Film REVIEWS
ALSO RELEASED
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked ((UU)) 8877mmiinn The CG rodents get stranded on a desert island. We’re betting the rest of the plot bears a disappointing lack of similarity to Lord of the Flies. General release from Fri 16 Dec.
Meet Me in St Louis ((UU)) 111133mmiinn Vincente Minelli directs and Judy Garland stars in this reissue of the classic MGM musical. Selected release from Fri 16 Dec. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows ((1122AA)) 112299mmiinn More rogueish charm from Robert Downey Jr as the titular ‘tec and long-sufferance from Jude Law’s Watson. See review at list.co.uk General release from Fri 16 Dec.
Wreckers (15) 85min Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy star as a married couple put under pressure from the secrets of the past. Selected release from Fri 16 Dec.
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84 THE LIST 15 Dec 2011–5 Jan 2012
BIOPIC THE LADY (TBC) 135min ●●●●●
Luc Besson is best known for his action adventures such as The Fifth Element and Leon. His career has been in decline in recent years and this jump into serious drama has done nothing to alleviate this downward course. It takes some doing to rob the biopic of Nobel prize-winning pro- democracy Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi of drama and tension but, with his skewed view of history and ropey storytelling, Besson manages it.
The Lady starts with an idyllic fairytale vision of Burma (golden vistas, animals, untouched forests)
before the country is changed forever by the military coup in 1947. Yet Besson saves his biggest follies for the decade between 1988 and 1998 as he recounts how the arrest of Kyi (Michelle Yeoh) affects her relationship with her Oxford-based husband Michael Aris (David Thewlis). Aris emerges as a two-dimensional character – so stoic and understanding that, despite the personal trauma he faces, there is little audience empathy with his plight. All this comes at the expense of sufficient detail on Kyi’s impact on Burmese and international politics. A wasted opportunity. (Kaleem Aftab) ■ General release from Fri 30 Dec.
DOCUMENTARY DRAMA DREAMS OF A LIFE (12A) 90min ●●●●●
Back in January 2006, 38-year-old Londoner Joyce Vincent was found dead in her flat, located above a busy shopping centre. Her decomposing corpse had lain there undisturbed for nearly three years, surrounded by Christmas presents and with the television still tuned to BBC 1. How could such a tragedy happen in 21st century Britain? In a manner reminiscent of Agnes Varda’s Vagabond,
writer-director Carol Morley (The Alcohol Years) mixes up formats in this compelling documentary-drama investigation into Vincent’s intriguing life story. There are imaginative, voiceless reconstructions, in which Fresh Meat actress Zawe Ashton plays the adult Joyce, shrewdly chosen songs, such as Carolyn Crawford’s ‘My Smile is Just a Frown (Turned Upside Down)’, and interviews with Joyce’s ex-partners, friends and colleagues. A fascinating portrait emerges of a strikingly attractive and vivacious woman, who was also secretive and even chameleonic in her tendency to move between social circles. There are conflicting memories and testimonies of Joyce: some say that she had a tremendous singing voice, whilst music producer and former boyfriend Alistair Abrahams believes she had no discernible musical talent. A unique, if slightly disjointed, film, which speaks volumes about the profound mysteries of other people’s lives. (Tom Dawson) ■ Cameo, Edinburgh, Fri 16–Thu 22 Dec.