FILM | Reviews
BIOPIC FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL (15) 106min ●●●●●
Although she won an Oscar and more than made her mark on the silver screen, Gloria Grahame’s star had waned by the end, with her final years spent treading the boards in provincial British theatres. She was in humble digs when the much younger, aspiring actor Peter Turner became entranced by her without knowing who she was (or had been). As Grahame and Turner, Annette Bening and Jamie Bell – both of them outstanding – bring to the story of their affair all the right notes of lust, tenderness, vulnerability and tempestuousness. Even if you know how it was fated to end, this film based on Turner’s memoir makes for a captivating journey, from the fun of their first days to the touching postscript. Writer Matt Greenhalgh is adept with true-life tales
(Control, Nowhere Boy). And director Paul McGuigan’s background as a photographer and documentarian shows in crafty compositions and meticulous details, while there is a wonderfully fluid, dreamlike trick to transitioning from the ‘present’ into flashbacks. There’s also an ensemble to die for, including Julie Walters and Vanessa Redgrave. All in all, it’s a lovely celebration of a unique woman. May the Gloria Grahame rediscovery commence. (Angie Errigo) ■ General release from Fri 17 Nov.
SUPERNATURAL THRILLER THELMA (15) 116min ●●●●●
This beguiling slice of Scandinavian psycho-noir from director Joachim Trier follows the shy Thelma (Eili Harboe) as she starts a new life at university. It’s an awkward independence; she doesn’t make friends easily, not least because of her difficult relationship with her controlling Christian parents. She also suffers violent seizures, which have a strange effect on nearby electricity and animals. When Thelma meets fellow female student Anja (Kaya Wilkins), the igniting of secret desires sees these episodes grow in frequency and strength.
Comparisons with Carrie are unavoidable, but Trier shapes Thelma with a well-defined cultural identity. Shot in muted tones, Norway’s untamed beauty reflects the character’s own wild nature. Trier and co-writer Eskil Vogt shed the story’s myriad layers in a considered way, adding in dreamlike flashback sequences which augment the hypnotic atmosphere. Harboe is exceptional, initially imbuing Thelma with an affecting vulnerability. When she embarks on her journey of self-discovery, however, this gives way to a confident self-awareness, as she realises what her parents have always known, and feared: that she is capable of being both miracle and monster. (Nikki Baughan) ■ Selected release from Fri 3 Nov.
DRAMA MUDBOUND (TBC) 134min ●●●●●
While the landscape of Mississippi may have been built on the farmlands that sustain it, its cultural identity is largely shaped by intolerance and discrimination that run as deep and dark as its abundant mud. Adapted from Hillary Jordan’s bestseller, Mudbound is told through the interlinking stories of two families – one white, one black – and is set during and immediately after WWII.
Henry McAllan (Jason Clarke) has relocated from the city with his wife Laura (Carey
Mulligan) and brother Jamie (Garrett Hedlund) to try his hand at farming. He inherits tenants Hap Jackson (Rob Morgan) and his family, who engage in daily servitude in an attempt to purchase a small piece of land of their own. Like Jamie, Hap’s son Ronsel (Jason Mitchell) served in the war, and both have returned
home much changed, only to find Mississippi exactly the same. Jamie and Ronsel’s struggle to reintegrate into this segregated society after risking their lives for American democracy brings them together ahead of Mudbound’s brutal climax. Director Dee Rees, co-writing with Virgil Williams, takes a measured approach; while the
deck is firmly stacked against the Jacksons, her film makes it clear that life isn’t easy for anyone. Through Laura’s meek deference to Henry we see how women, too, were treated like second-class citizens, while Jamie is clearly suffering from post-traumatic stress. As portrayed by the exceptional ensemble, these characters are authentic products of
their time, their individual voiceovers revealing difficult truths in language that is poetic and profound. Moreover, Mudbound speaks to America’s continuing injustices with its devastating contemporary relevance. (Nikki Baughan) ■ In selected cinemas and on Netflix from Fri 17 Nov.
CRIME THRILLER GOOD TIME (15) 102min ●●●●● Starring consistent expectation-exceeder Robert Pattinson, Good Time is an enjoyably grimy, 80s-infused crime thriller about a bank robber from Queens busting his gut to free his incarcerated brother. It’s directed by siblings Benny and Josh Safdie and stars the former as Nick Nikas, the mentally handicapped brother of the twitchy, seemingly no- good Connie (Pattinson). Acting as both his corrupter and carer, from the outset Connie shows himself to be deeply uncomfortable with attempts to integrate Nick into society, coercing him instead into assisting with a
robbery that inevitably goes south.
Connie is a man with his own moral code, judging other crooks he deems beneath him. He endlessly improvises and adapts his plans, with the next screw-up never too far off. This kinetic film takes a lead from Connie’s quick-thinking desperation, yet it works in enough detail to build a credible picture of criminality, of life on the fringes, and of brotherly love, with Pattinson and Safdie both superb. One scrape after the next rattles by, but Good Time ends hopefully, albeit on a melancholic note, as the final throes unleash a sadness hitherto only hinted at. (Emma Simmonds) ■ Selected release from Fri 17 Nov.
84 THE LIST 1 Nov 2017–31 Jan 2018