list.co.uk/fi lm tired of the lifestyle, while his younger brother Mo (Elsayed) is keen to make name for himself on the street. Selected release. Paranormal Activity 4 (15) ●●●●● (Henry Joost/Ariel Schulman, US, 2012) Katie Featherston, Kathryn Newton, Matt Shively. 88min. Fourth in the perennial haunted house series takes place five years after the first, the most profitable film ever made. Selected release. People Like Us (12A) ●●●●● (Alex Kurtzman, US, 2012) Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer. 114min. Sam (Pine) returns to his family home after his father’s death, to discover that he had a half-sister (Banks) who he never knew. Selected release. Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (12A) (Gilles Penso, France, 2011) 90min. Documentary on the life and work of groundbreaking special effects artist Harryhausen famed for his work on Clash of the Titans and Jason & The Argonauts. Cameo, Edinburgh, Wed 28 Nov. Ruby Sparks (15) ●●●●● (Jonathan Dayton/Valerie Faris, US, 2012) Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Annette Bening. 104min. A writer begins to write about an ideal woman, Ruby Sparks (Kazan), who proceeds to manifest herself in the real world. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, Fri 16–Wed 21 Nov. Rust & Bone (De rouille et d’os) (15) ●●●●● (Jacques Audiard, France/ Belgium, 2012) Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts. 120min. The director of The Beat That My Heart Skipped returns with an excellently acted adaptation of a short story collection by Craig Davidson. Selected release. The Sapphires (PG) ●●●●● (Wayne Blair, Australia, 2012) Jessica Mauboy, Deborah Mailman, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell, Chris O’Dowd. 103min. Four young Aboriginal sisters become Australia’s answer to The Supremes in this true story. General release. Silent Hill: Revelation (15) ●●●●● (Michael J. Bassett, US, 2012) Sean Bean, Radha Mitchell, Carrie-Anne Moss. 94min. Horror about an 18-year-old girl who, upon her father’s disappearance, is plunged into an alternate reality that begins to answer questions about the nightmares she’s been having since she was a child. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow, Thu 15 Nov; Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow, Thu 15 Nov; Showcase Cinema Glasgow, Glasgow, Thu 15 Nov. Sinister (15) ●●●●● (Scott Derrickson, US, 2012) Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone. 110min. Crime writer Ellison (Hawke) moves into a house and discovers disturbing film footage of murder. Selected release. Sister (15) ●●●●● (Ursula Meier, France, 2012) Kacey Mottet Klein, Léa Seydoux, Martin Compston. 100min. Drama about a boy supporting his sister by stealing from well-healed guests in an upmarket Swiss ski resort. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 15 Nov. Skyfall (12A) ●●●●● (Sam Mendes, UK, 2012) Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe. 145min. When cyber-terrorists steal an MI6 hard drive, 007 is ordered to recover it. General release. Taken 2 (12A) ●●●●● (Olivier Megaton, France, 2012) Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace. 92min. In this sequel to the 2008 thriller, former government agent Bryan Mills (Neeson) and his ex-wife (Janssen) are kidnapped by the father of one of the men he killed first time round. General release. Untouchable (Intouchables) (15) ●●●●● (Olivier Nakache/Eric Toledano, France, 2011) François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny. 112min. When paralysed aristocrat Philippe (Cluzet) needs an assistant, he hires impoverished drifter Driss (Sy) who only turned up to the interview to authorise his benefit. Life lessons ensue. Despite some predictable plotting, Nakache and Toledano’s movie (already a colossal hit) is genuinely funny and moving, thanks
PROFILE
YORGOS LANTHIMOS
Born Athens, Greece, 1973 Background Having studied at film school in Athens, Lanthimos made his debut feature with My Best Friend in 2005. It was his third feature Dogtooth, however, a bizarre black comedy about an upper-class Greek couple who try to prevent their adult children from exploring the outside world, which captured the attention of international audiences. It was nominated as Best Foreign Film at the Oscars in 2011. He has now directed Alps, another rigorously composed study of human perversity, in which a quartet of individuals impersonate the recently deceased in order to assist the grieving of their relatives.
What’s he up to now? Lanthimos is currently living in London and is developing three English-language film projects: a period drama about Queen Anne, a dystopian sci-fi drama, co-scripted by regular collaborator Efthymis Filippou, and a literary adaptation.
On the inspiration for Alps ‘The starting point was [the question]: how will your family and friends react if you die? Will they change their lives or will they carry on as before? We came up with the idea of a paramedic and a nurse, because they work in a hospital and to bring them in contact with bereaved people.’ On pre-film nerves ‘Creative projects are so delicate – it’s so easy to make mistakes. Before every film, I am equally nervous and anxious and desperate and depressed. Even when you have finished making it, you’ve become so involved with it, that it’s difficult to take a detached look at it.’
On his distinctive visual style ‘I like long static takes, because they allow the viewer to take their time and discover the space within the frame and the characters.’
Interesting fact Lanthimos’ mother, who brought him up from a young age as a single parent, died when he was 17. (Tom Dawson) ■ Alps is on selected release from Tue 20 Nov.
15 Nov–13 Dec 2012 THE LIST 67