Boy Meets Girl
Sweet and genuinely affecting love story about a transgender girl in Kentucky that examines the interaction between gender identity and sexual orientation. Some narrative developments are predictable or cliché, but that doesn't make them any less satisfying. Great acting. Very important story to tell and topic to explore.
Grade: B
Eastern Boys
Unpredictable French drama from writer-director Robin Campillo (They Came Back). A frank and compassionate portrait of the undocumented Eastern European community living in the cracks of Paris. But also the story of an attempted gay hookup that turns into an absolute horror show — seriously, it culminates in one of the most stressful, shocking, WTF-is-happening scenes of the year. Fantastic trio of central performances: Olivier Rabourdin exudes such sadness and love. Kirill Emelyanov a soulful discovery. Daniil Vorobyev terrifying, all menace and smiles. Campillo understands gay loneliness. A film about the need for human connection, wise enough to know that the pursuit of random sex can ultimately be as much about the heart as any other organ.
Grade: B+
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
Superb, infuriating Israeli drama about the lengths to which an unhappily married woman must go in order to obtain a divorce in Israel, where the rabbinical courts only permit a divorce to be granted from a husband to a wife. Sibling writer-directors Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz not audacious formalists by any means... this is pure cinematic theatre — but what extraordinary theatre it is! Brilliantly performed by the late Ronit (The Band's Visit), who finds the comedy and tragedy in the maddening circumstances of Israeli divorce court, where it takes her years of struggle to make any progress at all. The Elkabetzes' third film in a trilogy about Viviane's unhappy marriage, but the first one I've seen — succeeds even without any knowledge of previous films. Beautifully written screenplay, filled with nuance and complications, and allowing supporting actors to come in and deliver fully three-dimensional characters in a single scene.
Grade: B+
The Last Five Years
Gorgeously acted and sung by Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan. So-so direction. ADHD cinematography. Still, beautiful music by Jason Robert Brown, who is one of the best.
Grade: B
Love, Rosie
Girl and boy are longtime friends. They love each other, but aren't romantically involved, even though they're obviously perfect for each other. Endless obstacles, including other partners who are clearly wrong for them, prevent them from getting their timing right. Finally, they come to their senses and admit their mutual true love. The end. Yeah, so this movie is basically every romance ever written. Not a single thing fresh or unexpected about it — you can map out the entire film structure based just on what you know about this genre. Lily Collins and Sam Claflin immensely likable, though, with excellent chemistry. Director Christian Ditter, who previously made German films directed at children, mostly just stays out of the way. A film in love with lens flares — I know that many people hate them, but I thought that they made many shots here really beautiful. If you love romance movies, this will make you cry. If you don't, you'll roll your eyes. Not much going on here, but it's harmless.
Grade: C+
One Small Hitch
Indie romantic comedy about two childhood friends who fly back to their hometown for a wedding, pretending to be engaged (for contrived rom-com reasons)... only to find themselves falling in love for real. Quite impressive how dutifully this one colours inside the lines of the rom-com formula — about as predictable as a film can be. But the pleasures of a movie like this don't come from the destination (which is painfully obvious from the premise alone), but from the way it chooses to get there — and there are definitely some pleasures here to be had. Both lead actors are wonderful — Aubrey Dollar deepens the insecure-desperate-girl stock character this type of film tends to feature by being very funny and self-aware, while proving to be adept at physical comedy; Shane McRae, meanwhile, is so attractive and confident and likable that it seems crazy he's not already a huge movie star. Film also has fun with minor, but amusing, Irish vs. Jewish wedding drama. Anonymous filmmaking by first-time director John Burgess. Not the best or the worst film you'll ever see, nor one that you'll remember for long, but amiable and diverting in the moment.
Grade: C+
The Salvation
Sumptuously shot revenge-Western, featuring the intriguingly international cast of Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. More interested in milking every last drop of blood out of its brutal vengeance narrative than in exploring any big ideas, but its straightforward Western action is never boring. Stunning production design, excellent sense of time and place, characters to care about.
Grade: B
'71
Award-winning British film about a young soldier (Jack O'Connell, Unbroken) whose troop is deployed to a conflict zone in Belfast in 1971 amidst mounting tension — but who gets left behind by mistake when a riot breaks out and must spend a very scary night trying to get to safety. O'Connell is great in a performance consisting mostly of reaction. The riot scene is utterly thrilling and brilliantly executed. The rest of the film, however, never matches those heights and is marred by too many underdeveloped characters whose allegiances are unclear as a result. Catholic villains are (mostly) written and performed as one-note monsters. Not a whole lot of thematic depth. Cinematography by Tat Radcliffe is extraordinary. First-time director Yann Demange is one to watch.
Grade: B-
3 Nights in the Desert
Affecting with its themes of letting go of youth and suppressing unfulfilled dreams. Three-person cast — Amber Tamblyn, Wes Bentley, Vincent Piazza — is great. Not sure that it satisfactorily resolves the conflicts it establishes, though. Or maybe that's the point. There's a sense of regret (or nostalgia or melancholy) running through this whole film that really struck me. This is one that I'd probably like a lot more or a lot less after a second viewing, but I don't know which.
Grade: B
What We Do in the Shadows
Clever mockumentary directed by and starring Jemaine Clement (from Flight of the Conchords) and Taika Waititi about a group of vampire roommates and their day-to-day lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Not enormously funny, but consistently amusing. Terrific makeup. Biggest laughs come from Petyr, the 8000-year-old Nosferatu-esque vampire who lives in the crypt downstairs.
Grade: B
Wild Canaries
Odd little comedy about a woman in a rent-controlled apartment complex in Brooklyn who takes it upon herself to investigate when her elderly neighbour dies and she suspects murder. Writer-director Lawrence Michael Levine hops multiple genres at once here — mumblecore, screwball comedy, murder mystery — resulting in a film that definitely doesn't feel like anything I've seen before. Not saying it's good, though: murder mystery itself is so convoluted that the film adds a misguided conclusion where two characters explain what happened and why to each other, because the film itself isn't enough to make that clear. The film is as focused on the central relationship between the two lead characters as it is on the murder plot — except they're two of the most supremely annoying characters ever captured on film. Barri (Sophia Takal) is extraordinarily shrill and childish, while Noah (Levine) is an alcoholic slacker who speaks to her only in the most condescending tones. Their relationship is toxic and they're no good for each other, though the film appears to be rooting for them at all times. Ultimately, I don't think this works at all, but it's certainly distinctive and not lacking ambition.
Grade: C
Wild Tales*
Oscar-nominated black comedy from Argentina, consisting of six short stories of people getting revenge in quite over-the-top ways. Writer-director Damián Szifron has quite the imagination. Fun and consistently amusing, but this really didn't connect with me as anything particularly meaningful.
Grade: B-
