FILM | Reviews
PERIOD DRAMA LOVE & FRIENDSHIP (U) 93min ●●●●●
A discerning cult rejoice when there is a new treat from writer- director Whit Stillman, who has made only i ve i lms in 26 years. His debut Metropolitan (1990) drew rapturous comparisons to Jane Austen and now Stillman has adapted Austen herself, and very handsomely, although this is Austen as few think of her: subversive. Her short novel Lady Susan – on which Love & Friendship
is based – centres on a shocking woman, and was written by a teenaged Jane but never submitted by her for publication. Glamorous widow Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale) is penniless, eager to dispose of her neglected daughter Frederica (Morfydd Clark) with a wealthy dolt, and dependent on the hospitality of in-laws and friends. It’s amazing she has any of the latter because she is a seli sh schemer with a notorious reputation. But she has intelligence as well as beauty and sets her pert feathered cap at the yummy brother of her horrii ed sister-in-law, who strives to steer the bewitched man towards Susan’s sweet but unspectacular daughter instead.
SCI-FI MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (12A) 112min ●●●●● Written and directed by the talented Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter), Midnight Special harks back to the grounded 1980s sci-i of Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter, and is a i lm of two halves: one excellent, the other patchy.
The set-up is immediately intriguing, as Roy (Michael Shannon) and his young son A lot of delicious lines are lifted straight from the text but
Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) race through the night with accomplice Lucas (Joel Edgerton) in order to evade capture. Wanted by the cult they’re l eeing (headed by Sam Shepard) and the FBI (in the shape of Adam Driver), Alton has strange, unspecii ed powers that necessitate him wearing goggles – for whose safety we’re not sure. When a policeman stops them, Lucas has no choice but to shoot him. The stakes could not be higher. Filled with beautiful shots of the Texan dusk, these early sequences are exciting and
expressive. Roy and Lucas have put all their faith in Alton even as they – and we – suspect it may lead them into danger. Once Roy and his son are reunited with Alton’s mum Sarah (Kirsten Dunst), Lucas considers them sadly and remarks, ‘I don't know if there’s a way out of this for y’all, but it’s a shame,’ a eulogy as much as an apology. Wide-eyed and shifty-seeming, Shannon is riveting as always, and the serious, all but silent Lieberher is a i ne little actor. Meanwhile, the way Nichols juxtaposes the mundane with the fantastical promises much, particularly during a SFX-i lled petrol station scene. When the i lm reveals what’s really going on, however, it’s so lamely conceived, and cheaply mounted, it’s hard not to feel cheated. Indeed, once the narrative slows, the whole thing unravels, and when one character asks, weakly, ‘Can we go back to Texas now?’ you’ll wish you could too. (Matt Glasby) ■ General release from Fri 8 Apr.
DRAMA COUPLE IN A HOLE (12A) 103min ●●●●●
With a premise as advertised, Belgian writer-director Tom Geens’ sophomore feature i nds a displaced couple living in the bowels of a French forest. Geens gives us a wonderfully wonky look at marriage that doubles as a penetrating examination of trauma. ‘We’re tough, we’re strong. We’re from Scotland,’ asserts John (Paul Higgins) when asked how he and wife Karen (Kate Dickie) will survive outdoor-living during the impending harsh winter. The pair have taken comfort in nature in what’s tantamount to a return to the womb. However, unbeknownst to his
wary, agoraphobic spouse, John has attracted a pal on the outside: farmer André (Jérôme Kircher), whose own wife Céline (Corinne Masiero) is aggressively opposed to the l edgling friendship. The i lm’s dynamic score, composed by Beak>, rel ects the tranquility and eccentricity of the central duo’s lifestyle and there’s visual distinction and humour in their off-the-wall predicament. The performers, too, are superb, with Higgins and the ever-courageous Dickie rendering all that unfolds hypnotising and completely credible. This unusual take on love and loss is notable for its almost surprising sincerity and elevated by its unforgettable peculiarity. (Emma Simmonds) ■ Selected release from Fri 8 Apr. See feature, page 44.
70 THE LIST 7 Apr–2 Jun 2016
Stillman’s direction adds some knowing campery and his i lm has a beautifully calibrated tone. It’s witty, wickedly droll and choicely acted by the entire ensemble. (Angie Errigo) ■ General release from Fri 27 May.
HORROR GREEN ROOM (18) 95min ●●●●●
‘This is a nightmare,’ concludes Pat (Anton Yelchin) as Green Room lurches toward its climax. He’s not exaggerating. Things get, and stay, seriously grim but Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin) directs with wit and l air and the cast act their socks off. A last-minute gig takes a punk band off-the-grid, to a venue shrouded in woodland and caked in racist grafi ti. With typical rock ’n’ roll bravado, the quartet bash out an anti-Nazi track in the face of danger. However, a sinister surprise waits for them in the green room as they stumble onto the aftermath of a murder, i nding themselves under siege as the venue owner (a chilling Patrick Stewart) is brought in to extract them.
Their hellish ordeal comes alive in Sean Porter’s claustrophobic cinematography and the painfully convincing work of the performers, with Yelchin and Imogen Poots (as a friend of the deceased) the stars of a competitive line-up. If it sounds misanthropic it isn’t, presenting engaging characters that you’ll be cheering on to survive. Green Room certainly doesn’t mince its violence, forcing its players and audience alike to guts-it-out. Luckily, Saulnier has created a i lm as exhilarating as it is excruciating. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 13 May.