list.co.uk/fi lm entertaining and pleasingly edgy family comedy features witty performances from all, but especially Oxenbould and Garner as his overworked mum. Showcase Cinema, Glasgow, Sun 14 Dec; Showcase Cinema Paisley, Sun 14 Dec. Before I Go To Sleep (15) ●●●●● (Rowan Joffe, US, 2014) Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong. 92min. Christine (Kidman) is an amnesiac, unable to recall her marriage to husband Ben (Firth) and the incident which caused her amnesia in the first place; can neuropsychologist Dr Nash (Strong) help? Stylish but superficial thriller which makes for an entertaining evening’s viewing, but – like Christine – you may not remember much the next day. Vue Glasgow Fort, Glasgow, Thu 11 Dec. Black Sea (15) ●●●●● (Kevin Macdonald, UK, 2014) Jude Law, Scoot McNairy, Karl Davies, Konstantin Khabensky. 115min. Robinson (Law) is a Scottish former submarine captain who leads a rag-tag crew of engineers to salvage a downed Russian sub laden with Nazi gold. Law is a commanding presence (he nails the Aberdeen accent) and a superb supporting cast, plus impressive cinematography, make for a powerfully claustrophobic atmosphere. General release. The Book of Life (U) ●●●●● (Jorge R Gutierrez, US, 2014) Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Diego Luna. 95min. Manolo (Luna) and best friend Joaquin (Tatum) are both in love with feisty Maria (Saldana), but it all goes El Sur when squabbling gods La Muerte (del Castillo) and Xibalba (Perlman) make a wager over who’ll win her. Lively, colourful animation exploring dark themes, with great gags, superb voice work, and a delightful soundtrack. Showcase Cinema Paisley, Thu 11 Dec. The Boxtrolls (PG) ●●●●● (Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi, US, 2014) Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning. 97min. Eggs (Hempstead- Wright) lives underground with a family of Boxtrolls, marginalised creatures who make their home from rubbish. But then the trolls are hunted by a group of exterminators, led by the grotesque Snatcher (Kingsley). Adventurous, intense and sometimes disturbing animated movie, with plenty to keep adults occupied; whether kids will respond is another question. Vue Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh, Sun 14 Dec; Vue Omni Centre, Edinburgh, Sun 14 Dec. The Drop (15) ●●●●● (Michaël R Roskam, US, 2014) Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini. 105min. Bob (Hardy) is the loyal bartender of Cousin Marv’s, a Brooklyn dive ostensibly run by Marv himself (Gandolfini), but really a money drop for Chechen gangsters. Adapted by Lehane from his own story, it starts as a Runyonesque slow-burner but slowly tightens into a tough thriller with excellent work from Hardy and Gandolfini. Selected release. Effie Gray (12A) ●●●●● (Richard Laxton, UK, 2014) Dakota Fanning, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters. 108min. Period piece looking at the early life of Euphemia ‘Effie’ Gray (Fanning), who at 19 made a disastrous marriage to the Victorian art critic John Ruskin (Wise). Enjoyable if slightly sluggish biopic which overcomes its flaws thanks to Thompson’s way with dialogue, even if it’s not as affecting as it ought to be. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 12–Mon 15 Dec. Fury (15) ●●●●● (David Ayer, US/UK, 2014) Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman. 134min. The tale of a Sherman tank crew, led by Sgt Don ‘Wardaddy’ Collier (Pitt), in the final weeks of WW II. Grim and intense (heads and limbs blown off, bodies crushed under tanks) but in one of his finest performances, Pitt shows the humanity beneath the gung-ho façade; Lerman is also impressive as the rookie. Vue Omni Centre, Edinburgh, Thu 11 Dec.
Get Santa (U) ●●●●● (Christopher Smith, UK/US, 2014) Rafe Spall, Jim Broadbent, Warwick Davis. 102min. A father and son team up to save Christmas after they discover Santa Claus sleeping in their garage after crashing his sleigh and finding himself on the run from the police. General release. Gone Girl (18) ●●●●● (David Fincher, US, 2014) Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike. 145min. Nick (Affleck) comes home on his fifth wedding anniversary to find his wife Amy (Pike) gone, and a series of revelations cast him in the worst possible light. Fincher directs with cool proficiency and a sense of brutal fun; Affleck is perfect, and Pike gives a bravura, breakout performance. Showcase Cinema, Glasgow, Thu 11 Dec; Vue Omni Centre, Edinburgh, Thu 11 Dec. The Grandmaster (15) ●●●●● (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong/China, 2013) Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen. 130min. The story of Ip Man (Leung), the martial arts master who would eventually train Bruce Lee. The main character’s romance with headstrong Gong Er (Ziyi) is undernourished and the plot is presented in an illogical order, but it’s an elegant and occasionally exciting tribute to a man and his art. General release. Horrible Bosses 2 (15) ●●●●● (Sean Anders, US, 2014) Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis. 108min. When Nick (Bateman), Dale (Day) and Kurt (Sudeikis) are conned by an unscrupulous tycoon (Waltz), they plot to kidnap his unctuous son (Pine). Limp sequel to the so-so original, with even the outtakes barely raising a smile. General release. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (12A) ●●●●● (Francis Lawrence, US, 2014) Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth. 125min. Carving the final book in the Hunger Games series into two movies pays off, giving rhythm to a story that might otherwise have felt rushed. Action and politics are confidently balanced, Sutherland is deliciously vile as ever, Hutcherson is finally given something interesting to do and while Lawrence is rightly the star, the older actors are a pleasure. General release. The Imitation Game (12A) ●●●●● (Morten Tyldum, UK/USA, 2014) Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode. 113min. Historical drama about Alan Turing (Cumberbatch), father of modern computer science; how he and a team of codebreakers figured out how to beat the German Enigma machine during WWII, and his tragically early death. Triumphant slice of British heritage drama, with great emotional force and a touching performance from Cumberbatch. General release. Interstellar (12A) ●●●●● (Christopher Nolan, US/UK, 2014) Jessica Chastain, Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway. 169min. Cooper (McConaughey) is a pilot-turned-farmer who’s recruited for an intergalactic mission to find humanity a new home. Despite awe and nail-biting tension, there’s too much clunky exposition and cinematic clichés, and although Nolan’s intentions to make a singular and cerebral film are admirable, it all gets a bit silly. General release. Magic in the Moonlight (12A) ●●●●● (Woody Allen, US, 2014) Emma Stone, Colin Firth, Hamish Linklater. 97min. Set in the French Riviera at the height of the roaring 20s, a British magician sets out to uncover a possible fraud spiritualist exploiting a family. Odeon Lothian Road, Edinburgh, Tue 16 Dec; Odeon at the Quay, Glasgow, Tue 16 Dec. Me, Myself and Mum (Les garçons et Guillaume, à table!) (15) ●●●●● (Guillaume Gallienne, France/Belgium, 2013) Guillaume Gallienne, André Marcon, Françoise Fabian. 85min. In this adaptation of his semi-autobiographical stage show, writer/director Gallienne plays himself and his sour, domineering mum, who raised him as the girl she never had. It blossoms into a quirky and unexpected coming-of-age story about sexual identity, with a likable, energetic central performance from Gallienne. Glasgow Film Theatre, Thu 11–Thu 18 Dec; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 19–Mon 22 Dec. Men, Women & Children (15) ●●●●● (Jason Reitman, US, 2014) Jennifer Garner, Judy Greer, Adam Sandler. 116min. Patricia (Garner) is the suffocatingly protective mother of Brandy (Dever), who is attracted to disillusioned jock Tim (Elgort); meanwhile, Don (Sandler, gently understated) and Helen (DeWitt) are neglecting their porn-addicted son Chris (Tope). Reitman’s finger- wagging melodrama is intent on teaching us lessons, but it’s still better than his schmaltzy Labor Day. Selected release. Mr Turner (12A) ●●●●● (Mike Leigh, UK, 2014) Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson. 150min. Portrait of the last 25 years of the life of painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (Spall). A work of great beauty, wit and poignancy, presenting the artist as unapologetically gruff but sympathetic and spectacularly eccentric. Leigh’s latest demonstrates a command of his craft to rival that of his subject. Glasgow Film Theatre, Fri 19–Tue 23 Dec; Odeon Lothian Road, Edinburgh, Thu 11 Dec. Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! (U) ●●●●● (Debbie Isitt, UK, 2014) Adam Garcia, Catherine Tate, Celia Imrie. 109min. The third film in the series sees the kids from St Bernardette’s helping teacher Mr Shepherd (Clunes) recover from a donkey-inflicted bout of amnesia. The Christmas story is crossed with the formulaic dance movie, with results that may prove testing to short attention spans. Unnecessarily long and annoyingly repetitive. General release. Nightcrawler (15) ●●●●● (Dan Gilroy, US, 2014) Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton. 117min. Lou (Gyllenhaal) is a young man in LA who finds work as a freelance cameraman, feeding grisly news footage to the sensationalistic networks. A characterful satire of the cynicism, manipulation and inhumanity prevalent in TV news, with showstopping work from Gyllenhaal as the motor-mouthed protagonist. Vue Omni Centre, Edinburgh, Thu 11 Dec. Paddington (PG) ●●●●● (Paul King, UK, 2014) Ben Whishaw (voice), Nicole Kidman, Hugh Bonneville. 95min. The story of an illegal immigrant from Peru and his efforts to be integrated into British society. He’s a bear, by the way. Whishaw imbues the CGI Paddington with immense charm, the rest of the cast are excellent and the exuberant direction and smart, knowing script make for a genuine delight. General release. The Penguins of Madagascar (tbc) ●●●●● (Eric Darnell, Simon J. Smith, US, 2014) Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, John DiMaggio. 92min. The espionage-savvy penguins team up with an interspecies special forces group, to tangle with octopus/scientist Dr Octavius Brine (Malkovich). The knockabout style offers few chances for genuine drama and the result is a lighthearted, frenetic but rather unimaginative romp, a step down from the psychedelic wit of Europe’s Most Wanted. General release. The Pyramid (15) ●●●●● (Grégory Levasseur, US, 2014) Denis O’Hare, Ashley Hinshaw, James Buckley. 89min. Father / daughter archaeologist duo (O’Hare, Hinshaw) and a TV crew investigate a mysterious three-sided pyramid. Buckley appears as a toned- down version of his character from The Inbetweeners, and although director Levasseur has horror form, a rote script and some juvenile touches make this
Index | FILM
Q&A BENNETT MILLER
Directed by Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball), Foxcatcher is a tragic true story about the increasingly twisted and violent relationship between eccentric millionaire John E du Pont (Steve Carell) and Mark (Channing Tatum) and Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), the two Olympic gold- winning brothers he convinces to head up a wrestling team bound for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
How did Foxcatcher get started? ‘In 2006, I was signing DVD copies of my documentary The Cruise [at a video store] . . . and one of the people that showed up was a total stranger who said, ‘I have the rights to a story that you’re going to want to make’ and left the envelope on the table. I didn’t want to talk to him about it – it was weird. But a few months later, I looked at it and read the first article and thought, ‘This is something I’m going to do.’ What intrigued you? ‘When do you have this blue-collar crossed with blue-blood … these two groups trying to belong in each other’s worlds? It’s almost too perfect. Any angle you look at the story, it’s like a diamond. There’s no bad angle on it; no matter what, it’s an allegorical gem!’
How would you characterise Mark and du Pont’s relationship? Everyone will be feeling out for a homoerotic thing. Quite possibly that. But du Pont is also repressing the admittance that’s he’s a dilettante, that this entire thing is a desperate and sad charade, and it’s a charade that he could not maintain in the presence of Dave Schultz because Dave was the real deal. Did you change your opinion about wrestling at all? Initially, it seemed like a weirdo sport. I have a lot more respect for it now. (James Mottram) ■ Foxcatcher is on general release from Fri 9 Jan. See list. co.uk for the full interview with Bennet Miller, Steve Carell and Channing Tatum.
11 Dec 2014–5 Feb 2015 THE LIST 85