The Herald - The Herald Magazine
PICK OF THIS WEEK’S FILMS
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (12A)
War demands sacrifices: civility, morality, compassion, responsibility and, ultimately, torn flesh and innocent blood. There are many heartbreaking sacrifices - far more than expected - in Avengers: Infinity War, a blockbuster battle royale choreographed at dizzying speed by directors Joe and Anthony Russo to unite characters from across the sprawling and sinewy Marvel Comics franchises. The head-on collision of The Avengers with protagonists from Black Panther, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Guardians Of The Galaxy, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man and Thor promises an eye-popping spectacle. A small army of special effects wizards conjure some truly jaw-dropping set pieces, razing New York, Edinburgh and otherworldly realms in the process. The Russos’ film would be a physically exhausting assault on the eyes and ears without the welcome pauses for snarky humour, pop culture references and an obligatory Stan Lee cameo to the thunderous beat of composer Alan Silvestri’s score.
BEAST (15)
Shot partly on location in Jersey, Beast is a brooding adult fairytale of female empowerment and sexual awakening that might have tumbled from the pen of Angela Carter. Jim Williams’ disquieting orchestral score offsets the rugged beauty of island locales, captured in suffocating close-up by cinematographer Benjamin Kracun who is finely attuned to the paranoia that drips from every line of director Michael Pearce’s lean script. Jessie Buckley delivers a searing lead performance as a guilt-riddled 20-something, who becomes embroiled in the hunt for a serial killer shortly after she falls under the spell of the prime suspect. Pearce’s engrossing thriller certainly doesn’t pull its punches, scenting the air with discomfort until the threat of sickening violence almost chokes us.
EVERY DAY (12A)
Many of us have secretly wondered what it would be like to walk in someone else’s shoes. Director Michael Sucsy’s otherworldly romance, based on the young adult novel by David Levithan, tests the elasticity of that conceit to the limit. Every Day fixates on a 16-year-old girl (Angourie Rice) who falls in love with a spirit which is cursed to inhabit a different body for 24 hours and experience that person’s imperfect life until the clock chimes midnight. Jesse Andrews’ heartfelt script preaches acceptance, understanding and the importance of forging connections beyond external beauty without bludgeoning the target teenage audience into submission. Momentum builds gradually, reaching a moving crescendo with a flash forward that reminds us that the contract of falling in love includes an unbreakable clause about sometimes having to let go of the people that mean the most.
THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY (12A)
In 1994, love was all around director Mike Newell as he shepherded potty-mouthed romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral to a trio of coveted Baftas, including Best Film, and two Oscar nominations. That loving feeling persists in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a cumbersome title for a sweeping tale of self-sacrifice, based on the posthumously published novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Set predominantly on the island during and after the Second World War, Newell’s chocolate-box romance was filmed in picturesque Devon and is laden with emotional soft centres to guarantee swoons of satisfaction. The script cuts back and forth between 1941 and 1946 in order to conceal twists in the plot, evoking the era with impeccable period design.
RAMPAGE (12A)
Now, I may have imagined this, but recently I went to a press screening of a film in which Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson played a primatologist whose favourite subject, an albino gorilla called George, comes into contact with a chemical cocktail that turns him into a beast that would have Kong whimpering in fright. A wolf also drinks the stuff (made by an evil capitalist corporation), as does an alligator. So that’s a giant gorilla, a 60ft tall wolf and an alligator as long as Great Western Road, all heading for a showdown with humanity with only The Rock, and sidekick Naomie Harris, to stop them. As I said, I may have imagined it.
YOU, ME AND HIM (15)
What a bizarre film of two halves from writer-director Daisy Aitkens. Lucy Punch
(Motherland) and Faye Marsay (McMafia) want to have a baby, but it’s complicated, even more so when recently divorced nerdy neighbour John (David Tennant) becomes involved. Produced by Georgia Moffett, You, Me and Him is largely content to play things as a barely amusing daffy comedy. Had it stuck to this course, it would have been a cheery enough misfire; alas, it does not. One for Tennant superfans only.
THE LEISURE SEEKER (15)
More than 25 years after they last shared the big screen, Dame Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland reunite for a bittersweet journey of self-discovery in The Leisure Seeker. Director Paolo Virzi’s comical road trip is an affectionate character study of fleeting and uneven pleasures, principally the fizzing screen chemistry between the lead actors. The script is punctuated by deeply touching moments, including a memorable sex scene, but the tone grinds through gears almost as nosily as the vintage camper van that conveys an ageing couple on their cross-country odyssey. Potentially meaty subplots are introduced then completely waylaid, or resolved messily without an emotional punchline. A long-running argument about the wife’s enduring affection for one old flame sparks a ludicrous narrative detour to a care home that is the dictionary definition of anticlimax. Were it not for Mirren and Sutherland’s commitment, and their ability to tease out lightness and shade in bickering spouses, the picture would splutter to a halt in a mushroom cloud of exhaust fumes and missed opportunities.
A QUIET PLACE (15)
Silence is golden – and imperative for survival – in John Krasinski’s nerve-shredding horror thriller about a family battling against sightless otherworldly creatures which hunt by sound. A single sneeze or cough could be fatal and the lean, propulsive script by Bryan Woods, Scott Beck and Krasinski takes sadistic delight in prickling our discomfort until we’re ready to scream on the characters’ behalf. In the opening hour, A Quiet Place is a masterclass in old-fashioned scares and suspense, including a horrific scene with a nail protruding from a wooden basement staircase, which begs to be glimpsed through trembling fingers. The film’s logic frays in places – it’s unlikely a mattress would keep the beasties at bay and the family’s newborn conveniently slumbers through some of the tensest exchanges without a single giveaway gurgle. However, it’s impossible not to be held in a vice-like grip by the characters’ white-knuckle ordeal. Don’t speak, don’t breathe, just pray. Silently.
LOVE, SIMON (12A)
After decades of mainstream Hollywood marginalising gay characters to peripheral roles as the best friend or confidant, Love, Simon walks quietly yet proudly out of the closet and reassures the target teenage audience that everyone can be the hero of a glossy love story, regardless of sexual orientation. Based on the young adult novel Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, director Greg Berlanti’s unabashedly feelgood comedy drama places the central character’s internal angst under a glitterball without sacrificing goofy supporting characters, tears or reconciliations. Nick Robinson imbues his tormented teen with sweetness, vulnerability and resolve, so he remains sympathetic even when his actions are reprehensible, and Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel are gifted key scenes laced with parental pride and understanding. Choice one-liners are reserved for Natasha Rothwell’s spunky drama teacher, who performs a pitch-perfect takedown of homophobic bullies in the school canteen. Berlanti builds towards a gushing romantic grandstand finish that should inspire goofy grins, tears and even smatterings of applause.
TRUTH OR DARE (15)
Truth or Dare deals from the same deck as the Final Destination films, conjuring a malevolent force that targets high school pupils in a predetermined order and punishes those who refuse to abide by the rules with a suitably grisly demise involving a seemingly benign inanimate object. The four scriptwriters dust off hoary cliches in their pursuit of scares and pepper dialogue with sassy one-liners that speak to a generation who consumes media 24 hours a day on multiple devices. Thus, when one girl tries to rebuild bridges with her best friend, she casually throws a Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? reference into her conciliatory opening gambit: “I know things have been a little Bette and Joan between us...” Predictability haunts every frame, Jeff Wadlow’s film is mildly diverting but instantly forgettable.