June 5th 2025
The Great Lillian Hall
Nickel Boys (streaming on Prime)
A Most Wanted Man (streaming on Netflix)
Secret Lives of Orangutans (streaming on Netflix)
I've caught up with few cinema releases recently, but with winter here, it's great to snuggle in and catch some of the fine films the streaming platforms offer. And so, in that spirit, one new cinema release (and it's excellent) and three streamers for your consideration.
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© Transmission - Lange gives a
tour de force peformance |
Acclaimed and beloved theatre actress Lillian Hall (Jessica Lange) is in rehearsal for her latest play The Cherry Orchard, a much-anticipated Broadway production. But it becomes progressively apparent that something is amiss; she is forgetting her lines and showing signs of confusion and disorientation. Determined to make it through to opening night, she battles on, supported and encouraged by her long-term assistant Edith (an excellent Kathy Bates), and her debonair, caring neighbor Ty (a still very handsome Pierce Brosnan). As we learn early on, Lillian is developing a form of dementia, (Lewy Body), which can also cause hallucinations. This film is a showcase for the impressive talents of Jessica Lange, who gives a stunning performance as the woman whose life has centred around her acting career, to the detriment of her relationship with daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe). The narrative takes us into Lillian's confused mind, especially with the constant visions of her beloved dead husband Carson. It also handles the mother-daughter and abandonment theme nicely, if at times bordering into cliche. Scenes depicting the theatrical rehearsal process feel very authentic, and Jesse Williams as David, the theatre director, is notable. Overall, this is a deeply affecting drama, with terrific supporting performances from all, and so many moments guaranteed to have you reaching for the tissue box!4 - highly recommended
Nickel Boys
Dir: Ra'Mell Ross
Length: 140 mins
Streaming on Amazon Prime
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© Amazon MGM - if you can stand the pain
of it all, this is a really fine piece of filmmaking |
Character Point-of-View in a film can really make a difference to how we relate to what we see on the screen. POV plays a huge role in this confronting story based upon an actual so-called "reform" school, the Arthur C Dozier School for Boys. This institution of torture, abuse and death (especially for Negro boys) operated in Florida from the early 1900s until 2011. Stories of abuse are often very hard to stomach, but this one, seen mainly through the eyes of Elwood (Ethan Herisse) carries such a power and importance it needs to be endured. Promising young student Ethan ends up getting a lift with the wrong man, and by association ends up in the reform school, where he befriends Turner (Brandon Wilson). We know from the start, through constant forward flashes in time, that Elwood will survive, as his adult self, now a computer tech, delves into the unmarked graves being now excavated at the school. But it is the day-to-day lives of the boys, with the prejudice, violence and torment, that makes the bulk of the film, and once we get used to the scenes shot through Elwood's eyes, and the unusual almost stream-of-consciousness style, with its creative camera angles, we can empathise and better understand. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Hattie, Elwood's grandmother, adds a strong female note to a film that is a condemnation of the abuse of power that some men seem to relish. Nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and a Best Adapted Screenplay, this film is totally worth the discomfort it will inevitable create. 4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
A Most Wanted Man
Dir: Anton Corbijn
Length: 122 mins
Streaming on Netflix - 2014
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© Netflix - Philip Seymour Hoffman shows what
fine acting is all about |
An oldie but a goodie, this terrific espionage thriller is based on a John le Carre novel. When a Chechen man, Issa Karpov (Grigory Dobrygin), turns up in Berlin to connect with a banker his deceased father knew, German secret agents see him as a means to set a trap for a wealthy Muslim man suspected of funnelling money through to terrorists in Yemen. This is Philip Seymour Hoffman's penultimate film, before his untimely death. His performance as Gunther Bachmann is an acting masterclass, so compelling and believable, emotionally nuanced, and with not a hint of artifice. Support cast add to the film's power: Willem Dafoe as the banker, Rachel McAdams as a lawyer trying to get asylum for Issa, Nina Hoss and Vicky Krieps as Gunther's associates, along with a young Daniel Bruhl. Robyn Wright as a CIA agent and German veteran Rainer Bock round out the cast, in what becomes a tense thriller, that also shows the lengths of betrayal agents will go to, to achieve their ends. 4 - highly recommended
Secret Lives of Orangutans
Dir: Huw Cordey
Length: 79 mins
Streaming on Netflix
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© Netflix - irresistible and informative doco
on one of our nearest relatives |
Lovers of the great orange ape, whose name means person of the forest, cannot afford to miss this heartwarming and informative film narrated by the great David Attenborough. With the quality of cinematography we come to expect of this sort of doco, the story tracks the lives of a group of individuals, examining the parental bond, the growing to independence, the battles for dominance of the group, their feeding habits - in fact it's an a-z of orang life. Of course the sting in the tale is the ongoing destruction of orangutan habitat by the human animal, and seeing this awesomely appealing doco just might make you more concerned with what you could do to help.4 - highly recommended
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