A no-maj sequel fails to cast effective spell

The sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) is so over-plotted, it’s almost incomprehensible. This is of course the franchise based on JK Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts… book, in which she explores what her created world was like before Harry Potter.

Returning director David Yates takes the viewer across magic-inflected realms in

New York, London and Paris, circa 1927, where the forces of good and evil are constantly at loggerheads.

Elements of darkness and despair clutter the narrative, and the outcome of it all is oddly unengaging. There are clunky allusions to current conflicts along lines of race, gender and divisive politics. If it all sounds pointless, you’ve got the right picture.

The dark-arts wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp, hamming it to the hilt) has recently escaped from custody and is warning detractors to “pledge your allegiance or die”. It is up to a young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), soon to become headmaster at Hogwarts, his star student Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne, reprising his role) and their allies to thwart the arch-villain’s plans.

Crammed with sorcerers, witches and non-magic beings (or No-majs) the storyline also introduces an assortment of mischievous new critters, some cute, others creepy.

Like most fantasy adventures overly dependent on computer-generated jiggerypokery, a feeling of déjà vu pervades the second installment of the planned five-film franchise. Here’s hoping the next three biennial iterations cast a more effective spell.

fter an Arkansas teenager is revealed to be gay, his religious parents enlist him at a conversion therapy facility. His preacher father (Russell Crowe, in a rare understated performance) is convinced that the church-supported programme will ‘de-gay’ his only child (Lucas Hedges, consolidating his reputation as one of Hollywood’s finest young actors).

Meanwhile, his more supportive mother (Nicole Kidman, compelling) rebels against her son’s institutionalisation, all the while also striving to keep her family together. Based on a memoir of the same name by Gerrard Conley and written-directed by and co-starring Joel Edgerton as the head therapist, Boy Erased is the auteur’s second feature following 2015’s acclaimed The Gift.

Without sensationalising the subject matter or demonising any of the characters, Edgerton elicits empathy for the young man who against daunting odds starts to come to terms with his sexual identity. While the camerawork by Eduard Grau is elegant, the frequent use of slow motion and flashbacks tends to further impede an already glacial pace.

Even so, Boy Erased is recommended for those in the mood for a sensitive non-fiction drama.

THE CAMERAWORK BY IS ELEGANT BUT THE FREQUENT USE OF SLOW MOTION TENDS TO FURTHER IMPEDE AN ALREADY GLACIAL PACE