), who takes her/him in. Then it gets weird. There are serious statements here about gender politics and gender identity but mostly what director, Julia Ducournau, wants to do is freak you out with body horror, violence and twisted relationships. And she succeeds.
Nightmare Alley - I will happily watch anything by Guillermo del Toro, and this is one of his very best. Set in 1939 America, Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) leaves a dark secret behind him and joins the carnival. There he learns to become a mentalist and strikes up a relationship with Molly (Rooney Mara), before moving to the big city to make his fortune. There he meets his match in psychologist Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett) and takes ever more dangerous risks. This is a moody and suspenseful film noir, with all of del Toro's trademark kookiness, and which takes some very dark turns. Highly recommended.
Belfast - A very personal film from Ken Branagh, who gives us a child's eye view of growing up with The Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1969. It's shot (mostly) in black-and-white, which works effectively, but this is anything but pretentious. It's a down-to-Earth story of real families struggling to get on with their everyday lives and adapt to the conflict tearing their neighbourhoods apart. Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds steal the show as the grandparents of our 9-year-old protagonist, but this is a strong cast all round. The story still resonates politically today. A near-perfect blend of warm humour and social commentary.
Moonfall - Roland "Independence Day" Emmerich is back destroying the world in ludicrous fashion again, even outdoing his previous "2012". The moon is, uh, falling, somehow connected to black space goo encountered by astronauts, Jocinda Fowler (Halle Berry) and Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson). Cue tidal waves, inverted gravity, and the moon orbiting close enough to scrape the tops off mountains! To save the day, our heroes must launch a retired space shuttle in 24 hours! The plot is every bit as so-bad-it's-hilarious as the grasp of physics or the practicalities of a space mission. The cast deserve awards for playing it with a straight face. I haven't laughed so much in the cinema in a long time.
Amulet - Like "Titane", this is a female-directed blend of gender politics, body horror and warped relationships between psychologically damaged people. But (aside from sharing one-word/six-letter titles) there the similarity ends. This British offering is a more traditional "haunted house" style horror film, with more obviously supernatural overtones. Ex-soldier Tomaz (Alec Secareanu) is taken by Sister Claire (Imelda Staunton) to live with Magda (Carla Juri), whose dying mother is confined to the attic. But something is very wrong in the house, and all is not what it seems. Despite the 99-minute running time, it's a slow build, but the pay-off, when it comes, is well worth it.
Death on the Nile - Ken Branagh is back as Hercule Poirot, this time swapping a star-studded cast of privileged murder suspects on a train for a star-studded cast of privileged murder suspects on a paddle steamer. It's all sumptuous and entertaining on a shallow level, but this type of story-telling doesn't really work as a murder mystery. When every character has motive, means and opportunity, the reveal (when it comes) doesn't give you a sense you could've pieced the clues together so much as "Oh, you're going with that option, okay." At least the (still ridiculous and distracting) moustache gets explained this time.
Cyrano - A musical retelling of Edmond Rostand's 1897 play, swapping the big nose of the original for the diminutive status of scriptwriter, Erica Schmitt's real-life husband, Peter Dinklage. The unrequited love story is simple - Cyrano loves Roxanne (Haley Bennett). Roxanne and Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr) have fallen for each other, but Roxanne also loves words, and Christian is no poet, so Cyrano writes for him. Nothing could go wrong there... While it stretches credulity at times, the pomp and melodrama of a musical make it work, and the film is carried a lot by Dinklage's charisma and acting prowess. It's a boisterous yet engaging film about the lengths people will go to for love, and a tribute to the power and beauty of words.
The Duke - Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent) is a working-class Geordie eccentric with a penchant for taking up hopeless causes, like refusing to pay his TV licence on principle. Despite promising his long-suffering wife (Helen Mirren) he will stop, Bunton soon finds himself on trial for stealing the titular painting, insisting the taxpayers' money spent on purchasing it should've been put to better use. Although there is social commentary here, and it's based on a true story, this is a light-hearted comedy full of hijinks, bumbling authority figures and good humour. Good fun.