Movie of the week – You Were Never Really Here
We’ve got a packed lineup and a real mixed bag this week. The best new release is You Were Never Really Here, the latest from one of the best working filmmakers, Lynne Ramsay. Joaquin Phoenix plays a mercenary whose latest assignment, to retrieve the kidnapped daughter of a politician, sees him uncover a larger conspiracy. Ramsay’s direction is stylish and mesmeric, spinning her story with minimal dialogue, while Jonny Greenwood delivers another classic soundtrack. Stunning stuff!
Sweet Country
Pseudo western Sweet Country is an uncompromising look at prejudice in 1920s Australia that follows an aborigine worker who goes on the run after killing a white farmer in self defense. It’s unflinching in its portrayal of a cruel society and a harsh landscape, and it’s right up there with the best recent American westerns.
The Lodgers
Irish horror film The Lodgers makes good use of Loftus Hall, the crumbling Wexford mansion that provides its moody setting, but it sorely lacks in originality, and does little with its unique Irish War of Independence setting. Devotees of gothic horror may find it a passable watch, but there’s little to thrill mainstream audiences.
Wonder Wheel
Woody Allen’s latest, Wonder Wheel, is one of his worst, a tonally confused movie that can’t decide if it’s a thriller or a comedy. Justin Timberlake is miscast as the younger lover of Kate Winslet’s Coney Island waitress, though the cinematography by Italian legend Vittorio Storaro is truly a wonder. For Allen completists only.
Gringo
At the bottom of the pile is Gringo, an obnoxious ensemble crime caper that, like Wonder Wheel, can’t decide what genre it belongs to. David Oyelowo is uncustomarily terrible as a Nigerian businessman who fakes his own kidnapping, and the movie is packed with annoying speeches and seemingly improvised scenes that ramble on needlessly. Atrocious!
By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com
