Film INDEX PROFILE
NICOLE GRIMAUDO Born 22 April 1980, Caltagirone, Sicily Background As a 15-year-old Grimaudo made her professional acting debut in a Rome production of The Cherry Orchard. Since then she has worked in television, cinema and the theatre, with directors as diverse as Roman Polanski (in a theatrical version of Amadeus), Giuseppe Tornatore (Baaria), the Taviani brothers (Two Kidnappings) and Ferzan Ozpetek (A Perfect Day). For the television miniseries Caesar, she was cast as Julius Caesar’s daughter, starring alongside Sir Richard Harris and Christopher Walken.
What’s she up to now? Her latest film role is in Ozpetek’s family- in-crisis comedy Loose Cannons, which is set in the southern Italian city of Lecce: her character Alba falls in love with a gay businessman (Riccardo Scamarcio). On playing Alba in Loose Cannons ‘She’s almost like an animal in a cage. She’s a wounded woman, who’s trying to redeem herself and she falls in love with a man with can’t love her back. Loose Cannons is a comedy and I’m the only person playing a serious role. Everyone who sees the film feels sorry for Alba!’
On the city of Lecce ‘Lecce is very important as a setting to Loose Cannons. Although the story in the film is universal, it’s particularly relevant to the south of Italy, where family life is so central to society.’
On American actresses ‘My favourite actresses at the moment are American ones like Natalie Portman. I really admire the way they get to play leading characters. In Italy we don’t have the same opportunities. We’re given supporting roles, as the wife or the lover.’ Interesting Fact A sufferer of insomnia, Grimaudo watches lots of films late at night. (Tom Dawson) ■ Loose Cannons, GFT, Glasgow and selected cinemas, from Sun 2 Jan.
68 THE LIST 16 Dec 2010 – 6 Jan 2011
Films screening this fortnight are listed below with certificate, star rating, credits, brief review and venue details. Film index compiled by Paul Dale ✽✽ Indicates Hitlist entry Africa United (12A) ●●●●● (Debs Gardner-Paterson, UK, 2010) Eriya Ndayambaje, Roger Nsengiyumva, Sanyu Joanita Kintu. 88min. Simplistic, feel-good road movie tracking the adventures of three intrepid children led by the wily and courageous Dudu (Ndayambaje), who set out to walk the 5000km from Rwanda to the World Cup in South Africa. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Alpha & Omega 2D (U) ●●●●● (Anthony Bell/Ben Gluck, US, 2010) Voices of Hayden Pannetierre, Christina Ricci, Justin Long. 87min. Cutesy and unremarkable lupine rom-com featuring Kate (Panettiere) and Humphrey (Long), wolves from opposite ends of the social spectrum who find that they have more in common than they thought after being removed from their pack by some meddlesome rangers. Selected release. The American (15) ●●●●● (Anton Corbijn, US, 2010) George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten. 104min. Assassin Jack (Clooney) retreats to the Italian countryside following an attempt on his life. He befriends a priest and a prostitute who try to convince him to change his ways. Meanwhile, however, his pursuers are closing in. Simplistic and effective cinema from Control director Corbijn. General release. Animals United (U) ●●●●● (Reinhard Klooss, Holger Tappe, Germany, 2010) Voices of Ralf Schmitz, Thomas Fritsch, Christoph Maria Herbst. 92min. See Also Released, page 66. Selected release. Animals United 3D (U) ●●●●● (Reinhard Klooss, Holger Tappe, Germany, 2010) Voices of Ralf Schmitz, Thomas Fritsch, Christoph Maria Herbst. 92min. See above. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow; Cineworld Fountainpark, Edinburgh. Another Year (12A) ●●●●● (Mike Leigh, UK, 2010) Jim Broadbent, Lesley
Bad Santa
Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight. 129min. This bittersweet examination of middle- aged life gently unfolds over the seasons. Dealing with themes from death to marriage to depression and the search for happiness, the life cycle is enhanced by many fantastic performances. Empire, Clydebank; Dominion, Edinburgh. Bad Santa (15) ●●●●● (Terry Zwigoff, US/Germany, 2003) Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Lauren Graham, Bernie Mac. 91min. Wickedly funny movie about a pair of con men posing as Santa and his elf in order to rob department stores. Thornton’s Father Christmas, a foul- mouthed, womanising drunk named Willie T Stokes, is a work of comic genius whose consistently shocking catalogue of crimes and misdemeanours includes arriving inebriated; pissing his pants with a child sitting on his lap; and indulging his penchant for anal sex with big black women. Don’t bring your kids to this one. Glasgow Film Theatre. Band Baaja Baaraat (12A) (Maneesh Sharma, India, 2010) Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh, Manmeet Singh. 139min. Two graduates start up a wedding-planning business. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow. Bildwechsel Glasgow Presents: Sounds of. . . (E) (Various, 1979–2010) 90min. A mixed programme of independent short films by female, lesbian, transgender, feminist or queer filmmakers from Scotland and beyond. CCA, Glasgow. The Bishop’s Wife (U) ●●●●● (Henry Koster, US, 1947) Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven. 105min. An almost classic holiday film about a bishop (Niven) who neglects his wife and parishioners to save his cathedral, until an angel (Grant) intervenes. Glasgow Film Theatre; Filmhouse, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Boudu Saved from Drowning (PG) ●●●●● (Jean Renoir, France,
1932) Michel Simon, Charles Granval, Marcelle Hainia. 85min. See Also Released, page 66 and picture caption, Listings. Filmhouse, Edinburgh. Burke and Hare (15) ●●●●● (John Landis, UK, 2010) Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Isla Fisher. 100min. A darkly comic retelling of the tale of Edinburgh’s most
notorious murderous residents, Williams Burke (Pegg) and Hare (Serkis), and their quest to supply doctors with fresh bodies for their experiments, from director Landis who proved he had a deft touch with horror comedy in An American Werewolf in London. Vue Ocean, Edinburgh. Burlesque (12A) ●●●●● (Steve Antin, US, 2010) Cher, Christina Aguilera, Alan Cumming. 119min. See feature, page 63 and review, page 64. Selected release. Carlos (15) ●●●●● (Olivier Assayas, France/Germany, 2010) Edgar Ramírez, Alexander Scheer, Christoph Bach. 166min. Exhilarating epic chronicling the career of superstar terrorist-for-hire Carlos The Jackal (Ramírez) and his various international exploits. An ambitious feat of cinema from French director Assayas. Cameo, Edinburgh.
✽✽ Catfish (12A) ●●●●● (Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman, US, 2010) Megan Faccio, Melody C Rosher, Ariel Schulman. 87min. See review, page 65 and profile, Listings. Grosvenor, Glasgow; Cameo, Edinburgh. Chatroom (15) ●●●●● (Hideo Nataka, UK, 2010) Aaron Johnson, Imogen Poots, Matthew Beard. 97min. See review, page 64. Selected release. Chico & Rita (15) ●●●●● (Javier Mariscal/Fernando Trueba, Spain/UK, 2010) Mario Guerra, Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Ona. 93min. Beautiful Spanish adult animation relating the bolero romance of a young aspiring pianist and fledgling singer who fall in love in 1940s Havana and later meet again as their careers take them across the world from Paris to Hollywood. Glasgow Film Theatre. A Christmas Carol 2D ●●●●● (PG) (Robert Zemeckis, US, 2009) Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman. 95min. Computer animated version of Dickens’ classic. Selected release. A Christmas Carol 3D (PG) ●●●●● (Robert Zemeckis, US, 2009) Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman. 95min. See above. IMAX Theatre, Glasgow. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 2D (PG) ●●●●● (Michael Apted, US, 2010) Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Tilda Swinton. 112min. Lucy (Georgie Henley)
Terry Zwigoff’s hilarious Christmas comedy re-emerges for more swearing, drinking, smoking and puking. Billy Bob Thornton is brilliant as the worst department store Santa ever. Great fun but for adults, hence the late night screening. ■ GFT, Glasgow, Fri 17 Dec.