FILM | Reviews
DOCUMENTARY CONCERNING VIOLENCE (15) 89min ●●●●●
Concerning Violence is a sobering, important and expertly curated documentary detailing Africa’s hard-fought liberation from colonial rule in the 60s and 70s. Narrated by the musician Lauryn Hill and directed by Göran Olsson, the viewer is taken through nine definitive ‘scenes in the anti-imperialistic self-defence’ in a film taking its lead from the book The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon. Passages of prose play out over atrocities and extreme violations of basic human rights. From the enforcement of western culture and ideals on African countries – including the work of self-righteous missionaries who claim to be helping – to the sombre scene of a mother and child nursing torn limbs after air strikes, this is a powerful, intelligently put together essay film.
Olsson has selected footage which reveals blind hatred towards an entire race, including an interview with a settler in Rhodesia which is particularly stomach churning. His film is designed to shame and provides a raw reminder of how greedy capitalist culture has exploited a continent and its people, but it is also a passionate, proud and deeply affecting educational tool which puts forward a plan of action by tracing a passage through the past. (Katherine McLaughlin) ■ Limited release from Fri 28 Nov.
THRILLER THE DROP (15) 106min ●●●●●
Tom Hardy is proving to be one of the most versatile actors of his generation, constantly extending his range, and here he seems to be channelling Marlon Brando. The US debut of Michaël R Roskam (Bullhead) is based on a Dennis Lehane short story, who adapts it for screen. It starts as an eccentric slow-burner that’s happy to just hang out with some of the Runyonesque characters who populate a rundown working- class Brooklyn, but develops into a smart crime thriller. Cousin Marv’s is a neighbourhood dive that’s a dropping
point for dirty money. Marv (James Gandolfini) has been forcibly retired by Chechen gangsters but maintains the pretence of ownership. His cousin Bob (Hardy) is his loyal bartender, a warm-hearted lunk with a soft spot for stray dogs and distressed damsels, which brings him into the life of Nadia (Noomi Rapace) and her violent ex, Eric (Matthias Schoenaerts). The punchy dialogue and brooding atmosphere keep you hooked before the ghosts of the past and menace of the present clash in a suspenseful climax, all the more tense for the crisp editing and urgent score. Add to that a deceptively affable final cinematic performance from Gandolfini and The Drop has you in its thrall. (Allan Hunter) ■ General release from Fri 14 Nov.
DRAMA WINTER SLEEP (15) 196min ●●●●●
This masterful, achingly sad story of marital decay and societal rifts is the latest from Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan and the winner of this year’s Palme d’Or. It finds a tightly wound, quietly angry family gradually unravelling in their mountain hotel. Years of simmering resentment comes seeping out as winter sets in, resulting in poignant and intelligent drama carefully spread over the course of 196 mesmerising minutes. The film takes place in the troglodyte cliffs of Cappadocia, with our setting the Hotel
Othello. Haluk Bilginer plays Aydin, a former stage actor and local newspaper columnist who, alongside his sister Necla (Demet Akbag), has inherited many of the nearby village’s shops and residences. When the local imam (Serhat Mustafa Kiliç) finds himself behind with his rent, Aydin’s judgemental response reveals the fractures between these self- installed aristocrats, in addition to their personal disappointments. It triggers criticism from his compassionate young wife Nihal (Melisa Sözen) and from his bored, recently divorced sister who uses the incident as an opportunity to reveal her true feelings about Aydin’s foray into journalism. Winter Sleep is at its most potent during a series of embittered heart-to-hearts where it explores the gulf between our private and public personas, the strategies adopted by the rich to assuage guilt and dodge responsibilities, and shows how age and isolation can poison a personality. It’s surprisingly loquacious bearing in mind what we’ve seen from Ceylan before; given the epic runtime, that should prove wearing but the dialogue is so rich and literary, the ideas so fascinating and the interactions so completely credible that his seventh film is never short of enthralling. (Emma Simmonds) ■ Selected release from Fri 21 Nov.
COMEDY DRAMA MY OLD LADY (12A) 107min ●●●●● Israel Horovitz should be considered a source of encouragement for anyone in the autumn of their lives. A prolific playwright and occasional screenwriter, he has now made his directorial debut aged 75. Adapted from his 2002 play, My Old Lady is a film of civilised pleasures and twinkling repartee. Kevin Kline is Mathias Gold, a penniless American arriving in Paris to claim the apartment bequeathed to him by his father. The one snag is sitting tenants Mathilde (Maggie Smith) and her daughter Chloé (Kristin Scott Thomas). Under French law, Mathias is
unable to sell up until Mathilde dies but, given that she is 92, he considers time to be on his side and so takes up residence. This feels like an extended therapy session where the past is dug up and raked over. It is the light assurance of Horovitz’s direction and cast which makes it so engaging. Kline relishes the verbal fireworks and defensive walls built around his character’s open wounds, and Smith has a rare latter-day role that demands more of her than sarcasm and grande dame theatrics. The way that everything is resolved is too neat and tidy but it’s still a sophisticated delight. (Allan Hunter) ■ General release from Fri 21 Nov.
60 THE LIST 13 Nov–11 Dec 2014