With the year end coming up and wanting to fit in a few more films before I draw up my best and worst of the year, I took out a subscription to the BFI Player, via Amazon Prime. Most of the movies are also available to rent for around a fiver as well, but the BFI give you 30 days free subscription. After that they charge £6.99 a month.
Red Rooms
Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy) follows the murder trial of an accused serial killer. She’s so dedicated to the case that she sleeps outside the courtroom each night to make sure she gets a spot in the gallery. After each session, she returns home to sit at her computer to look at news stories about the case. She meets Clémentine (Laurie Babin) who is also attending the trial because she is convinced of the defendant’s guilt, but Kelly-Anne’s reason for her obsession with the case is unclear. This starts as a courtroom drama, and those scenes are particularly well written by Pascal Plante, who also directs with style. It morphs into a psychological thriller that reminded me of peak Brian de Palma. Gariépy gives a powerfully enigmatic performance and Babin is a bundle of energy.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Starve Acre
In 1970s Yorkshire, Richard (Matt Smith) and Juliette (Morfydd Clark) relocate to Richard’s childhood home of Starve Acre, hoping the idyllic country surroundings will benefit their young son. However, a sudden and tragic event drives a wedge through the family. Despite an atmospheric setting and great production design, this cliché ridden folk horror is too leaden and, in the end, becomes quite silly.
Rating: 4.5 out of 10
Sky Peals
Adam (Faraz Ayub) works nightshifts at a motorway service station and lives a small and lonely life. Upon hearing that his estranged father has died, he finds himself in search of answers. Piecing together a complicated image of a man he never knew, Adam becomes convinced he descends from an alien race. This is a fascinating, low key, story. The early scenes of a near zombie like Adam going about his work have a hypnotic quality, and the conclusion is nicely ambiguous. Once I got used to Adam’s inertness, I really appreciated his performance, as well as Natalie Gavin as his co-worker, Steve Oram as his boss and the always excellent Claire Rushbrook as Adam’s mum.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Scala!!!
This is a loving documentary directed by Ali Catterall and Jane Giles about the infamous London cinema that was at the height of its popularity from the 1970’s through to 1993 when it was forced into bankruptcy following a prosecution for showing A Clockwork Orange. I was aware of the venue but never went there, but that did not stop me thoroughly enjoying this detailed look at the cinema’s history. Former staff and audience members recount a number of amusing, and sometimes shocking, stories and their affection for the place shines through.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Silver Haze
Written and directed by Sarah Polak, Silver Haze centres on 23 year old Franky (Vicky Knight), a nurse who, obsessed with a thirst for revenge and a need to assign guilt for a traumatic event that happened 15 years before, is unable to build any meaningful relationship until she falls in love with one of her patients – Florence (Esme Creed-Miles). This should have been emotionally devastating but I found it completely uninvolving, failing to connect with any of the characters.
Rating: 4 out of 10
Sleep
In this South Korean movie from director Jason Yu, Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun) and Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) are a happily married couple who are delighted when she discovers she’s pregnant. But Hyun-su starts sleepwalking and his nocturnal activities become increasingly erratic and Soo-jin begins to have serious concerns about their future. I really enjoyed the genre bending at work here. It is part drama about how an illness can affect a partner almost as much as a sufferer. It also moves into thriller territory when their child becomes endangered and then has horror tinges when a shaman is called in. There are also moments of jet black comedy. Throughout the changes in tone, Jung Yu-mi is terrific as Soon-jin becomes slowly unhinged.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World
Overworked and underpaid production assistant Angela (Ilinca Manolache) is assigned to audition victims of workplace accidents for a workplace safety video for a multinational corporation in Bucharest. In return for their fee, they have to admit their accident was their fault. I was originally daunted by the 163 minute run time and Radu Jude’s drama may test the patience of many viewers but, I found the long static camera shots of Angela driving strangely mesmerising.
There are many barbs about Romania’s failing economy and capitalist societies in general that give the film a sharp political edge. Interspersed with Angela’s story are scenes from a real 1981 Romanian film called Angela Moves On, about a female taxi driver. Aside from the comparison between the two Angelas, and how they are treated and react to misogyny, I thought those moments were not necessary, until the Angela from that old film appears in the modern day story. Strangely compelling, with a brilliant performance from Manolache.
Rating: 9 out of 10