o This section aims to provide a review oi every liim to be seen in central Scotland over the next lortnight. For programme times see individual cinema listings. (U)-Universai, suitable ior all ages. (P0) - Parental Guidance suggested as some scenes may be unsuitable lor younger children. (15) - No one under the age at 15 admitted.
The Love Child (15) (Robert Smith, UK, l907) Sheila Hancock, Peter Capaldi, Percy Herbert. 94 mins Alter a succession oi highly-regarded 16mm works like Maeve, Acceptable Levels and Ursula and Glenys, Frontroom Productions have stretched the resources at a miniscule £300,000 budget to the absolute limit ior their lirst lull-scale comedy. Gordon Hann has provided them with a thoughtlul, deceptively simple script that places its central story 01 a young man’s growing independence in the thriving heart oi a real, live community- supposedly representative at Britain in the Eighties.
Peter Capaldl stars as Dillon, the Iovechild at two members oi the cult Sixties’ psychedelic band The Pink Frogs. Since their deaths in a car crash, he has been raised in Brixton by his grandmother Edith. In contrast to his iconoclastic parents, Dillon is a dull coniormist with a lite consisting oi mainly work and little play. However, in the course at a iew days he ialls in love, meets two irrespressiny resilient
anarchists, loses his job and tinds
FILM LIST
(10) - No one under the age 0118 admitted.
c-Hew Release.
0 Absolute Beginners ( 15) (J ulicn Temple, UK, 1986) Eddie O‘connell, Patsy Kensit. David Bowie. 108 mins. An exuberantly kaleidoscopic musical about the long hot summer of 1958. climaxed by the Notting Hill race riots. Edinburgh; Filmhouse
0 Alter Hours ( 15) (Martin Scorsese. US, 1985) Griffin Dunne. Rosanna Arqucttc, John Heard. 97 mins. Conventional word processor Dunne spends an unforgettably nightmarish night on the town in this
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fast. furious and extremely funny exploration of urban paranoia. Edinburgh; EUFS
o Aguirre, Wrath oi God (PG) (Werner Herzog. W. Germany. 1972) Klaus Kinski. Cecilia Rivera. 95 mins. 17th century conquistadors on a mission to explore the Amazon court disaster when the zeal of their leader remains undampened after a number ofencounters with hostile Indians. Glasgow; GFI‘
0 Alpine Fire (18) (Fredi Murcr. Switzerland. 1985) Thomas Nock. Johanna Lier. 117 mins. High in the Swiss Alps, on an isolated family farm. a dcafadolesccnt boy‘s infatuation with his older sister deepens into an incestuous relationship. Beautifully paced and shot on awe-inspiring locations. the film has a sensitive feel for the landscape Glasgow: GFI‘
0 An American Tail (U) (Don BLuth. US. 1986) Voices of Dom Dc Luise. Madeline Kahn. 81 mins. Cutcsy. patriotic animated feature with the Spielberg touch as the Mousekewitz family make the journey from old Russia to the New World. The rich detail demanded by master craftsman Bluth wins the day.
THE LOVE CHILD
himselt.
The general standard at casting and periormance in Love Child is one at the lilm's main virtues. Capaldi ettects a convincing South London accent and wins our sympathy as the hero coming to terms with his past and realising that ‘it's a hard job being average'. A Cleese-like propensity tor silly walks and a deadpan reilectiveness distinguish his character beiore love and unemployment awaken him to the drawbacks oi desperately seeking to be ordinary.
Sheila Hancock, as Dillon’s beloved grandmother, is on especially line lorm, really seizing the opportunity to make something substantial out at her role. Funny, detiant and, above all, human, her Edith is a woman whose practicality and resourceiulness are admirable qualities that will see her through old age in England. A smashing periormance lrom a lady too olten neglected by the cinema.
In other respects, Love Child is a less happy blend oi disparate styles and content that lrequently jar. The gritty depiction ol Drixton and its residents
has been accused at being patronising and seems at odds with atone oi whimsicality that allows an angst-ridden Dillon exclusive communication with inanimate objects (such as a talking toilet and a chatty tin can). The introduction at two brutally sadistic cops who indiscriminately
Strathclyde; Odeon Ayr. Odeon Hamilton 0 Angel Heart( 18) (Alan Parker. US. 1987) Mickey Rourke. Lisa Bonet. Robert De Niro. 113 mins. Unkempt private eye Harry Angel (Rourke) is hired by the mysterious Louis Cyphre (De Niro) to track down a missing Forties' crooner who has reneged on a life-or-death deal. His investigations lead him to a seedy New Orleans dominated by voodoo cults and a trail of very dead bodies. Unpalatablc Faustian brew unsuccessfully blending a detective yarn with explicit special effects. horror and gore. Glasgow; Odeon. Edinburgh; Odeon o L‘Apprenti Salaud (Mlchel Deville. France. 1976) Robert Lamoureux. Christine Dejoux. 98 mins. The story of an average Frenchman who. through fear ofboredom. acts out the role of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Edinburgh: French Institute. 0 Aria ( 18) 1} (Robert Altman. Bruce Beresford. Bill Bryden. Jean-Luc Godard. Derek Jarman. Nicolas Roeg. Franc Roddam. Ken Russell. Charles Sturridge. Julien Temple. UK. 1987) Theresa Russell. Tilda Swinton. Buck Henry et al. 98 mins.
attack an innocent punk suggests a iilm trying to cover 100 many ‘worthy' issues. However, The Love Child is a likeable social-realist comedy that is contemporary without disregarding the lessons at Ealing and the past.(AIlan Hunter).
8 The List 30 Oct — 12 Nov