April 30th

First Cow

Land

The Courier

I've gone into a post-Oscars slump. I had such fun watching as many contenders as I could and predicting (with varied outcomes) the winners. I'm so happy Anthony Hopkins got Best Actor for The Father, and delighted with the success of both Nomadland and Soul. Luckily, plenty of highly recommended films are releasing into the mainstream cinema, three of them reviewed today. Two of the three are low-key but absorbing films (both with an American wilderness theme) requiring patience and immersion, the third is a solid thriller. 

First Cow

Dir: Kelly Reichardt

Length: 122 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jWZ6P1rWy4

© Madman - a different view
of the wild west

Cookie (John Magaro) is travelling with a group of fur trappers in Oregon in the early 1800s. When he meets Chinese immigrant King-Lu (Orion Lee) the pair strike up a friendship and then set up a business - making "oily cakes" which rely upon stealing milk from a wealthy landowner's cow (the only cow in the area). This much-awarded film is a gentle look at friendship and a not-so-gentle look at the harshness of life in the Pacific north-west back in the cowboy era. The typical macho bravado of so many cowboy films is absent from the friendship between the two men, and it's a refreshing rewrite of the western genre. Toby Jones is terrific as the harsh landowner, and having the film in a square format makes us focus more upon the intimate details than upon the vastness of the wild west itself. 

4 - highly recommended

Land

Dir: Robin Wright

Length: 89 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOw20FDNnHA

© Universal - grief and friendship
and stunning scenery

Edee (Robin Wright) is trying to deal with an unfathomable grief, and disconnects from society, heading off to live in a cabin in the Wyoming mountains. Unused to the harshness of that life, she nearly dies but is nursed back to health by two locals. One of them, Miguel (Demian Bechir), teaches her the skills needed for survival, and the friendship that develops helps both of them comes to terms with their lives. Wright has made a beautiful directorial debut - sensitive, delicate, visually splendid, and underscored by a dramatically intense soundtrack. Every painstaking moment of Edee's attempts to grapple with her new life feel viscerally authentic, as does the slow-growing friendship between her and Miguel. (Wright and Bechir are terrific together.)  This is the sort of film that requires the viewer to immerse totally; no time for impatience here, just go with Edee's jouney, and marvel at the effect kindness can have in the healing process.

4 - highly recommended 

The Courier

Dir: Dominic Cooke

Length: 112 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeYElSu3gEc

© A solid Cold War thriller with
excellent performances

In the early 1960s, industrial sales consultant Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) was approached unexpectedly by members of MI6, who asked him to go to Moscow, ostensibly on business. He is then to connect  with Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), a Russian colonel eager to leak military secrets to the West. Together the pair work towards gaining crucial intelligence to help defuse the rapidly escalating Cuban missile crisis. Based upon a true story, this is an engaging and tense thriller, featuring a terrific perf by Cumberbatch, as an unassuming, almost timid man who discovers his inner strength and becomes a somebody. Even though I often find spy thrillers unintelligible, this one is clear, gripping, and has a refreshing focus upon the humanity and family lives of the main players, as well as their political and humanitarian motivations.  

4 - highly recommended