FILM | Reviews
ACTION FANTASY GODS OF EGYPT (12A) 127min ●●●●●
DRAMA EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT (12A) 122min ●●●●● BIOPIC ELVIS & NIXON (15) 86min ●●●●●
With rivals keen to follow Marvel and DC’s example of creating interlocking cinematic universes, the hefty $140m budget for intended franchise-opener Gods of Egypt is comprehensible, even if the end result is anything but. Myths about deities are the inspiration for a blockbuster that hits the so-bad- it’s-good bullseye perfectly.
With King Osiris (Bryan Brown) about to abdicate, a power struggle between two gods, his son Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and brother Set (Gerard Butler), leads to the latter banishing the forrmer from this mortal world. A common thief called Bek (Brenton Thwaites) leads the wronged god back for a rematch. Egyptian-born director Alex Proyas takes charge but there are no Egyptians in the core cast, instead he hands roles to Rufus Sewell and Geoffrey Rush. But his film has even bigger problems than its racially insensitive casting. The real stars are the dynamic special effects but they’re not enough to offset the po-faced script. Still, there’s some enjoyment to be derived from the oddball mixture of lofty ambition and barrel-scraping comedy. (Eddie Harrison) ■ General release from Fri 17 Jun.
The guilt-stained legacy of colonialism comes into sharp focus in Embrace of the Serpent, a film as gorgeous looking as it is heartrending. There are echoes of Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God in this Oscar-nominated effort from Colombian director Ciro Guerra, as he uses true stories to chart the folly in two journeys venturing deep into the Amazon. David Gallego’s stunning cinematography really does paint in light as he finds the textures and shadings of the jungle and its inhabitants. In 1909, a German explorer persuades a young shaman to accompany him on the search for the yakruna, a rare flower that could cure him of a mysterious illness. The shaman is then hired in 1940 by a US explorer on a similar quest. Both journeys reveal the lasting impact of Western intrusion.
Guerra’s film is a hauntingly poetic testimony to unthinking exploitation and the arrogance of first- world countries, righteous in the belief that their actions are saving and civilising savage natives. Majestic and thought-provoking, Embrace of the Serpent is a vivid vision of a lost world and is touching in its closing dedication to ‘peoples whose song we will never know’. (Allan Hunter) ■ Selected release from Fri 10 Jun.
From Anthony Hopkins in Oliver Stone’s biopic to Frank Langella in Frost / Nixon and John Cusack in The Butler, cinema clearly has a fascination with the disgraced president, perhaps because his unlovely shapelessness makes him easy to imitate. The charismatic Elvis Presley has proved harder to depict, but this shallow yet engaging comedy uses two fine impersonations to tell the story behind the most requested photo in the US National Archives. Presley (Michael Shannon) is introduced as a
weary star who offers his undercover services to Nixon (Kevin Spacey). The Republican president initially refuses to meet him, but finds common ground when the singer arrives at his door. This film gets ample comedic mileage from the notion that both men knew they had a carefully constructed image to protect, and feared falling short of it. Spacey is note-perfect as Nixon, with Shannon
offering a manic and haunted version of Elvis. Director Liza Johnson brings offbeat sensitivities to a cartoonish story without a great deal to say about celebrity or politics, but which manages to capture why the public retain such curiosity for these influential, eccentric men. (Eddie Harrison) ■ General release from Fri 24 Jun.
COMEDY DRAMA MAGGIE’S PLAN (15) 99min ●●●●●
The fifth film from writer-director Rebecca Miller thrillingly brings together current queen-bee actress Julianne Moore with luminous young pretender Greta Gerwig. They’re operating at different ends of the acting spectrum in this fitfully fizzy dramedy; while Moore relishes the opportunity to kick back her heels and dig out a random European accent as a ferociously intelligent, amusingly ludicrous diva, Gerwig is forced to play it straighter as she shoulders the burden of the film’s believability. ‘I need a baby’, grumbles Maggie (Gerwig) to best friend Tony
(Bill Hader), before announcing that she’s secured a sperm donor in pickle entrepreneur Guy (Travis Fimmel). Matters are further complicated when, around the time of insemination, Maggie embarks on an affair with married academic John (Ethan Hawke), who finds this deeply practical woman a welcome contrast to his needy genius wife Georgette (Moore, going for Danish apparently, but channelling Dietrich). A child is born, lives rumble on but down the line things begin to look far from rosy with our protagonist hatching the titular scheme.
Aiming for something Woody Allen-esque, Miller doesn’t quite nail the tone. Her film lacks the visual energy to complement the narrative farce and feels erratically plotted (the paternity issue is put awkwardly to one side, and the plan itself is an awful long time coming). However, the focus on smart, complicated women is welcome and Miller’s razor-sharp dialogue soars in the mouths of the esteemed ensemble, amping up the entertainment value. With white-hot performers at the fore and a screwball-style premise, Maggie’s Plan promises more than it delivers but there’s abundant fun to be had along the way. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 8 Jul.
72 THE LIST 2 Jun–1 Sep 2016