My final dispatch from 2019's London Film Festival is here! Now that (relatively) brief thoughts for most of the film are out, full reviews for a select handful of titles will trickle their way out of time. You haven't seen the last of me!
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OFFICIAL SECRETS
dir. Gavin Hood
October 18th
Official Secrets is a well-constructed, informative and powerful cautionary tale about questioning authority and personal risk over national security.
Compellingly tense, Gavin Hood's latest recounts the real-life story of whistleblower Katharine Gun, who leaked secret government-issued memos exposing the United States for illegal spying operations used to validate the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Arguably more thrilling the blinder in you go - particularly regarding Gun's involvement in breaking the story - Official Secrets is a thought-provoking effort that successfully marries fact and character drama with genuine thrills and suspense. While the three-person screenplay, adapted from The Spy Who Tried To Stop A War, can occasionally feel like its reciting lines lifted straight from the novel, it's an otherwise cleanly-delivered, powerfully-told story, even if they do end the film in the wrong place.
An excellent Keira Knightley portrays Gun not with heroism but as a morally-inflicted yet intelligence woman who demonstrates her bravery to told her government accountable despite placing herself in danger. It's wonderful to see Knightley play someone more contemporary and break from her traditional period typecasting somewhat, delivering one of the strongest performances of her career. Matt Smith provides strong support in a surprisingly limited role, while the rest of the ensemble is rounded out by more-than-capable actors.
An excellent Keira Knightley portrays Gun not with heroism but as a morally-inflicted yet intelligence woman who demonstrates her bravery to told her government accountable despite placing herself in danger. It's wonderful to see Knightley play someone more contemporary and break from her traditional period typecasting somewhat, delivering one of the strongest performances of her career. Matt Smith provides strong support in a surprisingly limited role, while the rest of the ensemble is rounded out by more-than-capable actors.
Official Secrets is intelligent entertainment, powerful and thought-provoking.
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PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
dir. Céline Sciamma
28th February 2020
A little underwhelming without being a total disappointment, The Portrait of a Lady on Fire is precise to a fault.
For a film about blossoming love, Céline Sciamma's sophomore feature is a cold piece of filmmaking; calculating in its aesthetics, there's not a crease of fabric or strand of hair out of place. While that means the film astonishes from a technical standpoint, visually hypnotic and immensely impressive in its craft, it is, ironically like its protagonists, emotionally stunted. While it eventually coalesces into something more enriching, the build-up during the first hour can feel punishingly slow and stilted.
Thankfully, a spark is found in the second half, as the richly-drawn romance comes to the forefront: working towards a stunning crescendo, the latter hour is approached far more sensually and engrossingly, matching the sumptuous imagery with intenser warmth that illustrates the confidence of Sciamma in her steady vision. With two wonderful, well-matched performances from Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel, Portrait delivers on its promise and ends on a high note.
Beautifully decorative but maybe too slowly burning, The Portrait of a Lady on Fire won't be to everyone's taste but will almost certainly be lapped up by the arthouse crowd.
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ETERNAL BEAUTY
dir. Craig Roberts
TBC
Thoughts on Film Inquiry soon
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EMA
dir. Pablo Larraín
TBC
There is a lot to unpack in Pablo Larraín's follow-up to his Oscar-nominated Jackie.
A kinetic, experimental and punky offering with a whole lot of attitude, Ema is a lot to take in and will certainly take viewers more than one watch to fully digest. Larraín's masterful visuals turn Ema into a most immersive experience: the imagery and composition are so enthralling, hypnotic in the way its colours dance around the screen. Along with an extraordinary score from Nicolás Jaar and generally sharp use of music, Ema is a sensory overload that overwhelms in its ambition and craft.
Guillermo Calderón and Alejandro Moreno's screenplay isn't afraid to present a rather unlikeable character and toxicity bred within her circle and community. There's so much scratching away underneath the screenplay's surface though that it can feel frustratingly elusive, as if it's a rewrite or so away from breaking through and more deeply satisfying; almost certainly, a rewatch will enlighten and tighten the slightly scattered themes, but for now, there's something slightly out of reach regarding with Ema.
As a piece of art, Ema is astonishing; its narrative plays second fiddle but it's an intoxicatingly-made piece that cements Pablo Larraín as one of our most visionary directors.
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UNCUT GEMS (screened as 'Suprise Film')
dir. Josh and Benny Safdie
25th December, Netflix
Described by its directors as "anxiety-inducing" cinema, it's unlikely that Josh and Benny Safdie intended Uncut Gems to be so headache-inflicting too.
If a script for Uncut Gems even exists, it's a total, total mess. Characters talk and they talk and they talk, rambling on with little intention, it would seem, other than to irritate those who have sat down willingly to spend 134 minutes in their company. Such an overwhelming cacophony of sound aggravates, zapping the film of any semblance of intensity needed for this ballsy effort to succeed.
Directing their own script, co-written with Ronald Bronstein, the Safdie brothers fail on both fronts to salvage anything exciting or interesting or illuminating or thoughtful from what can only be described as a complete trainwreck. While there was a flair to Good Time's franticness, incoherence settles in rather quickly here which leads to an aggravating and exhausting cinematic experience. And don't be fooled, this is an Adam Sandler performance through and through, just in fancy window dressing; he's not the revelation he is boasted to be, in a leading turn that amounts to a glorified SNL skit.
How disappointing for my time at London Film Festival to end on Uncut Gems: easily the worst film of a generally sold, impressive bunch.
If a script for Uncut Gems even exists, it's a total, total mess. Characters talk and they talk and they talk, rambling on with little intention, it would seem, other than to irritate those who have sat down willingly to spend 134 minutes in their company. Such an overwhelming cacophony of sound aggravates, zapping the film of any semblance of intensity needed for this ballsy effort to succeed.
Directing their own script, co-written with Ronald Bronstein, the Safdie brothers fail on both fronts to salvage anything exciting or interesting or illuminating or thoughtful from what can only be described as a complete trainwreck. While there was a flair to Good Time's franticness, incoherence settles in rather quickly here which leads to an aggravating and exhausting cinematic experience. And don't be fooled, this is an Adam Sandler performance through and through, just in fancy window dressing; he's not the revelation he is boasted to be, in a leading turn that amounts to a glorified SNL skit.
How disappointing for my time at London Film Festival to end on Uncut Gems: easily the worst film of a generally sold, impressive bunch.