FILM | Reviews
DRAMA IDA (12A) 82min ●●●●●
Writer-director Pawel Pawlikowski’s career has floundered somewhat since 2004’s My Summer of Love. Ida takes him back to his native Poland for a thoughtful rumination on womanhood, religion and sexual politics. In early 1960s Poland, orphan Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) is a novice nun about to take her vows. A meeting with her habitually booze-soaked aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza) reveals that Anna was originally named Ida and that she’s Jewish, prompting a search for the truth about her parents who died during the German occupation of Poland. Ida’s stark and striking black-and-white cinematography
almost overwhelms the thin narrative in the initial stages, but both the character and film blossom as Ida discovers the joys of nightclubs, John Coltrane and sex. Pawlikowski captures the look of 1960s Polish cinema, while keeping a low-key grip on the lead’s emotional development.
While such virtues are to be applauded, Ida is sometimes a challenging watch. It offers pleasures in the form of Trzebuchowska and Kulesza’s performances, but wider resonance or meaning is hard to discern. Ida herself remains largely distant, and her struggle to shake off the burden of her country’s past may be difficult to connect with for non-Polish audiences. (Eddie Harrison) ■ Limited release from Fri 26 Sep.
THRILLER A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES (15) 114min ●●●●●
Liam Neeson treads some well-worn ground as yet another ageing badass. This time, he’s unlicensed private investigator Matt Scudder, in writer-director Scott Frank’s adaptation of Lawrence Block’s crime novel. The opener sees Scudder drawn into a Brooklyn bar gun battle in 1991. Fast-forward eight years and he’s still dealing with the ramifications of the shoot-out alongside his alcoholism. When trouble comes a-knocking, Scudder teams up with homeless teen TJ (Astro) to solve the kidnapping of a drug dealer’s wife. A Walk Among the Tombstones is an absurd mix of po-
faced thriller and Cop and a Half-style buddy movie, where women exist only as objects to be abused. The dialogue is entertainingly bad, though Neeson’s approach is so half- hearted that corkers such as, ‘caress it, rub it, like it’s part of you’, (Scudder explaining to TJ how to properly use a gun) are delivered without gusto.
It’s clear Frank intends Scudder to become a household name but, given this dodgy effort, that may not happen. Still, at least it’s an improvement on 8 Million Ways to Die, Hal Ashby’s 1986 attempt at bringing this character to the big screen. (Katherine McLaughlin) ■ General release from Fri 19 Sep.
ROMANTIC COMEDY MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT (12A) 98min ●●●●●
Woody Allen waves his wand for the 44th time (a figure worthy of a sharp intake of breath), and the result is rather less bewitching than its twinkly title suggests. The promising premise involves one professional swindler attempting to unmask another, but can an ageing, egotistical conjurer really resist the charms of a winsome medium?
The year is 1928 and Colin Firth is Stanley Crawford, otherwise known as faux-Chinese magician Wei Ling Soo. As the best trickster in the business, he’s called in by pal Howard (Simon McBurney) to expose the fakery of hokey spiritualist Sophie (Emma Stone). She has implanted herself in the affections of the wealthy Catledge family, particularly the smitten Brice (Hamish Linklater) and his widowed mother Grace (Jacki Weaver), but when it seems like Sophie may be the real deal, Stanley is forced to question his entire ethos. With its moneyed South of France setting and mismatched leads, Magic in the Moonlight
channels Hollywood’s golden age. In a pairing that’s pure screwball, it brings together a kook and an uptight cynic, at first for squabbles and then for romance (Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, of course, did it best). Sadly, some magic is lost in the casting. Firth acts as a lead weight to light comedy and, although Stone fares better, her modern style feels out of sync with the retro material. Meanwhile, sparks between the two are out of the question; thankfully, considering the age chasm.
Allen’s script is smart, though it presents bitterness without the accompanying bite. There’s pleasure in the production values while the story is intriguing, if slight. Unfortunately, this aesthetically sunny, romantically drizzly period comedy represents another middling effort from a former movie maestro. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 19 Sep.
COMEDY DRAMA WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAY (12A) 95min ●●●●●
The creators of TV’s Outnumbered are behind this enjoyable British comedy which takes that show’s winning formula and successfully translates it to the big screen. David Tennant and Rosamund Pike star as Doug and Abi, a recently separated couple. When they head to the Scottish Highlands to attend the birthday of Doug’s father Gordie (Billy Connolly), their three exuberant children (Emilia Jones, Bobby Smalldridge and Harriet Turnbull) are under strict instructions to keep the split under wraps. However, when a crisis occurs, the adults are so
preoccupied that the children end up making a very grown-up decision, which impacts on the planned celebrations. Tennant and Pike are excellent as the frazzled parents and there’s terrific support from Connolly, on top twinkly-eyed form. But it’s the children who really steal the show.
Writer-directors Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin demonstrate a keen sense of balance and pace; indeed, it’s remarkable how tightly scripted the film feels, considering the degree of improvisation involved. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll probably book a holiday to the beautifully shot Highlands. (Matthew Turner) ■ General release from Fri 26 Sep.
58 THE LIST 18 Sep–16 Oct 2014