Love triumphs as hearts break
ORDINARY LOVE (12A) HHHH Lesley Manville and Liam Neesongive compelling performances as a married couple in turmoil in Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn’s intimate drama based on a script by Northern Irish playwright Owen McCafferty.
Tracing a familiar narrative arc, Ordinary
Love elegantly captures the minutiae of daily life for a wife and husband, who fondly accept each other’s foibles and find comfort in the easy silences that punctuate their routine.
The opening 15 minutes encourage us to cosy up to the lead characters in their suburban bubble before giant ripples from a cancer diagnosis test the strength of marital bonds.
MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN (15) HHHH Identity, corruption and politics are themes at the heart of a slow-burning thriller written, directed, produced by and starring Edward Norton.
It has taken the Fight Club star 20 years to bring his passion project, based on Jonathan Lethem’s landmark 1999 novel of the same name, to our screens.
Interestingly, he’s made the decision to scrap the original late 1990s setting in favour of the 1950s.
Norton’s striking, meticulous performance is the film’s greatest strength.
There’s no denying that Motherless Brooklyn is starkly different to anything else on screen lately but, tellingly, it isn’t particularly memorable.
LUCY IN THE SKY (15) HH “Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,” implores John Lennon in the lyrics to Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.
Director Noah Hawley respectfully follows orders and opens his earthbound drama with the arresting image of Natalie Portman staring into the sun from the dreamy tranquillity of space.
Regrettably, when Portman returns to earth, Hawley’s picture crash-lands with her and staunchly refuses to regain altitude, unable or unwilling to communicate the turmoil of a cheating wife who concocts a kidnapping when her lover dares to spurn her.
SPACEDOG AND TURBOCAT (U) HH Computer-generated critters put their best paws forward to re-educate beastly, uncaring humans in a misfiring adventure that fails to dig up genuine animal magic.
Written and directed by Ben Smith with a laissezfaire attitude to dramatic momentum, StarDog And TurboCat cross-breeds elements of Superman, Batman and The Secret Life Of Pets to contrive a barking mad battle for survival in a cosy town where residents have been convinced that strays are dangerous and should be put in the pound.
The eponymous canine and feline, only one of whom is genuinely super-powered, bridge the species divide to overcome their flaws.
HONEY BOY (15) HHH Music video director Alma Har’el makes her narrative feature debut with a coming-of-age story, projected through the lens of actor and writer Shia LaBeouf ’s turbulent childhood memories.
Film star Otis (Lucas Hedges) crashes his car under the influence of alcohol. He avoids prison by agreeing to undergo a prolonged stint in rehab under the care of counsellor Dr Moreno (Laura San Giacomo).
She recognises the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and encourages Otis to seek answers in his past.
By confronting the demonsofhis earlyyears, Otis edges towards longoverdue healing.