FILM | Reviews
WESTERN THE SALVATION (15) 92min ●●●●●
The Good, the Bad and . . . the Danish? Dogme 95 signatory Kristian Levring has crafted a gripping western with a decidedly dark bent, taking genre staples and imbuing them with a Scandinavian sensibility. Set in 1871, it stars Mads Mikkelsen as Jon, a Danish ex-pat and former soldier who has decamped to America. When his wife and son are murdered, Jon exacts bloody vengeance on those responsible, putting him on a collision course with the vicious Delarue (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the brother of his wife’s killer. However, Jon finds an unexpected ally in his victim’s mute widow (Eva Green).
Mikkelsen is on terrific form and Morgan is moustache- twirlingly despicable, while Green adds to her ever-increasing gallery of glamorous grotesques, stealing the film without uttering a single line of dialogue. The town is peopled with colourful supporting characters, such as Jonathan Pryce’s mayor / undertaker and Douglas Henshall’s priest / sheriff.
Levring shows a strong affinity for the genre’s conventions and delivers a thrilling finale. This is a stylish, edgily scripted and passionately acted western that delivers plenty of bang for your fistful of dollars. (Matthew Turner) ■ Selected release from Fri 17 Apr.
DRAMA / ROMANCE THE WATER DIVINER (15) 111min ●●●●●
While any filmmaker who chooses to end a movie on his own smiling face clearly needs reining in, Russell Crowe’s directorial debut is a well-mounted, surprisingly assured piece of historical drama. Looking into the aftermath of World War I, Crowe fashions a sombre, intelligent tale of readjustment and personal healing. He plays Joshua Connor, an embittered Australian who
heads to Turkey in the hope of locating the bodies of his three sons, all lost at Gallipoli, before a blossoming relationship with single mother Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko) and her son gives him a shot at redemption.
The Water Diviner scores points with its positive
consideration of Turkish culture, and there’s strong support from Yilmaz Erdogan as a major who has mixed feelings about his enemy’s presence in his homeland. While the romantic elements are contrived and clumsy, it generally does well to stop short of mawkish sentiment, and Connor’s journey is nicely delineated through his grudging understanding of Turkish traditions. While the approach might be a little dry for some tastes, it marks Crowe out as a director of promise, and offers him a decent starring role to boot. (Eddie Harrison) ■ General release from Fri 3 Apr.
SATIRE WHILE WE’RE YOUNG (15) 97min ●●●●●
The threat of the young is central to Noah Baumbach’s perceptive, funny and cringingly honest eighth film, whose satirical swipe reaches across the age spectrum. Although it fizzes with energy and assumes the guise of a carefree farce, While We’re Young is most notable for its intellectual ambition. Life’s disappointments have left documentarian Josh (Ben Stiller) and his film producer
wife Cornelia (Naomi Watts) at a crossroads. They’re alienated from their baby-making peers and too set in their ways to take advantage of a child-free existence. This flailing duo fall under the spell of a young hipster couple – aspiring documentarian Jamie (Adam Driver) and ice-cream maker Darby (Amanda Seyfried) – who introduce them to both new experiences and old-fashioned ways of doing things. Jamie flatters Josh’s neglected ego and they begin to collaborate creatively, before jealousy, ambition and duplicity threaten to derail the burgeoning bromance. As ever, Baumbach’s characters routinely indulge in self-analysis in this solo-penned
effort, whose visual pep is nicely set against its cynicism. However, the dialogue and characterisations occasionally feel on the nose and, despite the presence of two prominent women, it’s missing an authentic female voice (a disappointment after Baumbach’s joyous Frances Ha, co-written with Greta Gerwig). Still, the observations about artistic endeavours and the difficulty of finding your groove
are shrewd and it’s cannily cast and gamely performed. If anything, the idea-rich While We’re Young attempts too much but its aspirations are admirable. This is an enjoyably garrulous film for those who find words more interesting than action. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 3 Apr.
COMING-OF-AGE DRAMA THE TRIBE (18) 132min ●●●●●
This formally daring, unique first feature from Ukrainian director Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy is a homage to silent cinema that plays out completely in sign language, with no subtitles. We meet deaf mute teenager Sergey (Grigoriy Fesenko) as he makes his way to a specialist boarding school. Here a dark cloud descends upon him as he gets involved with a gang who pimp out girls to the local truckers. When Sergey falls in love with one of the prostitutes, Anna (Yana Novikova), the consequences are dire. The Tribe is a relentlessly brutal coming-of-ager
with shades of gangster film and prison drama as its teenagers walk in circles along winding corridors, their bare rooms like cells on either side. The unflinching, repetitive style, precise compositions and unnerving bursts of violence are sure to haunt your thoughts.
None of the teenagers involved are trained actors, but all turn in powerful performances with special mention going to Fesenko who undergoes an extraordinary transformation. The Tribe is a tough watch but, while its juvenile delinquents do terrible things, Slaboshpytskiy generates sympathy for their situation. (Katherine McLaughlin) ■ Selected release from Fri 15 May.
82 THE LIST 2 Apr–4 Jun 2015