Time to shriek and shake
Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Liam Neeson star in Martin Scorsese’s 17th century-set drama about two Portuguese Jesuit priests who travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor. ‘‘Less showy than The Last Temptation Of Christ, more gripping than Kundun, the third part of Scorsese’s unofficial ‘religious’ trilogy is beautifully made, staggeringly ambitious and utterly compelling,’’ wrote Empire magazine’s Ian Freer. A 2016 Japanese drama about a private detective who, after the death of his father, struggles to find child support money and reconnect with his son and exwife. ‘‘The film-making is so exquisite, and the acting so calibrated, it sticks with you,’’ wrote s Deborah Young. A 2013 documentary about a French nanny whose previously unknown cache of 100,000 photographs earned her a posthumous reputation as one of the most accomplished street photographers. ‘‘More connectthe-dots detective thriller than traditional doc, John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s revelatory riddle of a film unmasks a brilliant photographer who hid in plain sight,’’ wrote Entertainment Weekly‘ s Chris Nashawatay. This 2014 documentary sees the charismatic British artist take director Randall Wright on an exclusive tour of his archives and into his studio, where he still paints seven days a week. It also looks back at David Hockney’s formative years in the British Pop Art scene and his experience of being a gay man as the Aids crisis took hold, as well as his years working in California. ‘‘An amiable, agreeable study,’’ wrote The Guardian‘ s Peter Bradshaw.
The Changeover ... keeps the story personal and, strange as it is to say for something laced with witching and black magic, more realistic.
As the fifth and final season of this critically-acclaimed comedy opens, Matt’s (Matt Le Blanc) game show is a runaway hit, while Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly (Tamsin Greig) have to endure watching Sean’s loathsome ex-partner destroy their latest project. ‘‘As sneakily ruthless as anything on television,’’ wrote IndieWire‘ s Ben Travers. – James Croot The Changeover (M) 92 mins ADULTS aren’t strictly the target audience for a film like The Changeover, but the fact it comprises consistently solid performances and some of the most shriek-out-loud moments I’ve had in the cinema this year, makes it easily recommendable to all.
Margaret Mahy’s beloved, award-winning teen novel has been adapted for the screen and brought forward several decades in time to situate the story in postquake Christchurch – a city appropriately upheaved and uncertain to imply tacit parallels with the story’s ambiguous and danger-laden plot.
Teenager Laura Chant (a fantastic feature debut from Erana James) is a ‘‘sensitive’’ who hears voices and feels ominous warnings, even though her life seems stable. With a kind but long-suffering single mum(a welcome return to Kiwi shores by Heavenly Creatures‘ Melanie Lynskey) and an adored little brother, Jacko, Laura is the awkward girl at school – shy and pretty, not weird enough to be hated but still bemused when a handsome new boy takes an interest in her. Self-contained and perceptive, Laura soon becomes embroiled in a supernatural tale which will give you the willies, thanks to its tight script and a standout performance by British legend Timothy Spall ( Secrets & Lies, Harry Potter).
It’s a fairly typical Young Adult Lit set-up – girl has special powers she doesn’t understand; girl meets boy who she can’t tell about it; crazy stuff happens; boy and girl band together. But thankfully, The Changeover doesn’t follow the Twilights and Hunger Games series into love triangle territory, and instead keeps the story personal and, strange as it is to say for something laced with witching and black magic, more realistic.
To this end, it’s a suitably New Zealand film, more in the vein of our dark-themed cinema of unease than our fantasy Hobbits. James plays each scene as if it’s totally true, and Spall is utterly terrifying.
Co-directors Miranda Harcourt (a long-time actress and acting coach) and husband Stuart McKenzie adapted the novel together, and their respect for the source material is evident, even in their making the call to ‘‘update’’ the 1984 book to a different time and place.
Christchurch itself becomes almost a character in the story – the production filmed in the red zone for six weeks – and even the beautiful photography can’t shroud the implicit sense of a wartorn city under siege (here, not by Mother Earth but a soul-sucking demon).
With top-notch sound design, music well-chosen for a teen audience and, most importantly, really sharp acting from all involved, The Changeover is a worthy addition to the cinematic YA genre which can proudly boast a local edge. – Sarah Watt