Author: Grace Williams

I am usually quite dubious of biopics. Nothing makes me angry more than something ‘based on a true story’ and then when you read the facts, nothing adds up and some of the best bits are inputted for ‘dramatic effect’ (par example in The Other Boleyn Girl where suddenly Anne Boleyn’s sister raises the future Queen Elizabeth…NOPE!). 

But, not only is Green Book a wonderful film that made me cry it was so good, it was BASED ENTIRELY IN FACT (well, I’d say 80%). It does help the writers has been developing the script for ages and happens to know the two leads very, very well. Nick Vallelonga, son of Tony Vallelonga (played note-perfect by Viggo Mortensen) has such a rich bank of facts that it’s very difficult to criticise much of this film. I have seen some critics do so, out of some sort of weird social justice duty, I think. 

Anyway, the film follows Tony Lip/Vallelonga, a racist New Yo-ik-er immigrant who finds himself out of work. He is head hunted by legendary pianist Don Shirley, who has heard about Tony’s amazing ability to ‘handle trouble’. Despite Tony’s initial reservations of ‘working for a man of colour’, he decides to go ahead and be Shirley’s driver for his tour of the South. 

Tony is brash, sneaky and brutish, whilst Shirley is dainty, polite and enigmatic. The two embark on a groovy, dangerous and life-life-changing journey through some of the most racist states of 50’s America. The Green Book, where the film takes it name, often means that Don and Tony are apart at night because of what hotel’s will let Don stay in, causing conflict, pain and self realisation. 

I was overwhelmed at how this film encapsulated and era so well, showed the ugly face of redemption whilst retaining charm, humour and compassion. Mahershala Ali has proved he is an acting power house with this film – give this man more golden statues, NOW!

We’ve had Catherine Hardwicke’s Thirteen, Rob Brown’s Sixteen, Richard Bell’s Eighteen, and now we have Monja Art’s Seventeen. Naming your film after a person’s age is popular, it seems. 

Any-who, Seventeen [Siebzehn] is an LGBTQ coming-of-age story that follows Paula, an intelligent student who is in love with her classmate Charlotte. What this film does, unlike a lot of teen dramas, is completely normalise same sex relationships, which is rather refreshing. No judgements are made, only the usual teenage-bullying that happens in the classroom. The film deals with experimentation, aspirations and friendship in a natural and realistic way. 

Elisabeth Wabitsch is wonderful as Paula – her interactions as natural and true. There are a few performances that are a bit dull, but it doesn’t take away from the film’s impact. 

Art’s use of ‘fantasy’ sequences convey brilliantly what goes through a teenage mind. When Paula walks into a classroom, she imagines everyone is laughing at her, when in reality they are just getting on with the homework they should have done the night before. 

There are the usual tropes: drugs, sex, fights, depression and partying, however they are not portrayed in an overtly garish way which is sometimes the case in films depicting teenage life. 

It manages to deliver a nice balance between Thirteen and Blue Is The Warmest Colour, which I think is as good a review as I can give it (those two films being two of my faves). 

For a low-budget Indie film, this is some strong work from Monja Art (my new favourite director name since Maren Ade) who seems to be picking up momentum Deutsch side. Catch it if you can! 

As a Nicole Kidman fan, I’ve been itching for Nicole to step out of her leggy-blonde and dowdy-mom roles for a long time. Karyn Kusama [Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation] has plunged Nicole into a role so different from anything she’s ever done before that you even forget you’re watching Nicole.

With a rich, dark and grimy backdrop of a blistering LA, we see Kidman play Detective Bell, a haggard and grizzly cop who discovers a crime that is inherently linked to her path. In a series of flashbacks, we see how young Bell was put into an under-cover operation she wasn’t prepared for to try and bust a drug/crime gang. Her partner in these flashbacks is played by Sebastian Stan, who comes into his own as an actor in this film. 

As other reviews have noted, it is a crying shame that Destroyer has been so cruelly snubbed in the Director and Lead Actress sections of the Oscar’s this year. Kidman puts in a career best and the film is reminiscent of such late 60s/early 70s cop thrillers as Dirty Harry or Serpico. 

Julie Kirkwood’s cinematography is brave and bold, reinventing scene fades and accentuating the blistering south-state heat. 

If you haven’t seen Destroyer yet, do it! It’ll be one of the most exhilarating 120 mins of your year! 

Barry Jenkins has already established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the directing world after Moonlight’s Oscar win. This time adapting a novel instead of a play, Jenkins takes on James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk. 

The film follows Tish and Alonzo, a young couple from Harlem who are inexplicably in love. The story interjects flashbacks between the couple meeting, to present day where Tish is pregnant and Alonso is being held for a crime he didn’t commit. 

What struck me most about this film is how Jenkins seemed to take a Spike-Lee approach to film making and used stock photographs to set the scene of 70s Harlem, without highlighting the poverty and hardship of the area. Instead, melts that all away and focuses on the warm, happening undertones of Harlem and Manhattan with interlaced un-comfortableness. I particularly liked the overuse of the word ‘baby’ in the dialogue, very hip. 

My only issue with this film is that I felt the characters peaked too early. The family scenes at the beginning of this film were so well directed and acted that I felt a bit lost when there wasn’t a repetition of this somewhere in the film. 

The film is true to Baldwin’s original work and Jenkins encapsulates the world of the film perfectly. 

Regina King’s supporting actress Oscar is rightly deserved for this film – what a performance!

Mother

A mother’s worst nightmare is played out with a minimalist cast and location in this gripping short film. The film follows Marta, a single mum who’s son has gone on holiday with his father. Whilst Marta has her mother around for a visit, she gets a phone call from her son who is alone on a beach. The following minutes of the film are heart wrenching.

The acting from Spanish television heavyweights Marta Nieto and Blanca Apilanez is so natural that the film could almost be a fly-on-the-wall documentary. What director Rodrigo Sorogoyen does with such a minimalist cast, location and idea packs a powerful punch. I can imagine this film will draw a few comparisons to Aldomavar’s Julieta, as it deals with generational anxiety. It also shows that if you have a great, low-buget idea that Oscar glory is in sight! 

Marguerite

Actress turned director Marianna Farley delivers a delicate LGBTQ film with Marguerite. Canadian acting royalty Béatrice Picard is Marguerite, a lonely woman who is suffering from illness in her age. She has a friendship with her caseworker Rachel (Sandra Bisson) who, when she reveals she is in a gay relationship, inspires Marguerite to dig in to her past. This film highlights how sexual repression and societal judgement can effect someone for a life time and also the importance of friendship.

It is also very realistic in its portrayal of a care worker-patient relationship. To be personal, this actually reminded me of when my own grandmother was living at home alone. Surrounded by memories with few people to share them with. Despite Marguerite’s physical pains, the largest of them is emotional. A beautiful film and a big pay on the back for Farley for not only representing a smaller section of the LGBTQ community, but also showing that stories are not just for the young!