August 30th 2024
Last Summer (opening September 5th)
Bookworm
Midas Man
Yet again a selection of most worthy films, each so different from the other; each highly entertaining in its own unique way. From a quasi-incestuous affair, to a father-daughter adventure, to a legendary music tale - there's major attractions in all of them.
Last Summer
Dir: Catherine Breillat
Length: 104 mins
 |
© Potential - innocent times between a step-mother
and step-son - or maybe not so innocent? |
Anne (Lea Drucker) is a brilliant lawyer married to older, respectable Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin). They have two adorable adopted twin girls. All seems idyllic until Pierre's estranged and surly seventeen-year-old son Theo (Samuel Kircher) comes to live with them. Theo looks like a young Adonis, and it's not long before Anne is knee-deep in a lustful affair with her stepson. Director Catherine Breillat loves to shock, and thematically this film may shock some viewers, while inviting audiences to ask where they stand morally on the highly charged issue, and just who seduced whom! The film flirts with issues of male insecurity at ageing, and of a woman's need for affirmation from youth. Father/son clashes and adolescent arrogance figure strongly too. The plot keeps us in plenty of suspense as we eagerly and anxiously await to see whether the couple will be sprung. Performances are strong, especially Drucker who embodies hypocrisy and self-preservation to the max. The ambivalent ending has me intrigued and I enjoy and respect the way Breillat reserves judgment - she doesn't allow you to totally demonise one party or the other. 3.5 - well recommended
Bookworm
Dir: Ant Timpson
Length: 103 mins
 |
© Rialto - delightful, adventurous and
plain entertaining in every way! |
Mildred (Nell Fisher) is an amazingly precocious 11-year-old growing up with her single mum. She speaks like a mini-adult and has knowledge and love of books way beyond her years. When her mum ends up hospitalised in a coma, her biological father Strawn (Elijah Wood) flies in from the USA to take care of her. He agrees to accompany Mildred on a camping expedition in which she hopes to get photographic proof of the existence of the legendary Canterbury Panther, which, if achieved, will solve the financial woes of her mum. What an unexpectedly total delight this film is! Despite the plot of father/daughter bonding being a tried and true one, almost everything in this version feels fresh and exciting. The setting is a cinematic extravaganza, with New Zealand South Island landscapes just loving the camera. Young Fisher simply steals the show as Mildred, and her lines are so wonderfully written and delivered, with a cutting, cynical edge that is funny and at times almost shocking. Strawn is a wonderful foil as a character to his daughter - as feisty, practical, and no-nonsense as she is, he is a timid, fearful, unassertive character, who happens to also work as an illusionist. Wood, immortalised as Frodo in Lord of the Rings, demonstrates the breadth of his acting talent. There is also plenty of adventure, sometimes quite heart-stopping, but none of it should be too alarming for younger viewers. The film is one of those that works beautifully for all age groups, and never falls into Hollywood-esque schmaltziness. All in all, a total treat!4 - highly recommended
Midas Man
Dir: Joe Stephenson
Length: 140 mins
 |
© Transmission - the tragic story of
Beatles manager Brian Epstein |
When people of my vintage hear "The Beatles" we reflect on an iconic era in our lives, when four Liverpool lads took the music world by storm. I sometimes overlook that the man who made it all happen was Brian Epstein, son of a furniture salesman, who became their manager and scored them their first record deal when the major companies weren't interested. This biopic looks at the life of Epstein (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) from 1961 to his death in 1967. In his late twenties Brian lived and worked with dad Harry (Eddie Marsan) and mother Malka (Emily Watson), both of whom were concerned by their son's homosexuality in an era when it was illegal to be gay. But Brian's drive and determination to make something of himself and of "his boys" as he called The Beatles took them all to great heights, while Brian's demons of loneliness, stigma, and substance dependence brought him low. The film recreates the era accurately, although die-hard Beatles cognoscenti might quibble at some aspects of the depiction of the band. The actors playing the Fab Four all feel pretty authentic, with gestures and speech spot on, and whoever plays the music nails the Beatles' sound accurately. We also meet other contemporaneous musical stars who Brian handled: Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black. In several lighter scenes that creatively use montages, Brian talks to the film audience, recounting his life and the arc of success that saw exhilaration give way to exhaustion and emotional unravelling. Many defining Beatles' moments are captured, while some I hoped for are absent. Despite the long runtime I found myself completely immersed in this mesmerising story, and moved by the sadness of a man who gave the world so much, yet himself suffered deeply.3.5 - well recommended
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