list.co.uk/film
Film REVIEWS
HORROR THE TROLL HUNTER (15) 103min ●●●●●
This monster movie was an unqualified box office hit in its native Norway, and has picked up dozens of rave reviews on the worldwide festival circuit, but aside from a couple of good jokes and a handful of impressive visual effects sequences, there’s nothing in André Ovredal’s film that hasn’t been done much better before. It begins promisingly, with portentous opening text attesting to the veracity of this ‘found footage’, then a cut straight to handheld camera as three Norwegian media students document their pursuit of an illicit bear hunter. Their conversation is authentically mundane and the spectacular mountain scenery immediately atmospheric; it’s an aesthetic that’s been familiar since The Blair Witch Project so effectively rewrote the rulebook for modern horror. We seem to be on track for solid scares, but Ovredal abruptly gear-shifts to comedy once he reveals the trolls (fantastic CG creations that look like giant versions of Spike Jonze’s Wild Things). Not nearly scary enough to be a horror, but not consistently funny enough to be a comedy, The Troll Hunter ends up somewhere in the middle. (Paul Gallagher) ■ Selected release from Fri 9 Sep. See profile, page 95.
ROMANCE/DRAMA JANE EYRE (PG) 120min ●●●●● HORROR/THRILLER KILL LIST (18) 95min ●●●●●
DRAMA TOMBOY (U) 82min ●●●●●
The latest adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s classic book demonstrates that great texts can have many different interpretations. Director Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre) dumps the childhood chapters, makes insinuations as to the cruel upbringing endured by Eyre before picking up the story as she takes up a job as a governess in the house of the beguiling Rochester. Starring the otherworldly Mia Wasikowska in the titular role and the devilish Michael Fassbender as Rochester, the casting has been designed to place emphasis on the gothic aspects of the book. The sense of eeriness is delivered with the cloudy backdrop of the Yorkshire Moors and muted clothing choices. Clearly mindful to appeal to the Twilight generation, foreboding, danger and forbidden love are the juices fuelling this romance. Dame Judi Dench makes her presence felt as Mrs Fairfax while Jamie Bell as St John Rivers remains largely on the periphery, with insufficient evidence of his unrequited love. Fukunaga does a great job in making the action and emotions feel modern without updating the story to the present day. (Kaleem Aftab) ■ General release from Fri 9 Sep.
Down Terrace director Ben Wheatley’s second feature is another tale of crime, skullduggery and mystery. Kill List is one of those movies that starts off in one genre (kitchen sink drama) and turns into another (horror). Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn attempted something as generically schizophrenic as this and as with that film your enjoyment of Kill List is going to depend on your ability to overlook certain narrative deficiencies and the fact that many of the more interesting set-ups are simply abandoned.
Wheatley uses jump cuts and close camerawork to excellent effect at a dinner party in which hard up former soldier Jay (Neil Maskell) and his Swedish wife Shel (MyAnna Burning) host his hit-man best buddy Gal (Michael Smiley) and his new girlfriend Fiona (Emma Fryer). Jay and Shel fight over the fact he hasn’t worked for eight months so when Gai suggests they murder people on a kill list for money, it seems like a good idea. Wheatley cycles through the genres as the killing spree begins, but the ambiguity that is initially its strength becomes a weakness by the end. (Kaleem Aftab) ■ General release from Fri 2 Sep.
As the title suggests, this quietly beautiful film is about a little girl who wants to act like a boy. But audiences may still be surprised when writer/director Celine Sciamma reveals that the character they’ve been introduced to as Michael is actually Laure. That’s a measure of 10 year-old Zoé Héran’s convincing performance, and it also ensures the believability of the film’s central conceit; that Laure can successfully pass for a boy with the children in her new neighbourhood. Laure’s deception is unknown to her parents, but while this gives the film a layer of bubbling tension, as we know the truth must surely come out at some point, Sciamma is more interested in capturing a particular mood than telling a dramatic story. Through lovingly observed scenes of children playing outside together she evokes a seemingly endless childhood summer, establishing a carefree tone that contrasts with the high stakes of Laure’s personal struggle to discover her identity. The film could be described as a pre-pubescent cousin of Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides; Sciamma offers a unique study of childhood. (Paul Gallagher) ■ GFT, Glasgow, Fri 16–Thu 22 Sep.
25 Aug–22 Sep 2011 THE LIST 97