FILM | REVIEWS
COMING OF AGE EIGHTH GRADE (15) 94min ●●●●●
The highs and lows of an introverted middle schooler are captured with vivacity and sensitivity by Bo Burnham in his humane, sometimes hilarious directorial debut. Along with actress Elsie Fisher, he’s created a truly unforgettable protagonist in Kayla Day, a teenager whose ability to face her fears while in the grip of crippling anxiety is nothing short of heroic.
Kayla’s open-hearted optimism can be hard to watch as she
tries, futilely, to impress her peers. Her inability to break through and form friendships is in stark contrast to the persona she projects as a vlogger; the tips she gives for real-world confidence are so much easier said than done. Fortunately, her single dad Mark (Josh Hamilton) could hardly be sweeter, exhibiting inexhaustible patience throughout testiness and tantrums. Anyone who has ever been an outsider or suffered even moderate social unease will find Kayla’s predicaments painfully recognisable, but Burnham’s film is far from a grind as he spotlights the courage of this endearingly awkward heroine and lets rip with giddy visuals which perfectly capture the way she escapes into social media. Meanwhile, the sometimes wildly expressive score relays the maelstrom of adolescence, both in its excitement and horrors. And, at the fore, Golden Globe-nominee Fisher is simply superb.
Although Kayla’s life often sucks, Burnham hints at a better future. There’s a kindred spirit in the adorably geeky Gabe (Jake Ryan), who shows the value of her looking beyond flashy friends, while the delightful Olivia (Emily Robinson) is a vision of who she could be in a few years, with a lot more confidence. Boasting ample empathy and just enough hope, Eighth Grade is a coming- of-age film to savour. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 26 Apr. See feature, page 44.
MUSICAL DRAMA WILD ROSE (15) 100min ●●●●●
CRIME DRAMA DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE (18) 159min ●●●●● COMING OF AGE MID90S (TBC) 85min ●●●●●
Beast’s Jessie Buckley is the heart of this pleasing musical drama about a Glaswegian woman who won’t let go of her dream. Reuniting with War & Peace director Tom Harper, Buckley plays Rose- Lynn Harlan, who skips out of prison, pulls cowboy boots over her ankle monitor and cracks back on with her quest for Nashville fame. Rose-Lynn’s resumption of her wild ways and her country music compulsion infuriate her mum Marion (Julie Walters), who has been caring for Rose-Lynn’s two kids and expects her daughter to start taking responsibility for them and herself.
Rose-Lynn is feckless, has anger management
issues and is definitely not a mother of the year candidate, so we could find her irksome. But not a bit of it. Funny, feisty and full of unquenchable hope, we find ourselves pulling for her as she sings her socks off.
Despite some cliches in the Cinderella tradition, the film’s BAFTA-winning screenwriter Nicole Taylor (Three Girls) is more social realist than fantasist, and the downturns feel true. Buckley is electric, a genuine star in the ascendant, even if the songs don’t quite do her justice. But, as a timely tale about never giving up on yourself, Wild Rose is warm- hearted and inspiring. (Angie Errigo) ■ General release from Fri 12 Apr.
78 THE LIST 1 Apr–31 May 2019
The deadpan humour, nihilism and ultra-violence of S Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99) makes for an ideal match-up with Mel Gibson, a star whose career is sputtering from various controversies. The story kicks off with Henry Johns (Tory Kittles), an ex-con who returns home to his heroin-addicted mother and teenage brother. Johns takes on a criminal job which brings him into conflict with disgraced law enforcers Brett Ridgeman (Gibson) and Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn). Ridgeman has family problems of his own, and hopes to line his pockets by shaking down some crooks. Unfortunately, the bank- robbers they target are armed to the teeth, leading to an extended and bloody conflict.
Zahler never saw an exploding cranium he didn’t like and the film’s protracted runtime features several gory and self-indulgent diversions. It’s a shame because Gibson pulls off his best work in decades as he doubles down on world-weary charm, and there are enjoyable cameos from Udo Kier and Don Johnson. Zahler has a cult following, and deservedly so; he’s on course to make a stone-cold classic in the Don Siegel mode, but the patchy yet compelling Dragged Across Concrete will do for now. (Eddie Harrison) ■ General release from Fri 19 Apr.
Having worked with a diverse range of directors, there was no easy answer as to what style Jonah Hill would plump for to kickstart his own filmmaking career. In the end, Richard Linklater seems the obvious inspiration for this lo-fi but artistically ambitious indie focusing on a group of LA skateboarders. Set in the titular era, it follows Stevie (Sunny Suljic), a 13-year-old subjected to beatings by his brother Ian (Lucas Hedges), who we also see self-harming. Respite from his woes comes when he falls in with a skater crew of older kids. Banter flows as they hang out at the skate shop or on the streets and there’s humour and pathos in Stevie’s desperation to impress. However, the world he enters is a bewildering one for a vulnerable boy.
While the coming-of-age of male adolescents has been robustly explored (not least by Linklater himself in the tricky to top Boyhood), writer-director Hill doesn’t exactly play it safe as his debut sets foot in transgressive territory. Tonally it can be a bit helter- skelter but Hill has penned a witty script and feels like a filmmaker willing to experiment. And, in glorious scenes of skateboarding and shooting the breeze, he captures the essence of an era. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 12 Apr.