USA TODAY International Edition
Five unveilings at Cannes that you’ll really want to see
Swedish art- gallery satire The Square was one of our favorites at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it made off with the coveted Palme d’Or award ( the fest’s highest honor). Of the two dozen films we saw in France over the 12- day event, which wra
1 ‘ THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER’ The Killing of a Sacred Deer ( in theaters Nov. 3) opens with a prolonged shot of a beating heart mid- operation. It’s perhaps the most soothing moment in this unrelenting horror comedy from Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, making his pitch- black relationship satire The Lobster seem like lighthearted family fare. The film reunites Lanthimos with Lobster star Colin Farrell, playing a surgeon who forms an unnerving bond with the teenage son ( Barry Keoghan) of a man who died on his operating table. The less you know about this icy thriller, the better. But the squeamish may want to steer clear.
2‘ THE FLORIDA PROJECT’
Some of our most eagerly anticipated titles at Cannes this year were Sofia Coppola’s starstudded The Beguiled and Michael Haneke’s Amour follow- up Happy End, both of which divided critics. But you would be hardpressed to find anyone who wasn’t enamored by Sean Baker’s The Florida Project, his latest after 2015 breakthrough Tangerine. The coming- of- age tale tracks 6- year- old Moonee ( Brooklynn Prince), who lives with her single mom ( Bria Vinaite) at a seedy motel in the shadow of Disney World. But her child’s- eye view of the world comes crashing down in the third act. 3‘ WONDERSTRUCK’ Todd Haynes’ feel- good follow- up to Carol hasn’t dazzled critics like his previous films, with just 71% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. But Brian Selznick’s young- adult adaptation ( out Oct. 20) is still the Cannes movie most likely to factor into the Oscar race, if not for its admirable but brief turns by Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams, most certainly in score and costume design. The drama tells the parallel stories of two deaf children searching for their parents in 1977 and 1927 — the latter in black and white without dialogue, in a nod to silent movies. 4‘ YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE’ One of the last films to premiere also proved one of the most critically acclaimed, earning best actor ( Joaquin Phoenix) and tying for screenplay ( director and cowriter Lynne Ramsay). Ramsay makes an astonishing return after 2011’ s We Need to Talk About Kevin with this brutal psychological drama, which features a haunting performance by Phoenix as a war veteran working as a contract killer who hunts down child- sex traffickers. If you’re looking for a grittier spin on Taken or Drive, this one’s for you. 5‘ L’AMANT DOUBLE’ (‘ THE DOUBLE LOVER’) If Brian De Palma made Fifty Shades of Grey, it would probably look something like this headspinning French- language thriller. François Ozon’s deliciously over- the- top ( and highly explicit) film follows a troubled young woman ( Marine Vacth) who sleeps with her therapist ( Jérémie Renier) — only to discover that he has a therapist twin brother, with whom she also strikes up a ferocious sexual relationship.