Film Index PROFILE
GABOUREY ‘GABBY’ SIDIBE Born 6 May 1983
Background Born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, where Do The Right Thing was filmed, she grew up in Harlem. Her mother is an R&B and gospel singer and her father a taxi driver. Sidibe’s life changed when a friend encouraged her to go to an open audition for Precious in the Bronx.
What’s she up to now? Sidibe has been winning plaudits and awards for her turn as a teenage single mother in Lee Daniel’s mesmerising adaptation of Sapphire’s novel Push. She revels in the role of an overweight girl who dreams of superstardom whilst trying to forget about the troubles that she is having at home. Nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance, more recently Sidibe has just finished making her second movie Yelling to the Sky in which she plays a bully opposite Zoe Kravitz. On acting in her first film ‘Because I hadn’t acted before, I was afraid that I wouldn’t know what I was doing, but I listened so closely to whatever Mr Daniels told me to do and he taught me so much. I was so open because I knew nothing. I learned something from everyone and was like a sponge. I never felt like I can’t do this because everyone had confidence in me and I was never nervous.’
On fame ‘It’s like a dream, especially when you are on the red carpet. The red carpet is like Kansas, for me it’s like being in another world. I especially like it because every time I have to go onto the red carpet I have to do my make-up first.’ Interesting fact To prepare for the audition, Sidibe decided to only reread the first page of the book again, in order to tune into her sound. When Lee Daniels said she had the part she started to cry in his arms. ■ Precious: A Novel by Sapphire is on general release from Fri 29 Jan. See review.
52 THE LIST 21 Jan–4 Feb 2010
Citizen Kane (PG) ●●●●● (Orson Welles, US, 1941) Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead. 119min. Stunningly successful biographical mosaic centring on a Hearst-like media tycoon. Welles’ first film remains scintillating viewing for its sheer technical verve, narrative confidence and spellbinding performances. Cameo, Edinburgh. The Class (15) ●●●●● (Laurent Cantet, France, 2008) François Bégaudeau, Esmerelda Ouertani, Franck Keita. 130min. One teacher, one class, one term and a whole load of problems. Remarkable social realist drama. Part of 10 from 09 season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2D (U) ●●●●● (Phil Lord, US, 2009) Voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan. 90min. Vivid and likeable animated version of Judi and Ron Barrett’s 1978 children’s book set in the town of Chewandswallow, where the weather comes three times a day, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A Wean’s World screening. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Coraline 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Henry Selick, US, 2009) Voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman. 100min. After her family moves to Pink Mansions, Coraline (voiced by Fanning) quickly becomes bored with the large dusty house, and in particular with her hardworking parents (Hatcher and Hodgman). The fantasy kicks into top gear when she discovers a secret door that leads her into an alternate version of her home. A lush, visually imaginative and freshly entertaining stop-motion adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s children’s novel. Selected release. Creation (PG) ●●●●● (Jon Amiel, UK, 2009) Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Jones. 105min. Amiel’s Creation offers a worthy, thought-provoking insight into the story behind Darwin’s earth-shattering publication of his theory of evolution and boasts a terrific central performance from Bettany. Unfortunately this rather strait- laced film doesn’t take as many risks as it should in its effort to avoid re-igniting too many age-old debates. Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh. Criminals (18) ●●●●● (Joseph Strick, US, 1996) 73min. Strick overlays surveillance footage of various criminals, thieving baggage handlers and church- workers, videos of assaults and taped confessions by killers with offbeat narration written by the poet C K Williams. This screening will be followed by Strick’s short film Muscle Beach. Part of The films of Joseph Strick season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Crude (15) ●●●●● (Joe Berlinger, US, 2009) 104min. This complex yet absorbing cinema-vérite documentary from American director Berlinger, concerns a multi-billion dollar legal action in the field of environmental compensation. Back in 1993 a lawsuit was filed on behalf of 30,000 Amazonian tribes people in Ecuador against Texaco, the plaintiffs arguing that the oil drilling and waste dumping activities of the company, which merged with Chevron in 2001, had destroyed their natural habitat. Cameo, Edinburgh. Daybreakers (15) ●●●●● (Michael/Peter Spierig, US, 2009) Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Isabel Lucas. 97min. It’s 2017, and the undead now outnumber the living. A virus has spread across the earth, turning its inhabitants into vampires. With their blood supply dwindling, the vampires must find a way to sustain their source of food. Intelligent, gory and thoroughly entertaining horror from talented German sibling filmmaker duo. General release. Did you Hear About the Morgans? (PG) ●●●●● (Marc Lawrence, US, 2009) Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalia Klima. 103min. Fish out of water comedy pairing Grant with Jessica Parker as married thespians going through a rocky patch. Their relationship begins to show signs of recovery when they are sent into a witness protection scheme after clocking a murder. General release. Disney’s a Christmas Carol in IMAX3d (PG) ●●●●● (Robert Zemeckis, US, 2009) Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman. 95min. Computer animated version of Dickens’ classic with visuals maxed out in IMAX and 3D. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. Dulha Mil Gaya (12A) (Mudassar Aziz, India, 2010) 125min. Bollywood film. Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow. Early Summer (PG) ●●●●● (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan, 1951) Setsuko Hara, Chishu Ryu, Chikage Awashima. 124min. Characteristically focusing on the texture of family life, Ozu’s Early Summer chronicles the efforts exerted by a father to marry off his ‘old maid’ daughter. Part of Yasujiro Ozu: From Spring to Autumn season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Edge of Darkness (15) (Martin Campbell, UK/US, 2010) Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston. 117min. See Also Released, page 49. General release from Fri 29 Jan An Education (12A) ●●●●● (Lone Scherfig, UK, 2009) Peter Sarsgaard, Emma Thompson, Alfred Molina. 99min. Sarsgaard is on top form as seductive cad David, the older man responsible for educating bright but confused schoolgirl Jenny (Mulligan) in matters of love and life in swinging sixties London. With only a few tired stereotypes to detract from a superbly managed depiction of the central relationship, director Scherfig here combines romantic drama and the coming- of-age tale to wholly enjoyable effect. Selected release. Fantastic Mr Fox (PG) ●●●●● (Wes Anderson, USA, 2009) Voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Adrien Brody. 88min. Anderson’s inspired choice of stop- motion animation pays off in this beautiful and idiosyncratic adaptation of the well- loved children’s tale. While kids may enjoy it, Anderson’s typically arch humour
Theorem Monorail Film Club screening of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s seminal class struggle satire. Selected and introduced by
Stephen McRobbie from The Pastels. ■ GFT, Glasgow on Sun 31 Jan.
www.list.co.uk/film is aimed more at their parents, who will also be impressed by the star-studded voice cast – Bill Murray as a badger lawyer anyone?. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Fateless (Sorstalansag) (12A) ●●●●● (Lajos Koltai, Hungary/Germany/UK, 2005) Marcell Nagy, Bela Dora. 140min. 14-year-old Gyurka, a Budapest Jew, is fated to endure stints in three concentration camps: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buchenwald, and Zeitz. Through a series of vignettes, Koltai follows his stoical attempts to survive barbaric conditions and experience moments of fleeting happiness to create a daring, affecting and superlative Holocaust drama. A Holocaust Memorial Day screening. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Fish Tank (15) ●●●●● (Andrea Arnold, UK, 2009) Katie Jarvis, Kierston Wareing, Michael Fassbender. 122min. Living in a small flat on a sprawling Essex council estate with her single mum (Wareing) and younger sister, angry and aggressive 15- year-old Mia (Jarvis) finds herself inexplicably drawn, with disastrous results, to her mother’s new boyfriend, the confident and seemingly kind Connor (Fassbender). A brilliantly displaced portrait of our underclass, one that asks us not to moralise but to find beauty in the consumptive. Miss at your peril. Part of 10 from 09 season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Fly Me to the Moon (U) ●●●●● (Ben Stassen, US, 2008) Buzz Aldrin, Adrienne Barbeau, Ed Begley Jr. 84min. A 3D film describing mankind’s first trip to the moon is a lively sounding prospect, and moments in Stassen’s animation provide a genuine wow-factor, but such moments of poetry are fleeting and the majority of this film insanely focuses on the uninteresting plight of three houseflies who stowaway onboard. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. 44 Inch Chest (18) ●●●●● (Malcolm Venville, UK, 2009) Ray Winstone, Tom Wilkinson, Ian McShane. 94min. See review, page 47. Selected release. G-Force 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Hoyt Yeatman, UK, 2009) Voices of Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Kelli Garner. 90min. Jerry Bruckheimer-produced comedy adventure about a covertly trained group of guinea pig special agents who are charged with saving the world from disaster. Simple minded and likeable enough. Selected release. GFF10: Mystery Movie (tbc) Mystery movie to whet your appetite for the upcoming Glasgow Film Festival 2010 opening on the 18th February. Glasgow Film Theatre. Glorious 39 (12A) ●●●●● (Stephen Poliakoff, UK, 2009) Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Eddie Redmayne. 125min. Poliakoff production with stately country pile, lavish aristo picnic, soaring score, a sensational cast of British talent and a mystery lurking within a family at war. With tension ripping through the screenplay, there’s more to this than meets the eye, with the archetypal otherworldly dialogue being ditched in favour of more precise exchanges while the sweeping soundtrack from Adrian Johnston underpins the austere drama to perfection. Cameo, Edinburgh. Goodfellas (18) ●●●●● (Martin Scorsese, US, 1990) Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Braco, Paul Sorvino. 145min. Liotta plays Henry Hill, a real-life mafioso, with De Niro as his mentor in crime. And while the bullets, fists and carving knives fly, Scorsese brings us back to that unavoidable question — yes, it’s glamorous and lucrative to live this way, but can anyone really live with the consequences? Screened as part of Sloan’s Eat Film deal, the ticket price includes canapes, a meal and the film screening. Sloans, Glasgow The Great Waltz (U) ●●●●● (Julien Duvivier, US, 1938) Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravey, Miliza Korjus. 103min. Opulent musical about the romantic early years of composer Johann Strauss II (Gravey), hitched to the loving Poldi (Rainer) but obsessed with soprano singer Carla Donner (Miliza Korjus). Part of Luise Rainer season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh.