list.co.uk/fi lm Reviews | FILM
THRILLER THE LIMEHOUSE GOLEM (15) 109min ●●●●● THRILLER WIND RIVER (15) 107min ●●●●●
DRAMA INSYRIATED (15) 86min ●●●●●
A Victorian whodunit, Juan Carlos Medina’s second feature promises much but doesn’t always deliver. Based on the novel Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem by Peter Ackroyd, it’s a Jack the Ripper- esque tale set in a foggy old London. With a killer on the loose, in comes Scotland Yard detective John Kildare (Bill Nighy) to solve a case that has baffled the country’s finest minds.
Scripted by Jane Goldman, who did a better job
with The Woman in Black than she does here, it sees Kildare become embroiled with music hall performer Lizzie Cree (Olivia Cooke), whose husband has died in mysterious circumstances. The detective suspects this dead spouse to be the Golem and, with Lizzie facing the gallows for his murder, Kildare busts a gut to prove his theory and rescue an innocent woman.
Medina never quite gets to grips with Goldman’s ever-shifting script, struggling to find a consistent rhythm. Cooke transfixes, while Nighy is good value, yet no cast member is able to overcome a story that telegraphs its twists so blatantly. Lacking any real scares, its ghoulish terror feels muted; but Medina’s depiction of Victorian London – particularly the music hall scene – is amply atmospheric. (James Mottram) ■ General release from Fri 1 Sep.
Noble of intention but no stranger to cliché, this is the first major feature from director Taylor Sheridan, the screenwriter behind Sicario, Oscar-nominated for his gloriously salty work on Hell or High Water. Adopting a solemn approach to its mystery and inspired by actual events, it highlights the appalling treatment of young Native American women. Set in snowy Wyoming, Jeremy Renner plays wildlife officer Cory who comes across the body of his dead daughter’s friend Natalie (Kelsey Asbille) whilst hunting wild cats on an Indian reservation. Elizabeth Olsen is a rookie FBI agent who brings Cory onboard as a tracker. The emphasis on Natalie’s almost superhuman strength in the face of her ordeal is welcome. There are other positives: the overwhelming sense of sadness, the disinterest in grisly details and the awful credibility of the crime itself. But there are missteps too, whether it’s the sometimes hokey dialogue, or the way that Olsen’s agent is portrayed as needy and even love-struck. And that a maverick man is the film’s most valued person undermines its determination to humanise the female victim. Wind River is a film that intermittently impresses, yet keeps getting blown off course. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 8 Sep.
‘Don’t let anyone manipulate you now,’ a woman earnestly advises her husband as they prepare their risky departure from war-battered Damascus. Sound advice, but a touch ironic in the context of a film which uses the most manipulative of genres – the melodrama and the home-invasion horror – to lend cinematic shape to the shapeless misery ongoing in Syria. Arguably anything that draws us closer to the ordeals of ordinary Syrians is doing useful work; and Philippe Van Leeuw’s cloistered drama of an ordinary household under fire has its strengths, chief among them the raw, heartfelt work of lead actresses Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bou Abboud and Juliette Navis. Tension is effectively built up; the danger and the human drama feel painfully real. But it’s hard not to feel overly directed – by the one-note characterisation, by the highly constructed moral problems, and by the horribly syrupy score. Few would query the sincerity of the piece, nor the technical achievement of constructing a whole war movie within the confines of one apartment. What is questionable is whether much is achieved beyond a reminder of how lucky any of us is who gets to watch this and walk away at the end. (Hannah McGill) ■ Selected release from Fri 8 Sep.
MUSICAL DRAMA PATTI CAKE$ (15) 109min ●●●●●
This big-hearted, flavoursome yarn from first-timer Geremy Jasper unfolds against a backdrop of blistering beats and raucous rhymes. Yet the brash posturing of its fantasy sequences and fierce cusses of its rap battles make room for a more subtle brand of self-discovery. New Jerseyite Patti (Danielle Macdonald) dreams of rap
superstardom but, for now, she’s stuck in the doldrums. Although mocked for her size, she’s a grafter working two jobs to pay off the medical bills of her beloved Nana (a scene-stealing, foul-mouthed turn from Raging Bull’s Cathy Moriarty). Patti receives little thanks for her efforts from her chaotic mother Barb (Bridget Everett), a nearly-was rock-balladeer brought low by bitterness.
Australian actress Macdonald is an understated delight
during the dramatic sequences, making her gusto during the musical numbers especially potent. Everett wails convincingly and has presence but some of her domestic scenes feel stiff. More successful is the dynamic between Patti and her bestie (Siddharth Dhananjay) who dresses like a tough guy but whose unshakable bouncy positivity defines the film, while the tenderness of the romance between Patti and a forest-dwelling metalhead (Mamoudou Athie) adds a sweet note. Patti Cake$ generates more than enough goodwill with its
depiction of endearing outsiders to earn its shamelessly euphoric conclusion. As Patti spits out her lyrics – lewd, incendiary and eventually empowering – writer-director Jasper announces his own arrival with a great deal of swagger. His debut shows how it’s easy to lose sight of your dreams when life delivers body blows, but ultimately Patti’s journey is a joyous one as she learns to speak her truth. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 1 Sep.
1 Sep–31 Oct 2017 THE LIST 55