FILM | Reviews
DRAMA GIFTED (12A) 101min ●●●●●
Chris Evans throws down his Captain America shield to take on a role that highlights his dramatic capabilities then squanders them with a rote story. Evans plays Frank, who has been looking after his niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) since his sister committed suicide. Mary shares the same mathematical gifts as her mother, something Frank has tried to hide to ensure her a normal childhood. When a teacher (Jenny Slate) uncovers Mary’s talents, and Frank’s mother (Lindsay Duncan) arrives to stake a belated claim on the girl, Frank finds he has to face a future he is unprepared for. As solid and watchable as Evans is, and while Grace, Slate and Duncan are all excellent, their efforts are not enough to lift Gifted above movie-of-the-week territory. The story ostensibly revolves around Mary but this is just another narrative about one ordinary man’s journey to personal redemption. Following his Spider-Man movies, director Marc Webb returns to the character study terrain of his debut 500 Days of Summer. Whereas that was a quirky take on the well-worn rom-com, Gifted treads a more conventional path. Peppered with schmaltzy dialogue, it’s clear how this story will end right from the opening credits. (Nikki Baughan) ■ General release from Fri 16 Jun.
BIOPIC CHURCHILL (PG) 98min ●●●●● Here is something not many people know: Winston Churchill, the bulldog Prime Minister who led the country through World War II, was vehemently opposed to D-Day. The largest invasion force in history landed on the beaches of Normandy in June 1944, despite Churchill’s agonising doubts and agitated objections. This film from Jonathan Teplitzky uses the days leading up to the invasion and Churchill’s efforts to stop it to explore his character, personality and booze-fuelled struggles with depression. This perception of Churchill is facilitated by an exceptional cast, led by Brian Cox as the great man, with Miranda Richardson as his wife Clementine, John Slattery as Dwight D Eisenhower and James Purefoy as King George VI. Haunted by the tragedy of Gallipoli, Churchill has visions of the seashore red with blood as he growls, drinks and chain-smokes cigars through a succession of monologues and dialogues. While Teplitzky’s film is intelligent and sometimes moving (bravo Purefoy, for his touching monarch), it isn’t notably cinematic, stringing together a series of one-on-one confrontations with shots of Churchill being driven from one stately home or war room to another. Nice locations though. (Angie Errigo) ■ General release from Fri 16 Jun.
CRIME BABY DRIVER (15) 113min ●●●●●
A heist movie for the iTunes generation, at times Edgar Wright’s latest feels like an extended pop video. So it won’t come as a surprise to learn that the director of Hot Fuzz explored the central nugget of Baby Driver, albeit in more comic fashion, in his 2002 promo for Mint Royale’s ‘Blue Song’, with Noel Fielding grooving in a getaway car while Michael Smiley, Nick Frost and Julian Barratt rob a bank. Featuring Wright’s first solo-penned script, Baby Driver is an exuberant crime caper, with cars, girls and music. Lots of music. Baby (Divergent’s Ansel Elgort) is an Atlanta wheelman working under duress for Kevin Spacey’s ageing crook Doc. He hardly speaks, preferring to listen to his iPod – partly to drown out the tinnitus that has troubled him since childhood. But behind the wheel, he’s something else.
With music so important to Baby, it becomes the lifeblood of the film. Whether pounding
the street or pulling 180s on the freeway, the action is choreographed expertly to the beats. From Queen to Simon & Garfunkel (whose song lends the film its title) to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the choices are eclectic, rarely obvious and perfectly selected to fit the mood of the moment. As soundtracks go, it’s up there with Pulp Fiction. The story is hardly original, as Baby is forced into doing one last heist when he just wants to escape with his girl, diner waitress Deborah (Lily James). But Wright’s zesty direction reinvigorates tired clichés, the car chases are exhilarating and co-stars Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm and Eiza González – playing Baby’s fellow bank robbers – revel in the snappy dialogue and macho posturing. Nodding to films like True Romance and Drive, it’s a thunderbolt of a movie. (James Mottram) ■ General release from Wed 28 Jun.
COMEDY BAYWATCH (15) 116min ●●●●●
‘Am I the only one that thinks this is clearly a job for the police?’ whines Matt Brody (Zac Efron) as he accompanies his fellow lifeguards on an investigation that’s definitely outside their purview. Aping the meta lunacy of the standard-bearing Jump Street movies but with less ideas and energy, this irreverent take on the TV show pokes fun at its overreaching exploits. Directed by Seth Gordon, it stars Dwayne Johnson as Mitch Buchannon, a life-saver of near- mythical ability. Matt is a disgraced swimming champion ordered to join Mitch’s team as community service, while Bollywood and Quantico star Priyanka Chopra plays a sultry villainess up to her neck in drug and dodgy property deals. There are some good gags and the film delivers amply on bouncing bosoms and absurd displays of male athleticism (and abs). However watching anonymous individuals nearly drown doesn’t make for scintillating cinema. Attempts to ape the camaraderie of the series also fall flat; the ensemble are likeable but not particularly personable. And the excessive runtime, repetitive antics, cringeworthy cameos and formulaic denouement means that a film that feels like a fun splash-about at the outset is in dire need of rescue by the end. (Emma Simmonds) ■ Out now. 76 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2017