The dazzling Belle of the ball
Beauty and the BeaSt (Cert PG; 129mins)
IT IS a tale as old as time so do we really need yet another version of the classic fairy tale Beauty And The Beast? Any reservations are soon swept aside by a glittering, swirling, twirling production that proves they still make them like they did in the good old days.
The live-action Beauty And The Beast closely follows the Disney animated version from 1991 but has the feel of a musical from the 1960s.
The crowd scenes could be part of a knees-up from Oliver! and when Emma Watson’s Belle climbs every mountain to sing her heart out, you can’t help but think of The Sound Of Music. Its special effects are the only newfangled aspect of the film.
Belle is a bright girl in a dull French provincial backwater who is devoted to her father Maurice (Kevin Kline). She is regarded with suspicion by local villagers, mostly because she would rather read a book than step out with strapping dreamboat Gaston (Luke Evans). And when her father is held captive in a hidden, cursed castle, it is Belle who steps in to take his place and suffer the wrath of a hideous, horned beast (Dan Stevens).
Naturally, if only she could learn to love this misbegotten creature, the curse would be lifted and they could all live happily ever after. What are the chances of that?
Director Bill Condon does full justice to the big musical numbers in Beauty And The Beast, staging them with toe-tapping energy and the kind of kaleidoscopic effervescence that was a hallmark of the great choreographer Busby Berkeley.
He has also made a film that should appeal to adults and children alike. Dan Stevens’ beast looks a lot like the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard Of Oz and is more of a grumpy, sarcastic adolescent than a creature likely to scare the little ones. Emma Watson’s feisty Belle is a little on the bland side but the film’s wholehearted message of tolerance, understanding and finding the inner beauty in everyone is something we can all embrace.
Condon’s cast is decidedly star-studded with Ewan McGregor providing zee French accent as candlestick Lumiere, Ian McKellen on duty as cowardly clock Cogsworth and Emma Thompson sounding like she should be serving behind the bar at the Queen Vic as Mrs Potts.
Luke Evans is good value as the preening, boorish Gaston, a conceited cad of a man who is completely besotted with himself. A delightful Josh Gad steals all his scenes as Gaston’s deeply devoted gay sidekick LeFou who has a terrible crush on his clueless best friend.
Filming a new version of Beauty And The Beast does feel like Disney is playing it safe but when it provides such good cheer, soaring songs and brings a tear to the eye, you really can’t deny that the oldest of tales still works its magic.
perSOnal ShOpper (Cert 15; 105mins)
YOU can’t accuse Personal Shopper of playing it safe. It tries to blend a ghost story, a satire on the excesses of modern celebrity culture and a pretty half-baked thriller and it doesn’t really succeed. But it is always watchable thanks in no small part to Kristen Stewart who stars as Maureen, an American in Paris struggling to come to terms with the death of her twin brother.
The two of them had made a pact promising that whoever died first would send a sign to prove that there is an afterlife. As Maureen embraces a world of old houses and poltergeists, she also carries on with her job of haunting the ritziest shops in town seeking clothes and accessories for her demanding supermodel employer Kyra (Nora von Waldstätten). The introduction of a secret stalker tips the film into overwrought but underwhelming thriller territory.
Personal Shopper is stylishly executed and Stewart’s edgy performance is admirable but the film never quite gels into a convincing whole.
get Out (Cert 15; 104mins)
REMEMBER the 1960s Sidney Poitier favourite Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner? Imagine if Stephen King got hold of it and transformed it into a horror film.
That’s what Get Out feels like. A scary, scalpel-sharp assault on American attitudes to race, it is clever, provocative and gloriously tense.
Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) is a handsome young black man
full of trepidation as he heads to the country to meet the rich white parents of his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams).
Mum Missy (Catherine Keener) and dad Dean (Bradley Whitford) couldn’t be more welcoming. But everyone else acts in ways that don’t seem quite appropriate or even entirely human.
Get Out is intriguing and entertaining as we try to figure out what is going on. It eventually turns more than a little silly but director Jordan Peele and the charismatic Kaluuya ensure we are always rooting for Chris and hungry for the gory retribution he is obliged to dish out.
This is one of the most imaginative horror films we’ve seen in a very long time.
tHe SALeSMAN (Cert 12A; 124mins)
THE SALESMAN beat some strong competition to win the recent Oscar for the year’s Best Foreign Film. It is a slow-burning but increasingly tense tale of a seemingly happy couple at the mercy of random misfortunes.
Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) and Emad (Shahab Hosseini) are forced to abandon their home when nearby construction work causes windows to shatter and cracks to appear in the walls.
They accept an offer to stay in a friend’s flat where the previous tenant was notorious for the number of gentlemen callers she received. However the disturbing events of one particular evening convince Rana that the flat is cursed. The couple are members of a theatre company and everything that remains unspoken between them finds an outlet each night when they take to the stage in the Arthur Miller play, Death Of A Salesman.
In the tradition of masters such as Michael Haneke and Roman Polanski, The Salesman, directed by Iranian Asghar Farhadi, is a perfectly judged examination of paranoia, powerlessness and fractured relationships.
tHe OLIVe tRee (Cert 15; 99mins)
THERE is a sincerity to Icíar Bollaín’s Spanish drama The Olive Tree that makes it very winning. Writer Paul Laverty brings the kind of warmth and humour to the story that distinguished his many collaborations with Ken Loach.
In Northern Spain, 20-something Alma (Anna Castillo) works on a chicken farm. As a result of age-old family conflicts, she idolises her ailing grandfather Ramón (Manuel Cucala) yet has nothing but contempt for her father Luis (Miguel Angel Aladren).
Alma believes that her grandfather’s heart was broken when the family sold an ancient olive tree and he was forced to watch as it was uprooted and driven away.
Discovering where the tree is now might just bring a little peace to his final days. The search for the tree and what it has come to symbolise lies at the heart of this amusing and very human story of a family at war.
GLeASON (Cert 15; 109mins)
STEVE GLEASON was a 34-year-old star player with the American football team New Orleans Saints when he was diagnosed with neuromuscular wasting disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
The grim prognosis was followed by the news that his wife Michel was pregnant with their first child. This emotional documentary uses Steve’s video journals to capture his physical decline, his determination to be the best dad he can to his newborn son and his campaign to help other ALS patients.
Unflinching in its honesty, it offers a moving testimonial to an inspirational figure.
A SILeNt VOICe (Cert 12A; 130mins)
THE animated tale A Silent Voice was a huge box-office hit in its native Japan and is a rollercoaster ride through the nightmare of bullying and the urge for atonement.
When deaf girl Shoko starts a new school, she is relentlessly tormented by Shoya. Years later the suicidal, guilt-ridden Shoya wonders if it is too late to try to make amends.
A Silent Voice is long by animation standards but touchingly addresses big issues.