FILM | REVIEWS
MYSTERY DRAMA BURNING (15) 148min ●●●●●
Lyrical, languid and utterly beguiling, Chang-dong Lee’s Burning demands that the viewer not only succumb to its opacity, but revel in it. The first we see of painfully reserved delivery man Jong-su (the astonishing Ah-in Yoo) is the cigarette smoke curling around the door of his van – a visual marker for what is to come. A chance meeting with old neighbour Hae-mi (Jong-seo Jun) leads to an attraction that’s extinguished when she returns from a trip with the dashing, rich Ben (The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun). The three circle each other and, when Hae-mi disappears, Jong-su’s suspicions begin to fester.
Despite the incendiary promise of its title, there’s not a lot of fire and brimstone in Burning, based on Haruki Murakami’s short story. It comprises instead many miniscule moments that, in rubbing up against each together, smoulder and, eventually, ignite. Set against South Korea’s rampant youth unemployment, political commentary is secondary to intimacy and immediacy as Lee meanders from comedy to romance to thriller until he reaches an unforgettable climax. It’s a sequence that’s yet another beautiful frustration in a film that, despite its elusiveness, proves a vibrant, visceral experience. (Nikki Baughan) ■ Selected release from Fri 1 Feb.
WAR FOXTROT (15) 113min ●●●●●
Following up his blistering debut Lebanon, which expressed the horrors of warfare from the confines of a tank, Israeli director Samuel Maoz returns to similar territory. Although he widens out the action, Foxtrot is no less claustrophobic. It follows a married couple (Lior Ashkenazi and Sarah Adler) who are informed that their son Jonathan (Yonathan Shiray) has been killed ‘in the line of duty’, before flashing back to follow Jonathan in the days leading up to the incident and rejoining his parents in the aftermath.
Reteaming with Lebanon cinematographer Giora Bejach, Maoz again demonstrates he is a master of visual storytelling. The incredible sequence which introduces Jonathan at his isolated outpost, as he dances the foxtrot under a vivid blue sky, using his rifle as his partner, will surely go down as one of the most memorable of the year. And while Foxtrot plays as something of a comedy of errors, it also makes some biting political points. Conscription means that Israel's youth spend their formative years in military service and their families live in a state of constant worry; the film's off-kilter lines underscore the central themes of absurdity, oppression and innocence lost. (Nikki Baughan) ■ Limited release from Fri 1 Mar.
BIOPIC – COMEDY CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? (15) 106min ●●●●●
There’s nothing less appealing than an Oscar bait biopic that sticks to the standard formula. Director Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) and screenwriters Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty are well aware of that, turning the story of author and literary forger Lee Israel into a queer buddy comedy as they cherry pick from Israel’s confessional memoir.
The title of this mischievous film quotes one of Israel’s many forged letters – one purporting to be the work of Dorothy Parker, although Israel also emulated Noel Coward, Louise Brooks and Fanny Brice amongst others. Melissa McCarthy plays Israel as a lonely woman who took tremendous pride in her work, nailing the excitement she gets from her cunning scheme. It’s one of McCarthy's best performances – she slides comfortably into the tweed jackets, patterned sweaters and stubborn temperament of an alcoholic writer faced with severe financial difficulties and an ailing, beloved cat. Richard E Grant seems equally at ease in his role as co-conspirator and party animal Jack Hock, taking his seat next to his bar buddy for another round of shots and misconduct. Heller uses the New York setting to conjure a cosy ambience when McCarthy and Grant are
up to their necks in hijinks, but she blows in an icy breeze when the FBI start tailing them as suspects. The screenplay is intelligent and multi-layered in its approach to the value of the written word and how it declines according to fashion; it displays an aptitude for the kind of humour that derives from the darkest places, and knows too when it’s time to be sincere. As it sweeps you exhilaratingly back to the 1990s, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is deviously funny and deeply moving. (Katherine McLaughlin) ■ General release from Fri 1 Feb.
BIOPIC – LEGAL DRAMA ON THE BASIS OF SEX (12A) 120min ●●●●●
How appropriate that on a wave of films centred on strong female characters one of them should be about iconic US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, fondly known as Notorious RBG and the subject of a recent documentary. A brilliant strategist, RBG made it her mission to challenge gender discriminatory laws. She’s now an 85-year-old superhero, fighting the good fight, and always with style. Felicity Jones isn’t obvious casting for the diminutive but daunting Jewish immigrant’s daughter from Brooklyn, but relishes the smart dialogue and brings conviction to the
inevitable climactic courtroom oration. Her Ruth has a sweet chemistry with Armie Hammer, playing her lawyer husband Marty – so proud and supportive he sets the bar for husbanding admirably high.
The intelligent screenplay was written by Ginsburg’s nephew Daniel Stiepleman, combining legal drama and love story appealingly. Director Mimi Leder is herself a groundbreaker and uses her background as a cinematographer to ensure visual interest, like images of Ruth purposefully mounting imposing steps, from law school to the Supreme Court, for a nicely inspirational, romantic hagiography and an unmistakable call to political engagement. (Angie Errigo) ■ General release from Fri 22 Feb.
66 THE LIST 1 Feb–31 Mar 2019