FILM | Index
PROFILE
RICHARD LINKLATER Born 30 July, 1960, Houston Background Bursting onto screens with 1990’s Sundance hit Slacker, Linklater swiftly became as synonymous with the then-blossoming US indie scene as Soderbergh, Taran- tino and fellow Austin-ite Robert Rodriguez. He’s since effortlessly shifted between genre films (The Newton Boys), experimental an- ime (Waking Life) and adaptations (Fast Food Nation) – or, in the case of the underrated A Scanner Darkly, merged all three. Despite one $131m-grossing studio hit (School of Rock), he’s not defined by box office. ‘My definition of success,’ he says, ‘is getting to make as many films as possible that mean a lot to you.’ What is he up to now? His fifteenth feature is Before Midnight, the long-awaited follow- up to 1995’s Before Sunrise and 2004’s Oscar-nominated Before Sunset. Again co-written with his stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, they return as Jesse and Celine – no longer wistful, would- be lovers but a long-term couple with twin daughters. On Before Midnight’s differ- ence to its predecessors ‘We couldn’t do the same thing again – brief interactions. That worked for the first two films, but in this one we chose to take on the notion of the real world. We see them interacting with people – chil- dren, friends, each other. So it’s more grounded in the real world.’ On Hawke and Delpy’s prox- imity to their characters ‘Jesse and Céline are constructs; they’re not them. But there’s something about them that runs parallel – to all of us. I’m in both of them. I feel equally in Jesse and Céline. And I think they would start to say that about each other too. I don’t think Julie would say she’s Céline. They write so much stuff for the other character.’ On Before Midnight’s love scene ‘Julie said, even years ago, ‘If we’re ever going to have a sex scene, we better do it soon!’ Then we talked about it, and she said, ‘Well, my tits are still good!’ So it was like ‘OK!’’(James Mottram) ■ Before Midnight is on release from Fri 21 June.
68 THE LIST 13 Jun–11 Jul 2013
11. See review, page 63. Showing at Edinburgh International Film Festival, Cineworld, Fri 21 Jun & Filmhouse, Sat 22 Jun. Limited release from Fri 28 Jun. Stuck in Love (15) (Josh Boone, US, 2012) Logan Lerman, Kristen Bell, Jennifer Connelly. 97min. Starry comedy drama about a family going through relationship troubles. General release from Fri 14 Jun. Summer in February (15) (Christopher Menaul, UK, 2013) Dominic Cooper, Emily Browning, Dan Stevens. 100min. Romantic drama featuring Downton Abbey’s Stevens as part of a Cornish love triangle on the cusp of WWI. Selected release from Fri 14 Jun. This Is the End (15) ●●●●● (Evan Goldberg/Seth Rogen, US, 2013) James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel. 107min. Goldberg and Rogen direct their pals (as themselves) in this comedy about the end of the world. See review, page 62. General release from Fri 28 Jun. World War Z (15) ●●●●● (Marc Forster, US/UK, 2013) Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale. Glasgow fills in for Philadelphia in this adaptation of Max Brooks’ post-apocalyptic horror novel. See review, page 60. General release from Fri 21 Jun. STILL SHOWING After Earth (12A) ●●●●● (M Night Shyamalan, US, 2013) Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Isabelle Fuhrman. 100min. Director Shyamalan follows a disastrous run (The Happening, The Last Airbender) with this sci-fi drama featuring father and son Will and Jaden Smith crashing back to Earth in the next millennium. General release. The Big Wedding (15) ●●●●● (Justin Zackham, US, 2012) Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton. 90min. There’s a big family wedding coming up, so long-divorced couple Ellie (Keaton) and Don (De Niro) do the only proper thing – pretend to still be married. General release. Byzantium (15) ●●●●● (Neil Jordan, UK/US/Ireland, 2012) Gemma Arterton, Jonny Lee Miller, Saoirse Ronan. 118min. This modern urban horror shares elements with Jordan’s previous bloodsucking epic, Interview with the Vampire. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow, Thu 13 Jun. Epic (U) ●●●●● (Chris Wedge, US, 2013) Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Beyoncé Knowles. 102min. From the director of Ice Age comes this story of a teenage girl who is sucked from the earthly realm into a fantastical woodland. General release. Everybody Has a Plan (15) ●●●●● (Ana Piterbarg, Argentina/Spain/ Germany, 2012) Viggo Mortensen, Soledad Villamil, Daniel Fanego. 118min. To escape suffocating middle-class life in Buenos Aires, sneaky Agustín (Mortensen) assumes the identity of his dead twin brother, Pedro (also Mortensen), an underworld criminal. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow, Thu 13 Jun. Fast & Furious 6 (12A) ●●●●● (Justin Lin, US, 2013) Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Paul Walker. 130min. Justin Lin’s third entry into this series sees O’Conner and Toretto team up to take down a heroin importer. General release. The Great Gatsby (12A) ●●●●● (Baz Luhrmann, US/Australia, 2013) Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton. 143min. Luhrmann’s typically exuberant take on the novel by F Scott Fitzgerald features DiCaprio as the titular millionaire. General release. The Hangover Part III (15) ●●●●● (Todd Phillips, US, 2013) Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms. 100min. Phil, Stu and Alan face another morning filled with headache and regret in Todd Phillips’ comedy juggernaut. General release.
FILMS AT THE WEST END FESTIVAL Continuing throughout June, the West End Festival has some great film events lined up at Glasgow’s Grosvenor Cinema. Filmmaker Charles Gormley’s work is celebrated with a special double bill of Living Apart Together and Heavenly Pursuits (pictured, above), followed by an exclusive Q&A session with his son Tommy. Then it’s time to dust off the old deckchairs for Bring Your Own Seat Cinema, an outdoor movie experience with a difference. You can vote for your favourite film online then wait for the secret location to be revealed. (Nina Glencross) ■ Charles Gormley Double Bill, Grosvenor Cinema, Glasgow, Thu 20 Jun. Bring You Own Seat Cinema, secret West End location, Fri 21 Jun and Fri 28 Jun.
The Iceman (15) ●●●●● (Ariel Vromen, US, 2012) Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans. 106min. The true story of Richard Kuklinski, happy family man by day and notorious hitman by night. General release. Iron Man 3 (12A) ●●●●● (Shane Black, US/China, 2013) Robert Downey Jr, Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow. 129min. Screenwriting legend Black takes the reins for Robert Downey Jr’s third individual outing as Tony Stark. General release. The Last Exorcism: Part II (15) ●●●●● (Ed Gass-Donnelly, US, 2013) Ashley Bell, Julia Garner, Spencer Treat Clark. 88min. Nell Sweetzer (Bell) tries to rebuild her life following the devil- worshipping events of the first film. Selected release. Life of Pi (PG) ●●●●● (Ang Lee, US, 2012) Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Rafe Spall. 127min. Ravishing version of Yann Martel’s 2001 novel, in which Indian boy Pi (Sharma) is lost at sea on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Sat 22 Jun. The Odd Life of Timothy Green (U) ●●●●● (Peter Hedges, US, 2012) Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, CJ Adams. 105min. Infertile parents Cindy (Garner) and Jim (Edgerton) are surprised when a mud-covered 10-year- old boy appears at their house, claiming them as his mum and dad. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Sat 15 & Sun 16 Jun. Populaire (12A) ●●●●● (Régis Roinsard, FR, 2012) Déborah François, Romain Duris, Berenice Bejo. 111min. France, 1959: insurance company secretary Rose (François) is hopeless at her job except for an uncanny gift for speed-typing. Her boss (Duris) enters her in a competition and romance strikes up. Selected release. The Purge (15) ●●●●● (James DeMonaco, US, 2013) Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Adelaide Kane. 85min. In an America wracked with crime, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour window where criminal activity goes unpunished. On this one night, a family face an intruder and must pull together to survive the encounter. General release. The Spirit of ‘45 (U) ●●●●● (Ken Loach, UK, 2013) 94min. Documentary about the Attlee government’s post-war creation of the welfare state, the sense of national consensus that it created and how many of its achievements were attacked by the Conservatives.
Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 13–Sun 16 Jun. Star Trek: Into Darkness (12A) ●●●●● (JJ Abrams, US, 2013) Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana. 129min. When ex-Starfleet commander John Harrison (Cumberbatch) attacks Earth, the Enterprise crew pursues him. General release. The Stone Roses: Made of Stone (15) ●●●●● (Shane Meadows, UK, 2013) 97min. Meadows’ documentary charts the eagerly anticipated return of the seminal Madchester band. Selected release. Thérèse Desqueyroux (12A) ●●●●● (Claude Miller, France, 2012) Audrey Tautou, Gilles Lellouche, Anais Demoustier. 110min. When Thérèse (Tautou) finds herself stifled by her marriage to Bernard (Lellouche), she begins to plot her way out. Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 13–Thu 20 Jun; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 13–Wed 19 Jun. Village at the End of the World (12A) ●●●●● (Sarah Gavron/David Katznelson, Denmark/UK/Greenland, 2012) 80min. Documentary about the tiny settlement of Niaqornat in Greenland, home to just over 50 people. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Mon 17–Wed 19 Jun.
ONE-OFFS, SEASONS AND FESTIVALS Aguirre, Wrath of God (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes) (15) ●●●●● (Werner Herzog, West Germany, 1972) Klaus Kinski, Cecilia Rivera, Helena Rojo. 93min. Seventeenth-century conquistadors, on a mission to explore the Amazon, court disaster when the zeal of their leader remains undampened after a number of hostile encounters with the indigenous population. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 13 Jun. LIVE SCREENING Anna Netrebko Live from Red Square (tbc) (2013) Anna Netrebko, Dmitri Hvorostovsky. The celebrated soprano is joined by baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky to perform in their native Russia. Cineworld, Edinburgh, Wed 19 Jun; Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow, Wed 19 Jun. Basque Spring Short Film Show (tbc) The newest crop of promising Basque short filmmakers. Summerhall, Edinburgh, Fri 14 Jun.