March 29th
Soul (Disney Plus)
Crisis
Sound of Metal (Amazon Prime & selected cinemas)
Disclosure
I've set myself a mission to try to watch and review as many of the Oscar-nominated films as possible, up until the fateful day on 26th April. So, this week I add to the list one nominated animation Soul, plus the drama, Sound of Metal. But let's not forget the big screen with two new releases.
Soul
Dir: Pete Docter, Kemp Powers
Length: 100 mins
Streaming on Disney Plus
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© Disney - one's dreams are sometimes
thwarted by life's unpredictability |
Joe (Jamie Foxx) is a school band teacher but his real love is the part-time gigs he does as a jazz musician. Just after he lands a gig he's always wanted with the Dorothea Williams Quartet, he manages to fall into a man-hole, and finds himself in a strange world somewhere between life, the Great Beyond and the Great Before. How do I even begin to describe the creativity, philosophy, fun, and emotion that infuse this Oscar-nominated animation, which, by the way, is definitely not for kids. (Grown-ups, you need to learn that animation can also be for you!) It's an extraordinary mash-up of visual styles and dialogue moods; down on planet Earth, the richly realistic visual style captures the moody jazz nightclub, Joe's school, and the depressing commuter train, while up in the ethereal realms, the visual style is something totally "other". Souls wait to be sent to earth to inhabit a body - their representation is child-like, while the organisers in the Great Before appear ghost-like, evoking Picasso paintings on steroids. Some well-worn territory gets mined when Joe's soul and that of a waiting soul get swapped between his body and that of a cat - but great dialogue and shenanigans come of it. Terrific too to see an animation about people of color, but for me the absolute highlights are those sublime moments that had me in tears, so close to the bone that it leaves you pondering the very meaning of life.4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended - bordering on unmissable
Crisis
Dir: Nicolas Jarecki
Length: 118 mins
 |
© Universal - sound thriller
depicting a growing problem |
Three very different plot threads form the basis of this story of the growing problem of opioid addiction in today's world. Researcher and professor, Tyrone Brower (Gary Oldman) discovers something dodgy about the Big Pharma company that is funding his work, as they rush to get a "non-addictive" pain-killer onto the market. Federal drug agent Jake Kelly (Armie Hammer) goes undercover to try to bust a ring of Armenian Fentanyl smugglers, while ex-addict Claire (Evangeline Lilly) goes on the trail of her son who has disappeared. Two of the three plotlines will intersect in what is a reasonably gripping thriller, that tackles a mighty hefty problem, ubiquitous world-wide. The scariest part is not so much the drug runners, depicted in the usual gangster style, but the seemingly respectable pharmaceutical companies who will put profit above human safety. With added elements of blackmail around issues of sexual harassment, plus a terrific performance from Oldman (again!), there's plenty here to entertain and disturb audiences. 3 - recommended
Sound of Metal
Dir: Darius Marder
Length: 120 mins
Exclusive to Lido, Classic and Cameo - catch it this week or on Amazon Prime
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© Amazon Prime - how can a muso cope
when his hearing fails? |
Ruben (Riz Ahmed) is a drummer and recovered drug addict, going from gig to gig in a motor home with his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) fellow musician in a heavy metal band. When he suddenly loses his hearing, Reuben's world is turned upside down. He enters a facility for hearing impaired people, run by Joe (Paul Raci), who expects nothing less than total commitment from his residents. Nominated for SIX of this year's Oscars, this is a gut-wrenching story of despair and hope, grounded by one of Ahmed's best performances ever, justifiably up for a Best Actor award this year. The sound work is magnificent, (also nominated), taking us into Ruben's ears, so we can viscerally experience what life is now like for him. Add to this nominations for Editing, Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Raci) and overall Best Film, and you have a strong movie, excelling in empathy and powerful story-telling.4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
Disclosure
Dir: Michael Bentham
Length: 84 mins
Many sessions at Cinema Nova
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© Bonsai Films - two couples face one of
a parent's worst nightmares |
Journalists Emily Bowman (Matilda Ridgway) and husband Danny (Mark Leonard Winter) are enjoying a skinny dip when their friends, local politician, Joel Chalmers (Tom Wren) and his wife Bek (Geraldine Hakewell) turn up for a serious discussion. The Bowman's four-year-old daughter Natasha has accused Joel's nine-year-old son Ethan of sexually assaulting her. What starts off as a semi-civilised discussion descends into a horrific, no-win, free-for-all of insults, threats, recriminations and denials. This is a super-timely film, taking the issue of sexual assault into an even more fraught area - that of child upon child. As the talk-fest escalates, many important issues are alluded to: kids' exposure to porn on the net, parental disbelief about what their kids are capable of, politicians' determination to protect themselves at all costs, and the critically important one of believing in the testimonies of assault victims. The film is beautifully shot and the cast give it their all, but at times there is a clunkiness, exacerbated by unnecessary use of slow motion, and a repetitiveness in the dialogue. However, this is a brave and thought-provoking film debut which is certainly worth a look.3 - recommended
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