list.co.uk/fi lm Reviews | FILM
DRAMA KNIGHT OF CUPS (15) 118min ●●●●●
SPY THRILLER OUR KIND OF TRAITOR (15) 108min ●●●●● MUSICAL DRAMEDY SING STREET (12A) 106min ●●●●●
Teaming auteur Terrence Malick with powerhouse performers Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman should have resulted in i reworks. Instead this is a damp squib, its arresting visuals an artistic smokescreen for a barely-there story. Bale is tortured screenwriter Rick who, despite earning wads of cash, is unhappy. Searching for meaning, he embarks on a series of liaisons with a procession of impossible women who cavort, frolic and seduce in various states of undress. A stripper (Teresa Palmer) spouts philosophy from the stage, a model (Freida Pinto) stretches languidly by a pool, and so on. Blanchett and Portman – as Rick’s wife and lover respectively – are given a little more to work with but are, like the rest, reduced to nothing more than ciphers for Rick’s anguish. Whether nymphs, paramours or mothers, these are characters hewn from adolescent fantasy. Although it’s creatively lensed by master
cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, narratively this is just another self-indulgent tale of an entitled man’s journey to enlightenment. As such, Malick’s latest becomes the very thing it professes to satirise: a gilded chalice that’s revealed as an entirely empty vessel. (Nikki Baughan) ■ Selected release from Fri 6 May.
After i ne cinematic transfers of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and A Most Wanted Man, and the fabulous BBC adaptation of The Night Manager, John le Carré is enjoying something of a renaissance on screen. So the arrival of Our Kind of Traitor is timely. Beginning in Marrakech, the story zeroes in on academic Perry (a considered Ewan McGregor) and his lawyer girlfriend Gail (Naomie Harris), who are dining in a restaurant. Seated nearby is Dima (Stellan Skarsgård), a Russian oligarch and money launderer. Inviting Perry over for a drink, and then to a lavish party, it transpires that Dima is looking for help. Convinced that his life is in danger, he wants to turn over evidence to the British intelligence services.
Before he knows what’s happening, Perry is taking hush-hush meetings with government ofi cials, led by Damian Lewis’ Hector. Needless to say, there are conspiracies and cover-ups aplenty as Perry and Gail are dragged into espionage far beyond their experience. Working best as a study of the couple’s frayed relationship, director Susanna White keeps things ticking over. Skarsgård is the show-stopper, though the i lm as a whole is solid rather than spectacular. (James Mottram) ■ General release from Fri 13 May.
The low-key charms of John Carney’s breakthrough Once have been somewhat trampled by the stampeding success of the associated stage show. Following the US-set Begin Again, the Irish helmer returns to his roots for a project that recaptures some of that earlier magic. Set in Carney’s own Dublin secondary, it also plays on his history in a rock band and as a music video director. ‘It’s all about the girl, right?’ observes Cosmo’s
older brother (Jack Reynor) as he quizzes him on his motivation for starting a band. Cosmo (Ferdia Walsh- Peelo) has been moved from a posh school to a terrifying inner-city institution, where he’s a target for kids and priests alike. He’s merely looking for a distraction and a way in with an aspiring model (Lucy Boynton), but the resulting group prove surprisingly competent. The i lm has fun with the band’s shifting look and inl uences and the songs credibly emulate the outi ts in question and produce some rousing moments. The romance can be cloying, but there’s ample character elsewhere and the l uid visuals and domestic misery keep things authentic enough. Sing Street blends relatable strife, young love and cheering rebellion into a funny, foot-tapping treat. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 20 May.
COMEDY EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! (15) 117min ●●●●●
After the enormous success of Boyhood, Richard Linklater probably had his pick of projects. So what does he do? Go and make a low-budget comedy with a no-name cast. It’s typical Linklater, a writer-director who delights in the unexpected. Billed as a ‘spiritual sequel’ to 1993’s Dazed and Confused, his 70s-set last-day-of-high-school masterpiece, Everybody Wants Some!! could just as easily be the follow-up to Boyhood, with that i lm’s protagonist i nishing his epic journey on the cusp of adult life. Taking place in 1980, the i lm begins as a group of baseball-
playing freshmen arrive the weekend before term starts at a Texas college. These are not the hopeless hitters of Linklater’s Bad News Bears remake but, for now, it’s time to party, chase girls and generally shoot the breeze. If this sounds like it’s the sort of frat boy i lm we’ve seen a hundred times, Linklater is seasoned enough to ensure that characters come i rst.
Leading the line is Jake (Glee star Blake Jenner), a pitcher for the team who acts as our guide through this testosterone-fuelled world. There’s romance brewing, after he sets eyes on drama student Beverly (Zoey Deutch), but that’s just one element of an ensemble story that blossoms the more time we spend with these reprobates.
Unlike so many US college-experience movies, Everybody Wants Some!! feels authentic; the parties and the pranks are wild but not out-of-control. The soundtrack, meanwhile, is splendid – everything from disco to country-and-western to, yes, Dire Straits (‘Hand in Hand’ is brilliantly deployed). Some will balk at the sexism which runs rife, but Linklater perfectly captures the lust for life that accompanies those early college days. It’s magical. (James Mottram) ■ General release from Fri 13 May.
7 Apr–2 Jun 2016 THE LIST 71