list.co.uk/fi lm Reviews | FILM
BIOPIC – DRAMA THE MERCY (12A) 102min ●●●●● DRAMA CUSTODY (TBC) 93min ●●●●●
COMEDY FINDING YOUR FEET (12A) 111min ●●●●●
Colin Firth is showstopping in the story of Donald Crowhurst’s infamous attempt to sail solo around the world, as part of the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Despite being only a weekend sailor, Crowhurst persuaded an investor to build him a yacht. But his business and home were staked against the sponsorship of his voyage. Crowhurst’s chances are bigged up by his press agent (David Thewlis), meanwhile the ‘wife who waits’, Clare (Rachel Weisz), frets that Donald is in over his head. Clare’s anxiety is quickly justii ed as her husband meets with one disaster after another. Realising he is incapable of completing the race, he embarks on a tragic deception. The supporting cast and period detail are i ne,
but essentially this is Firth’s i lm and he does brave, moving work as the disheartened dreamer spiralling into despair and madness. Director James Marsh (The Theory of Everything, Man on Wire) has abundant experience with true stories. But it cannot have escaped his notice that the 2006 documentary Deep Water – assembled from Crowhurst’s 16mm i lms, tape recordings and journals – remains the more riveting reconstruction of the sailor’s dilemma and the wretched consequences. (Angie Errigo) ■ General release from Fri 9 Feb.
Domestic abuse is a deadly serious subject that time and time again is not dealt with satisfactorily. French director Xavier Legrand’s powerful debut feature (winner of the Silver Lion at Venice 2017) is a continuation of his Oscar-nominated short and explores the insidious nature of this kind of violence.
It initially places the viewer in the shoes of a judge ruling on the custody of 11-year-old Julien (Thomas Gioria) who has vehemently expressed disdain for his father Antoine (Denis Ménochet). Despite this, Julien is ordered to spend alternate weekends with Antoine, and there’s nothing his petrified mother Miriam (Léa Drucker) can do about it. Julien’s older sister Joséphine (Mathilde Auneveux) chooses not to see her father and the scene is set for the viewer to learn how fear and intimidation can swallow lives.
While the explosive denouement is heavily
signposted, Legrand displays real skill evoking the feeling of being imprisoned by your circumstances. His camera gets up in Gioria’s face, who conveys Julien’s terror and loathing in a seething performance. It’s profoundly distressing, but that’s precisely the point. (Katherine McLaughlin) ■ Selected release from Fri 23 Mar. Screening at Glasgow Film Festival on Tue 27 & Wed 28 Feb.
‘Let’s have a naughty sherry,’ Surrey snob Sandra (Imelda Staunton) tells a chum as she prepares to host her husband’s retirement bash, moments before her world falls apart. When her free-spirited sister Bif (a delightful Celia Imrie) picks up the pieces, Sandra learns to live a bit more dangerously than partaking in the odd tipple.
From director Richard Loncraine, Finding Your Feet is pitched at the same crowd who l ocked to the Marigold Hotel i lms: those looking to retire in style. Bif provides inspiration in how to do so on a budget; she’s a ray of sunshine residing in a cosy council l at, merrily playing the i eld and dancing up a storm with pals played by Joanna Lumley, David Hayman and Timothy Spall.
The i lm’s humour and sadness co-exist agreeably, Staunton invests every line of dialogue with integrity and her character’s romance with Spall’s Charlie unfolds in a way that’s endearingly cautious. The lessons loom a little large, while a jaunt to Italy feels outrageously unnecessary and ultimately bizarre. Sometimes it’s hard not to cringe at the antics but the joie de vivre of these convention-defying pensioners is irresistible. It’s a familiar blend, with just a dash of daring. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 23 Feb.
COMEDY DRAMA LADY BIRD (15) 94min ●●●●●
The star and co-writer of Frances Ha, Greta Gerwig, proves herself a noteworthy director with Lady Bird, a sure-footed, semi- autobiographical coming-of-age charmer told with a generous spirit and an acute understanding of human nature. Christine McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) is a 17-year-old from
the wrong side of the tracks, stranded in suburban Sacramento and dreaming of the great life that surely awaits her just over the horizon. She has given herself the name of ‘Lady Bird’. Meanwhile, in the real world she has to tolerate her hypercritical mother Marion (Laurie Metcalf) and an existence that stubbornly refuses to live up to her expectations.
The winner of two Golden Globes, Lady Bird is often screamingly funny as it charts its protagonist’s giddy journey through the weeks and months of her i nal year at school, and the agony and ecstasy of college applications. She gains new friends, loses her virginity, makes all the character-forming mistakes of youth and constantly tussles with a mother who i nds it easier to nitpick than to express the love she clearly holds.
A valentine to the golden summer glow of Sacramento, Lady Bird has the sweet soul of a John Hughes i lm and the wit of a Woody Allen. Gerwig has a wonderful affection for her characters and their failings, and gets the most from a very cool cast that includes Lucas Hedges from Manchester by the Sea and blazing new talent Timothée Chalamet from Call Me by Your Name. Metcalf brings out all the complex, tough-love emotions of Marion and Ronan makes Lady Bird a believable and hugely endearing i gure. Wise, witty and breezing along life’s highway on a blast of sunny optimism, Lady Bird is just the i lm to banish those winter blues. (Allan Hunter) ■ General release from Fri 16 Feb.
1 Feb–31 Mar 2018 THE LIST 61