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 Shadows catches up ’24Reviews of films I only managed to see late in the game...
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BIRD |
THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT
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| See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 21.Dec.24 | |||||||||||||
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Bird Review by Rich Cline | 
MUST  SEE
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 dir-scr Andrea Arnold with Nykiya Adams, Franz Rogowski, Barry Keoghan, Jason Buda, Jasmine Jobson, Frankie Box, James Nelson-Joyce, Sarah Beth Harber release US/UK 8.Nov.24 24/UK BBC 1h59 CANNES • TORONTO • LONDON Is it streaming? |
 With airy cinematography by Robbie Ryan and an equally loose narrative style, writer-director Andrea Arnold reminds us why she's one of Britain's most important filmmakers. From the perspective of an alert preteen with a fragile homelife, the film digs deep into thoughts, feelings and imagination. It may feel somewhat fantastical, but it's also startlingly honest and warmly humane. This family may be a mess, but it's a family. On the Kent coast,12-year-old Bailey (Adams) lives in a squat with her tattooed father Bug (Keoghan), who acts younger than she does and her big brother Hunter (Buda). She's taken aback when Bug announces that he's marrying his new girlfriend Kayleigh (Box). Then one morning she meets the free-spirited Bird (Rogowski), who's lost in a cow pasture and looking for information about his family. While Bailey tries to help both him and Hunter, she also finds herself at odds with Skate (Nelson-Joyce), the brutish boyfriend of her mother Peyton (Jobson). Accompanied by a fantastic song score and music by Buried, the film catches the way Bailey hates being treated like a kid, perhaps because she's always the least childish person in a room. She's also seen differently after her first period. Bailey films scenes from her life, which are artfully projected onto her bedroom ceiling. This contrasts, for instance, with her determination to accompany Hunter's vigilante gang on a tense mission. There's also magical realism in Bird perching on rooftops, Bug's hallucinogenic toad and a black crow that's always nearby. Anchored by bright newcomer Adams, performances are excellent, with flares of offbeat energy that always feel authentic. Where Bailey's story goes is harrowing for several reasons. It's difficult to watch this child try to navigate such a scary adult world, even if Bird sometimes feels like a kind of guardian angel. This is a film that demands that the viewer approach it on several levels, thinking about the serious issues, wrestling with the resonant urgency and letting the stylised flourishes play emotionally. This is a gorgeous ode to inner strength and connection.
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Rebel Ridge Review by Rich Cline |
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 dir-scr Jeremy Saulnier with Aaron Pierre, AnnaSophia Robb, Don Johnson, David Denman, Emory Cohen, Zsane Jhe, Steve Zissis, James Cromwell release US/UK 6.Sep.24 24/US 2h11 Is it streaming? |
 Ignore the misleading title: this is a surprisingly thoughtful thriller that digs beneath the surfaces of its complex characters. The plot may get a bit swampy along the way, but the story has echoes of First Blood as a veteran takes on small town corruption. Writer-director Jeremy Saulnier crafts an escalating game of wits that becomes increasingly riveting, with warm and humane touches that balance the macho thuggery. In backwoods Louisiana, Terry (Pierre) is quietly cycling to the courthouse to bail out his cousin when he is assaulted by two arrogant cops (Denman and Cohen) who use the law to steal his life savings. Their chief (Johnson) is even worse. Terry gets some assistance from sympathetic court clerk Summer (Robb), but his simple desire to rescue his cousin spirals in unexpected directions as he and Summer stumble into a more wide-reaching local conspiracy. So Terry uses his military expertise in de-escalating violent situations to hopefully find some justice here. Most interesting is the fact that there are several points in this story when Terry could simply walk away, but he is drawn in deeper because he knows that to turn a blind eye is the same as condoning this officially sanctioned criminality. Most people who watch this film might let that idea slip by as they enjoy the increasingly tense standoff between Terry and these ruthless police officers. But this also makes the film startlingly resonant, especially as Terry and Summer put themselves in danger to do the right thing. This also helps make up for the rather over-complicated plot, complete with detailed explanations that blur into gibberish. Once again, Pierre proves himself a magnetic figure on-screen, giving Terry a steely blast of charisma that explodes inventively into his carefully controlled action moves. Robb provides an earthy cohort, thankfully without the need for any romantic nonsense. Johnson is wonderfully slithery as the gruff baddie. And side players like Jhe and Zissis provide superb textures as a cop and a clerk who try to stay out of the fray. But choosing to ignore what's going on in their town makes them pivotal parts of the problem.
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The Six Triple Eight Review by Rich Cline | 
VENICE • TORONTO • LONDON Is it streaming?
|  With bright, sunshiny imagery and an up-for-it cast, writer-director Tyler Perry recounts a thoroughly engaging true story with his often cheesy, emotionally pushy style of storytelling. But this is yet another important tale about how Black women have been cruelly sidelined in American history, and it needs to be told. It may be deliberately crowd-pleasing, but the attention to detail makes the film both fascinating and essential. During the second World War, a backlog of 17 million pieces of mail built up due to US military priorities. But these were letters between soldiers and their families, so nondelivery was taking a severe a toll on morale. In the Women's Army Corps in Georgia, a group of Black soldiers led by Major Charity (Washington) is fed up with being sidelined in the war effort. Activist Mary (Winfrey) appeals directly to President and Mrs Roosevelt (Waterston and Sarandon), and soon Charity and battalion 6888 are sent to Europe to tackle this frankly insurmountable task. It's no surprise that they succeeded far beyond expectations. Hideous racism fills this story, from the highest levels of command to the people on the streets. And it's painful to watch these highly disciplined women continually rise above antagonists who should be on their side. Indeed, even the facilities they are given are appallingly sub-par, but these 855 women refuse to be defeated. Dealing with this mail is far trickier than expected, requiring lateral thinking and brilliant strategies, all while these women are being verbally assaulted by men around them and undermined by military commanders. "For just once I'd like to be on an even playing field," Charity says in exasperation. Washington plays the role with a terrific mix of earnestness and steely honesty, and her costars are equally likeable in colourful roles, most notably Obsidian as a young woman with her own personal journey and Shantay as a bright spark who has trouble holding her tongue. So even if the script lacks subtlety, and the direction lacks artistry, the film is engaging and resonant.
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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL © 2024 by Rich Cline, Shadows
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