Ghost Stories (2017)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

Ghost Stories (2017) – J. Dyson & A. Nyman

I’m always searching for a supernatural chiller that lives up to my expectations, but, alas, Ghost Stories did not. Co-director (with Jeremy Dyson) Andy Nyman stars as Prof. Philip Goodman, a psychic debunker who is provided with a series of three cases that an earlier debunker could not prove false. The three stories are then re-enacted as Goodman interviews each participant (providing a framing device much like those used in the horror anthologies from Amicus Productions in the ‘60s and ‘70s).  Although the re-enactments do offer some spooky moments – they tend to fizzle out, leaving viewers wondering why they were so likely to be truly supernatural.  Worse, Goodman ends up inserted into some of the stories and then the framing device concludes with what is meant to be a clever twist.  I’ll keep searching.

 

Hagazussa (2017)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

Hagazussa (2017) – L. Feigelfeld

I checked this out because it was recommended by the Folk Horror Revival facebook group (and a few other websites).  And, yes, it certainly is folk horror.  Where the film succeeds is in the creation of atmosphere, often strange, occasionally eerie, sometimes breathtaking (those mountain views).  The setting is the Austrian Alps in the 15^th century. The film has four chapters with the first (Shadows) showing our protagonist Albrun (Aleksandra Cwen) as a young girl (Celina Peter) with her dying mother (Claudia Martini).  The mother has been accused of being a witch by the other villagers.  It is hard to know how her daughter feels about this or what she believes. Fast forward a couple of decades and Albrun is living in the same isolated cabin alone but for a newborn baby (with uncertain paternity). The chapters unfold slowly (Horn, then Blood, then Fire) and this viewer was on edge, believing occult happenings were just around the corner. But instead, first-time director Lukas Feigelfeld treats us to Albrun’s gradual break with reality. A village woman makes friends with Albrun but then betrays her.  Albrun begins to hear her dead mother’s voice from the woods.  She eats what must be a magic mushroom and feels the effects (cue Stan Brakhage). Things get worse from there and we sometimes take Albrun’s distorted perspective but also see things from an omniscient vantage point, showing her to be disturbed, spooked rather than spooky. Awful and weird things do happen but the film’s slow pace and “debunking” attitude tend to undercut any real folk horror thrills.

November (2017)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

November (2017) – R. Sarnet

In search of folk horror (an eerie subgenre focused on the supernatural and pagan beliefs/rituals), I stumbled across this Estonian concoction.  Lensed in beautiful rich black & white by Mart Taniel, the film has the look and feel of a Béla Tarr production (although not nearly so slow). In other words, we are in Eastern Europe in the 18^th century, dealing with many peasants (well cast for their seedy looks), who believe in magic, witchcraft, dealings with the Devil and the like – which all turns out to be true, treated as matter-of-fact.  Indeed, the film opens with shots of a “kratt” which appears to be a bunch of inanimate tools that are somehow animated, serving as a slave for a local farmer.  That farmer is the father of the main character, Liina (Rea Lest), who has fallen in love with Hans (Jörgen Liik) who in turn has fallen for the daughter of the local Baron (held in contempt by most locals due to his German origins). Although you could argue that Liina’s pursuit of Hans is the central thread of the plot, the film meanders casually through all sorts of rituals and folk horror episodes – overall, it has the flavour of a fairy tale (romantic and mysterious).  Worth a look just for the visual presentation alone but also if you want to dream along with the story.  Directed by Rainer Sarnet whose latest film seems to be an Estonian Heavy Metal Kung Fu Comedy.

 

The Bureau (2017; Season 3)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Bureau (2017; Season 3) – E. Rochant

Season 2 ended with the shock capture of Guillaume Debailly a.k.a. Malotru a.k.a. Paul Lefevbre (Mathieu Kassovitz) by ISIS/Daesh in Syria/Iraq.  Most of the third series observes his isolation/torture/attempts to escape and also DGSE’s attempts to rescue him (led by Raymond Sisteron (Jonathan Zaccaï)), even if only to prosecute him for being a traitor.  We also follow Marina Loiseau (Sara Giraudeau) who has returned to France from Iran (after very nearly being assassinated), traumatised and perhaps unfit for another mission. Team leader Henri Duflot (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) supports her and Marie-Jeanne (Florence Loiret Caille) is promoted to be his assistant. The series does contain a few shocks but there is a slight feeling of desperation here, as the plot-lines lead some characters to take uncharacteristic actions (in my view). Sure, there is intrigue a-plenty, but for the first time in The Bureau this can feel a little forced. The ending of the last episode, a noir-existential reverie, for sure, feels as though it was anticipated to be the finale for the entire show (reinforced by the fact that nearly all of the plot lines have been wrapped up).  Yet, somehow there is a fourth season…

 

24 Frames (2017)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

24 Frames (2017) – A. Kiarostami

It’s tempting to read too much into the images that Abbas Kiarostami provides for our contemplation in this, his final posthumous film. After all, Kiarostami’s modus operandi was to provide viewers with often ambiguous sequences and to allow us to cogitate about them (often in ways which the director clearly anticipated and then responded to). He seemed to most enjoy playing with the constructs of “reality” and “fiction” -- so much so that in his masterpiece Close-Up, 1990, he asked the protagonists of a genuine newsworthy event to recreate it later for his cameras, with viewers left pondering the effects of the insertion of director and audience into the action. In other films, he left us wondering about his intentions, such as when he filmed only the members of the audience (famous Iranian actresses) watching a play rather than the play itself. Such experiments tended to have a rippling effect on the viewer’s thoughts, taking in not only the images onscreen but also the directorial purpose behind them, our personal reactions, and the meta-cognition that ties them together. 24 Frames was not finished at the time of Kiarostami’s death from cancer in July 2016.  Following a new methodology, he selected a number of his own photographs (as well as a few famous paintings, such as Brueghel the Elder’s Hunters in the Snow) and then asked himself what might have happened immediately before or after the snapshot was taken. Then, he embellished the still image with digital animation, footage shot elsewhere, and sound or music. Often these embellishments are birds, particularly crows and seagulls. Other animals, such as cows, horses, deer, and wolves also appear. Each experiment takes approximately 4 ½ minutes and there are 24 in total. Whether or not these final 24 are the ones that Kiarostami ultimately would have selected for a film and in this order is unclear.  They do overlap and share similarities but unlike the similarly anecdotal work of Roy Andersson, they do not seem to comment or respond to each other, nor ultimately add up to a particularly salient theme. Mostly, they are quiet and meditative, often snowscapes, at the beach, or gazing out a window frame (which changes its geometrical pattern across sequences). A few (but only a few) have punchlines or a concluding event. Some reviewers have suggested that they are akin to very artistic screensavers. Others have tried to find Kiarostami’s intentions or meanings, suggesting loneliness vs. solidarity or another version of his interest in reality (the photograph) vs. fiction (the modifications) encouraging viewers to ponder each sequence’s raison d’etre.  I focused intently at first, engaging all of my mental powers to understand what was in front of me, then (as the repetitions piled on) I focused on my personal reactions, thinking that this is what Kiarostami wanted. I suspected that there were some unknowable elements (the relationship of the music, opera perhaps, to the images) that made interpretation difficult.  Then, I began to drift off and my subconscious merged with the images (cows in dreamscape). And then the final sequence (frame 24) showed a woman similarly asleep in front of a screen (showing the final image from The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946) in front of a window frame showing a windy outdoor scene. Perhaps there is really more here than met my eye or perhaps these sequences were only the early sketches and experimental preludes to something that would have been more fully realised if Kiarostami had not passed away.  Now, we will never know.   

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

 ☆ ☆ ½

Murder on the Orient Express (2017) – K. Branagh

I went into this Agatha Christie adaptation thinking it wasn’t going to be too challenging – more of a TV mystery comfort food sort of thing – but unfortunately, it is much worse than that.  Although director Kenneth Branagh has lined up an array of top-drawer stars (Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Olivia Colman, Daisy Ridley et al.), they are almost all wasted in small unrewarding parts. Branagh gives himself (as Hercule Poirot) the most screen time but his moustache tends to overshadow his acting; I didn’t think that he established the character any better than David Suchet, despite the bigger budget, bigger canvas.  Even worse, the plot itself is botched – we barely get to learn each character’s backstory by the time we find Poirot lining them all up and revealing the solution to the crime.  Instead much time is wasted trying to make the film feel like an action flick (that chase after Josh Gad) or to use the 65mm screen with what feels a lot like CGI landscapes behind the fabled train.  Give it a miss. 

The Third Murder (2017)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Third Murder (2017) – H. Kore-eda

I think I remember hearing that Kore-eda’s The Third Murder (the film before his Cannes winning Shoplifters, 2018) was a big hit in Japan. It stars Koji Yakusho as Misumi, a man who has confessed to murdering his boss, a factory owner, which would be his third murder, as he was only recently released from prison after serving a sentence for killing two yakuza loan sharks 30 years earlier.  Masaharu Fukuyama plays Shigemori, the defence lawyer who digs deeper into Misumi’s case when the facts don’t really line up.  For most of its running time, Kore-eda delivers us a crisp legal thriller as Shigemori and his team interview various witnesses and potential accessories, following up every lead and discussing matters with the somewhat cagey or confused Misumi.  Shigemori even travels to Hokkaido where the earlier murders took place.  However, Kore-eda seemingly has a different goal than to just serve up a genre film – his real interest lies in making a case that the death penalty as deliberated in Japan is extremely problematic, primarily because there is social pressure placed on everyone to make the system run smoothly and efficiently and thus dissent may be suppressed.  In getting this point across, Kore-eda seems to leave the answer to the question of Misumi’s real motives ambiguous.  Another goal of equating Misumi and Shigemori -- both have daughters as did the murder victim – seems more in line with Kore-eda’s usual focus on family drama, but the dots aren’t fully connected here.  I suspect that Japanese audiences may have gotten more out of the film in its native language and context. Still, the film does reward those who want to think about it, after the fact.

 

Ingrid Goes West (2017)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

Ingrid Goes West (2017) – M. Spicer

I guess I rarely watch any movies that are so relentlessly modern – the plot is really about the kinds of obsession that social media can create and the new job of “influencer” (though not named as such here).  Aubrey Plaza plays Ingrid who desperately wants to be liked/loved by the in crowd who portray themselves as being perfect on Instagram.  After her mother dies and she spends a few months institutionalised, Ingrid heads to Cali (with a sizeable, although not inexhaustible, inheritance) after fixating on one particular influencer, Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen), who is a rather stereotypic yuppie millennial.  Yes, Ingrid is a stalker.  As such, it is never quite clear whether the film is supposed to be a comedy or not (I take it that Plaza got her break via comedy TV) – if so, it is so black as to be indistinguishable from an anxiety-provoking drama seen from the damaged stalker’s point of view.  You do feel sympathy for Ingrid, despite all of the terrible things she does, perhaps because they are recognised to stem from some deep-seated insecurities. Of course, the film wants to make the larger point that social media is full of put-ons and people portraying themselves as different & better than they really are – which has the unintended consequence of making the weaker among us feel worse as a result of social comparisons with the illusions.  Watching Ingrid try to insinuate herself into the SoCal crowd where she doesn’t fit/belong is painful, so watch this if that’s your idea of fun!  Although the film is damning of social media, a brief afterthought about the positive effects of these communities is too little, too late.

  

Wind River (2017)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Wind River (2017) – T. Sheridan

Above average thriller that has more to say than usual – about sexual violence against women, in particular on Native American reservations (where tribal police may be understaffed and have no ability to prosecute non-Native offenders).  It also spends a lot of its runtime with characters who are grieving, allowing viewers to absorb their feelings.  Jeremy Renner plays a hunter who is called into the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming during the winter to track a mountain lion who has been killing sheep.  He is no stranger to the reservation (portrayed as a dead-end place), as his ex-wife grew up there; they are divorced, after the recent death of their teen daughter. So, when Renner finds the frozen body of another Native girl, this brings traumatic memories back for him.  Elizabeth Olsen is the FBI agent, perhaps out-of-her-depth, brought in to solve the crime.  Graham Greene is the cynical tribal sheriff.  The content is depressing and the many chilly shots of people in snow simply add to the forsaken feel.  As seen in flashback, the crime itself is brutal and terrifying, revealing not only hostile prejudice toward Native Americans but a depiction of the worst of men.  Renner’s final actions feel as though they can’t possibly erase his trauma and might add to it.  Yet, at the end of the day, we do get glimpses of human warmth, between Renner and the dad of the victim, between Renner and Olsen.  Hope isn’t all lost when people care about each other -- but the failure of the American government to adequately protect its indigenous peoples (and women particularly) is a gaping wound in the heart of the nation.

 

The Endless (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆

The Endless (2017) – J. Benson & A. Moorhead

What have we here?  There’s an outsider/weird American folk horror/stoner vibe to the proceedings (set in rural southern California) that usually garner praise from these quarters  except for the fact that the acting by the leads (also the directors) is sub-par and also because the film dissolves into some sort of self-reflexive in-joke that goes nowhere.  But aside from that I really dug the weirdness:  two guys who were raised in a cult (but then escaped as young adults) return, because of a VHS tape and then nostalgia.  Of course, the prophecies of the cult (three moons etc.) start to come true – or maybe it’s the drugs everyone is doing? A lot of this is just cult members talking but there is a steady sense that something is going to happen (sex, horror, both?). Someone (Glenn Kenny?) mentioned Annihilation (2018) and there’s the same fried feeling here (and invisible god/monster?) and the same eventual total collapse of logic.  But I get the feeling that some viewers don’t quite care whether plots hold up (see the straight-to-video horror genre, for example) and, for them, any WTF is good WTF. I guess I prefer it when there’s actually a pay-off.  But yeah, this has the vibe.

  

Loveless (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Loveless (2017) – A. Zvyagintsev

I have found Andrey Zvyagintsev’s previous films (esp. Leviathan, 2014) to be really compelling stylistically, even as they deal with complex human relations in contemporary Russia, highlighting a lot of social ills.  Perhaps they were pessimistic and bleak but often there was a streak of black humour in the darkness.  I expected something similar from Loveless, about a couple going through a bitter divorce whose son goes missing, but there is no humour here to lighten the grimness.  Yes, the cinematography and direction (lots of slow zooms) is stellar and the film is gripping in its way – especially in its second half when the focus is on finding the 12-year-old boy who has disappeared and there are no clues. But the primary protagonists, Zhenya (Maryana Spivak) and Boris (Aleksey Rozin) are anything but likeable (yet not one-dimensional either); Zvyagintsev seems to be using their selfishness to critique the growing Russian middle class, where one’s own happiness matters most and the social fabric is becoming unglued as a result.  Another thread seems to suggest that parents’ selfishness can impact their children’s subsequent behaviour, as Zhenya’s mother, angry, belligerent, paranoid, and alone, has clearly helped to create Zhenya’s own ugliness toward her child (Boris might be starting the cycle again with his new girlfriend).  The events here are truly sad, especially when the parents wish aloud that they never had their child in the first place.  And seemingly their wish comes true… to what effect?  Harrowing, ambiguous, depressing. 

Good Time (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Good Time (2017) – B. Safdie & J. Safdie

Benny and Josh Safdie are hot indie directors and this 2017 feature may be their breakthrough (the first of their films I’ve watched).  Robert Pattinson stars as Connie, a hoodlum (more or less) who stages a bank robbery with his intellectually disabled brother, Nick (Benny Safdie).  When it goes wrong and Nick is jailed, Connie seeks to break him out (but it turns out he’s been relocated to a hospital after getting beaten up in a prison fight).  Thus begins a rather epic night that sees Connie travel from the bail bondsman’s office to the hospital and points beyond (a closed amusement park) as his plans fall apart.  The soundtrack by Oneohtrix Point Never (pulsating electronic music) really makes the film and gives it a druggy overtone that isn’t contradicted by the action we see (and the film’s visual sense).  Pattinson inhabits the character well and pretty much disappears into it (esp. after his hair is bleached).  The desperation onscreen (punctuated by sudden jolts of violence) is pretty palpable.  So, the film might give viewers a rush of sorts. There is also some pretty black comedy afoot (possibly in bad taste).  But when things suddenly ground to a halt 100 minutes later, I guess I was left wondering what the point of it all was.

Faces Places (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Faces Places (2017) – A. Varda & JR

I’d never heard of JR, the young French photographer/muralist, until he teamed up with venerable director Agnes Varda (originally of the French New Wave and more recently a champion essay filmmaker) to make this documentary. Together they travel the countryside, meeting the locals and taking giant photos of them and pasting them on barns, buildings, and water towers.  The effect is admittedly pretty cool and Varda crafts the cinematic result for maximum charm, highlighting the rapport between the 33 year old and the 88 year old (although they didn’t meet on the dance floor).  Things do become personal, as Varda navigates their search to a memorial for one of her favourite authors (Nathalie Sarraute) and to the graves of photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson and his wife.  Finally, she arranges to meet up with Jean-Luc Godard himself (because JR’s penchant for always wearing shades reminds her of him) and the film suddenly careens toward a peak, with the heightened expectation that these two Nouvelle Vague veterans will meet on camera!  And then, what? We’re left wondering what happened.  And now Varda has passed (early in 2019), leaving a huge legacy and some very wistful films – like this one.

Logan Lucky (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆

Logan Lucky (2017) – S. Soderbergh

Are director Steven Soderbergh and writer Rebecca Blunt taking the piss or do they genuinely have some affection for these blue-collar characters from West Virginia?  How close do the actors veer toward caricature?  I guess it is a testament to all that the line here is pretty blurred – after some initial discomfort, I settled in to their world and accepted (mostly) everyone on face value.  A lot of little seemingly authentic details flesh things out.  But this is still a comedy so we’re meant to laugh at some fools (e.g., Jack Quaid and Brian Gleeson). Channing Tatum and Adam Driver are brothers who have been unlucky in life and now plan to rob the local racetrack during a big NASCAR event (with the assistance of convict Daniel Craig, playing American).  The filmmakers play a bit of a shell game with the audience, refusing to give us all the details of the heist plan until it has actually unfolded – this “reveal” is mostly satisfying but a bit mechanical.  Soderbergh and his team are really aiming for “fun” here and the ironic sting in the tail is supposed to round things off and send the audience home with a knowing smile – but somehow things don’t really lift off.  It could be a somewhat jarring mismatch of acting styles at times or a generally subdued performance from Tatum or a “seen it all before” feel to the heist.  But it is certainly an amiable time-passer.

You Were Never Really Here (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

You Were Never Really Here (2017) – L. Ramsay

There can be no denying that Lynne Ramsay is a masterful director nor that Joaquin Phoenix is an incredible actor.  Yet despite the artistic forces at work here, the material is too grim and their respective talents cannot elevate it to transcendence.  In fact, the viewer might be led to a quixotic state of having two minds here: the first mind is awed by the shot choices and compositions which involve abstract patterns of moving colours and light layered across the image whereas the second mind is dulled by the harsh story that finds Phoenix’s traumatised war vet acting as a rescuer of underage girls subjected to sex trafficking.  The two minds may meet occasionally, of course, as when Phoenix’s character (“Joe”) experiences flashbacks to his childhood (with abusive father) or the war (seeing one child shoot another for a candy bar) or to his main coping mechanism (suffocating himself with a plastic bag).  Ramsay interweaves these snippets as a cognitive psychologist might, showing thoughts as they are prompted by the present and their emotional impact (as conveyed perfectly by Phoenix).  As elsewhere, Phoenix is not afraid to let himself appear bedraggled, wounded, imperfect – he absorbs the horror of the world for us.  Yet, a too pat ending encourages us to go on.  I haven’t watched those Liam Neeson “Taken” films but this would seem a variation on those (but the plot itself, implicating the governor/local senator in the trafficking ring, is truly beside the point here).  Proceed with caution.

The Wife (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Wife (2017) -- B. Runge

Watching Glenn Close begin to burn with resentment as her husband (Jonathan Pryce) receives the Nobel Prize for Literature is a sombre affair.  As he meets various Swedish officials and other celebrated figures, he is quick to acknowledge his wife, Joan, and his debt to her.  We learn that she gave up her own writing career to raise a family, a sacrifice so many women have made (to the detriment of society?).  Despite his efforts to include his wife, it is clear that Joe Castleman (Pryce) is insensitive and self-absorbed (which also impacts his son, Max Irons, who is a fledgling writer).  As played with great control by Close, Joan is attentive to her husband’s needs and whims, but clearly losing patience.  When she declares a desire to be by herself, she is stalked by aspiring biographer Christian Slater, who seeks some dirt on Joe, raising the possibility that Joan herself had ghost written some of her husband’s novels.  She brushes him off but the tension within her starts to mount. Swedish director Björn Runge doesn’t quite make it to Bergman territory here (where couples really do tear each other apart); although the acting is strong from the leads, the dialogue doesn’t quite keep pace.  Moreover, the plot becomes increasingly far-fetched, undercutting the focus on the very real power imbalances within families, by portraying an extreme example.  Flashback scenes (featuring Glenn Close’s real daughter Annie Starke) don’t operate at the same level of quality as the modern scenes.  But there is no doubt that Glenn Close deserved the kudos she received for her work on this film – and this theme deserves closer scrutiny.    

I Am Not A Witch (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

I Am Not A Witch (2017) – R. Nyoni

This is the first feature of Zambian-born Welsh director Rungano Nyoni.  It takes place in Zambia.  I have never been there and the events it depicts seem very farfetched but some googling suggests that women may still be accused of witchcraft in this country.  The film tells the story of Shula (Maggie Mulubwa), a young girl who may be an orphan and who is convicted of this crime because of circumstantial evidence (what else could there be?).  She is then sent to a “witch camp” where a large group of older women, all tethered to gigantic spools by long white ribbons, live and work.  They entertain tourists but also perform manual labour on a farm.  The group welcomes Shula and you sense that they could be and would be a set of surrogate mothers for her.  But instead she becomes a sort of diviner for local politician Mr. Banda (Henry B.J. Phiri) who uses her at line-ups to point out thieves and other criminals (using supernatural means, of course), rewarding her (and the camp) with booze and other gifts.  Nyoni leaves it up-in-the-air as to whether Shula really can I.D. the perps.  Indeed, there is some wry comedy at work here, particularly in the depiction of Mr. Banda who seems rather hapless but may also be an exploiter. Later he goes on TV to sell “Shula’s eggs”, presumably magical, and tries to sell her guarantee of rain to a local White farmer.  Obviously, the mistreatment of women and their exploitation is a central theme of the film.  Shula soon laments that she ever allowed herself to be called a witch and felt that she should have taken the option of becoming a goat instead (by cutting the ribbon), even if the goat would be killed and eaten.  It doesn’t rain, casting some doubt on witchcraft’s ability but this may be due to Shula’s recalcitrance.  Later, however, it seems perhaps that Shula really does make it rain (through self-sacrifice or malice by some third party).  I had to watch the ending a couple of times and I’m still not sure I fully grasp what happened.  Of course, the ambiguous and mysterious aspect of events in Zambia leave room for interpretation – and for such bizarre practices to continue (if indeed they still do).  I’ll be interested to see what this director does next.

Beast (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Beast (2017) – M. Pearce

A serial killer is loose on the tiny Channel Island of Jersey (nearer to France than England but containing a mix of cultures).  We are introduced to Moll (Jessie Buckley) whose perspective we take – but at times it seems a very unreliable perspective!  Moll has a dark secret in her past and, although somewhere in her mid-20s, she seems to be under the protection of her domineering mother.  Clearly, she wants to rebel and on the night of her birthday garden party she escapes to the local dance club, gets drunk and then very nearly sexually assaulted until she is rescued by Pascal Renouf (Johnny Flynn), an odd but attractive young man out poaching in the early morning.  She’s from the high end of town and he’s rough so her family frowns on their relationship (which does seem impetuous).  Eventually it becomes clear that he is a prime suspect for the serial killings but she takes it upon herself to lie for him to give him an alibi without ever knowing for sure that he is innocent.  So, this is the central tension of the film – but it isn’t really a “woman in distress” picture of the usual sort (despite its links to Hitchcock’s Suspicion, 1941) because it seems eminently plausible that Moll herself is the “beast” of the title.  Not that she would be the serial killer but certainly there is something wrong in her, something that has led her to rebel against society and even into violence and darkness (beyond just despising the constraints that her mother places upon her).  Pearce, in his feature debut (he also wrote the script), controls the tension admirably until late in the film when all is revealed and Moll -- and we viewers -- don’t know exactly what to do.  It is a hesitantly pregnant moment and a finely written one.  That said, I’m not quite sure I’m convinced by the subsequent ending or the motivation underlying the action taken, however – a few more minutes of denouement may have cast a bit more light on questions of character.

Darkest Hour (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆

Darkest Hour (2017) – J. Wright

Gary Oldman’s performance as Winston Churchill is probably the only reason to watch this film, which takes place entirely in the days just before and at the start of his first term as prime minister in 1940.  The trademark cigar and hat are there as well as the mannerism (physical and vocal) that you may recall from newsreels, aided by prosthetics, of course.  Oldman remarkably disappears or melds into the famous man.  The screenplay takes us back to the time when Britain was paralysed with indecision about whether to follow Neville Chamberlain’s inclination to engage in peace talks with Hitler or Churchill’s instinct to fight.  We see Churchill’s (rare) moments of self-doubt and his use of rhetoric and strategic thinking (at Dunkirk) to win the argument and take the battle to the Nazis.  Some commentators have suggested that this depiction is a whitewash and that there were many aspects to Churchill (particularly materialising in his second term as PM in 1951) that were ugly.  And truly this is a glorified look at the man – which may be in keeping with Oldman’s reputed right-wing politics (should that matter?).  Secondary characters have basically nothing to do (Lily James is his secretary, Kristin Scott-Thomas is his wife, Ben Mendelsohn is the King).  Of course, knowing what we know about Hitler and the Nazis it is easy to yield to the rousing call to war here but other films have captured this time better (for example, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, also 2017).  Director Joe Wright tries to spice things up with travelling dolly shots and stylistic lighting/camera angles but, on the whole, the result here is ho-hum, notwithstanding Churchill’s famous speeches. 

  

Logan (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Logan (2017) – J. Mangold

I confess that I haven’t seen many superhero films (including none of the X-Men films that I can recall) but this recent Hugh Jackman Wolverine film got such positive reviews that it attracted my attention. So, bear in mind that I watched this cold, without much awareness of the X-Men backstory (apart from anything I may have gleaned from looking at other kids’ comics during summer camp in the 1970s) – your mileage may vary.  Of course, setting aside some of the supernatural elements, the film can be read as the story of an aging and disillusioned man, potentially dying of some unknown illness, drowning himself in drink and drugs, but then called upon to assist in a moral imperative whereupon he rediscovers an important part of himself and/or his deeper values.  This may not be Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey but it is certainly a story arc we have seen before.  The fact that it is a child who brings the hero to his senses is also familiar.  So, adding the supernatural elements to the mix may be what has refreshed it.  In this version, the weary old man (Logan; Hugh Jackman) has razor sharp adamantium claws and the young child is a new mutant developed from his genetic material (played by Dafne Keen) who sports the same weapons.  She has escaped from the facility that created her (run by Richard E. Grant) and needs Logan to help her to escape to “Eden” located on the Canadian border.  It is a long way from the Mexican border – especially with X-Men leader Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), now 90 years old, and experiencing seizures that can kill others, in tow.  There are some military-styled bad guys to fight along the way and the film earns its R-rating for violence.  The final fight, in a North Dakotan forest reminiscent of the setting (and moves?) for the Six Million Dollar Man vs. Bigfoot, feels old-school rather than CGI, which I appreciated. And it was hard not to identify with a grumbly superhero who wears reading glasses!  This said, I’m not sure I need to watch anything else from this franchise.