list.co.uk/fi lm Reviews | FILM
THRILLER BEAST (TBC) 107min ●●●●●
DRAMA WONDERSTRUCK (PG) 116min ●●●●● COMEDY DRAMA LET THE SUNSHINE IN (15) 95min ●●●●●
Polite society and conventional femininity form a suffocating straightjacket in the eerily intoxicating Beast, the dynamic debut of Michael Pearce. Young girls are being raped and murdered against a bucolic Jersey backdrop, with the local police incapable of solving the crimes. In the midst of this is Moll (Jessie Buckley), a twentysomething tour guide with a dark past. Remade by her smothering mother Hilary (Geraldine James) into the picture of innocence, inside she’s screaming. James is brilliant here in a chilling takedown of
passive-aggressive suburban types, delivering crippling humiliations to her daughter with the merest l ick of her lip. As Moll’s lover and murder suspect Pascal, Johnny Flynn possesses a strange charisma that makes his appeal all-too plausible, but it’s Buckley that’s the i nd; hers is a performance of aching sensitivity, easing you into understanding a character who’s ultimately as unsettling as she is sympathetic. Pearce (who grew up on Jersey) draws ample tension from the story’s ambiguity. Rumour, bigotry and suspicion do their dirty work, as the i lm reminds us that those with small minds often have dark hearts and of the impossibility of ever really knowing anyone. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 27 Apr.
In 1977, we meet Benji (Oakes Fegley) who is awoken by a nightmarish vision of wolves, the grief of losing his mother (Michelle Williams) weighing heavily on his mind. Soon after, he is struck by lightning and loses his hearing. Meanwhile, in 1927, a young deaf girl named Rose (an entrancing Millicent Simmonds) sits alone in her room crafting miniature skyscrapers out of the pages of a book. It’s the dawn of the talkies and Rose is feeling out of place in her changing New Jersey surroundings. The children run away to the Big Apple and their intersecting adventures set in two separate decades play out with whimsical charm.
Adapted by Brian Selznick from his illustrated children’s novel, with Todd Haynes (Carol) directing, this delicately crafted film continually references the process of turning the written word into elegant visuals and vice versa, an ambitious detail that detracts from the tender coming-of-age tales. Haynes’ camera whooshes between the different time periods and cinematic stylings, with his film marking the progression of the city over 50 years. It’s part heartfelt love letter to New York’s history and part ode to the ever-changing visage and vibrations of cinema. (Katherine McLaughlin) ■ General release from Fri 6 Apr.
The midlife dating game comes under the incomparable scrutiny of Claire Denis in an idiosyncratic and empathetic French farce which takes a dim view of romantic relations and skewers the pomposity of the artistic set. Wielding a wonderful sense of the absurd, Denis also creates an intimacy which leaves you vulnerable to her protagonist’s pain and disappointment. Adapted from Roland Barthes’ A Lover’s Discourse – fragments of philosophy from the perspective of lovers – it stars the magnii cent Juliette Binoche. Binoche plays artist Isabelle, a middle-aged woman who’s still powerfully sexy but unable to ensnare a half-decent mate – if you can believe it – a situation that’s turning her into an emotional wreck. Through conversations with admirers and friends, the i lm explores her frustrations. While legendary cinematographer Agnès Godard
makes Binoche glow like a goddess, Denis and co-writer Christine Angot give pathos to Isabelle’s plight and Binoche renders her achingly human with a multifarious, self-deprecating performance. Together they bring out all the colours of love and rejection as Isabelle moves between bliss, trepidation, desperation and, most heartbreakingly of all, hope. (Emma Simmonds) ■ Selected release from Fri 20 Apr.
COMEDY DRAMA TULLY (15) 96min ●●●●●
Charlize Theron puts in an astonishing central performance in Tully, baring both ravaged body and soul as harried mother Marlo. Pushed to breaking point after the birth of her third child, a desperate Marlo accepts her brother’s gift of night nanny Tully (Mackenzie Davis), who restores a sense of calm and offers Marlo a friendship that slowly grows in strength.
That nubile twentysomething Tully sweeps into Marlo’s life bare-midriffed and perky suggests that this might be an entirely different i lm. Yet Diablo Cody’s perfectly observed screenplay sidesteps the cliché of peppy youth versus bitter experience to mine the sometimes funny, often brutal truths of motherhood, ageing and the burdens of responsibility.
Director Jason Reitman handles the material with sensitivity and an unl inching eye for the detail of pregnancy, parenthood and female friendship that’s by turns humorous and desperately moving. Throwaway lines about sugar, caffeine and screen- time jostle among more dramatic moments concerning Marlo’s troubled son, the loss of her individuality and the strength she draws from Tully’s support. And if male characters are underdeveloped, that in itself makes a point about the traditional approach to the division of parenting labour. When the i lm takes a sharp turn, the comedy gives way to
darker psychological excavation, and it’s a testament to its robust character that it keeps the audience i rmly in thrall. While there’s plenty to laugh at, Tully reveals itself to be an authentic and achingly honest exploration of motherhood, an unpicking of life’s rich tapestry and a reminder to appreciate what you have – even if, like the i lm itself, it becomes something entirely unexpected. (Nikki Baughan) ■ General release from Fri 4 May.
1 Apr–31 May 2018 THE LIST 69