Category: REVIEWS

Disclosure. Not the 1994 erotic thriller starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. Nor the 2020 documentary on Hollywood’s depiction of Transgender people. This Disclosure, directed by Michael Bentham, is a drama set in an affluent suburb somewhere in Australia. 

Danny and Emily Bowman (Mark Leonard Winter and Matilda Ridgway) are journalists trying to figure out the next steps following a sexual assault on their four year old daughter. Politician Joel Chalmers (Tom Wren) and his wife Bek (Geraldine Hakewill) are the parents of the boy involved, and would like nothing more than to sweep this whole thing under the carpet. As the couples are long standing friends, a friendly chat might be all it would take to make this whole thing go away. For, you see, Joel is a good politician. His career could be in jeopardy if this got out etc etc, you see where this is going.

Disclosure shows how quickly this delicate situation can become encumbered by the baggage and agendas of the surrounding adults. They work quickly to discredit the accounts given by the children, then throw in blame and blackmail when that doesn’t work. The film uses Bek’s historic rape to explore the concept of victim blaming, and the way society can convince sexual assault victims that somehow they asked for it or could have prevented it.

The tagline “There are two sides to every story, and then there is the truth” refers to the two couples, building their own narratives to rationalise what has happened, erasing the voice of the child as they wrestle to have the upper hand. Disclosure utilises the relationship between politicians and journalists to illustrate a fluctuating power-dynamic. In doing so, it also illustrates the complexity of the relationship between government and the press.

Bentham takes a pressing matter (child-on-child violence; #metoo) and tries to illustrate it earnestly. However, Disclosure plays like a soap opera storyline and leans heavily on  slow-motion as a way to create gravitas. It adds nothing for the most part, except perhaps the flower smashing segment, which echoes a scene from that 2011 Polanski dreck Carnage. Disclosure has many parallels with Carnage, though the trailer is more than enough to see this, so don’t bother with the whole of Carnage—it’s a bore. Essentially, both films see the parents take something that has happened between their children, and make it all about themselves.

For similar themes and more complex storylines see Rewind (2019) and The Slap (2015).

With high-concept science fiction narratives seldom getting the spotlight in mainstream cinema, some directors have focused on re-living the genre’s glory days by harkening back to past eras. Films like Super 8, as well as the hit TV series Stranger Things, embraced an 80’s aesthetic in their telling of Spielbergian sci-fi-horror tales. The latest to join the sci-fi nostalgia lineage is The Vast of Night, which cleverly utilizes its 1950’s setting to tell an earnest and engaging radio serial brought to the screen. 

The Vast of Night follows Fay (Sierra McCormick), an eager aspiring radio operator working alongside her wise-talking host Everett (Jake Horowitz). While the town is preoccupied with the school basketball game, the two uncover an idiosyncratic radio signal that could lead to something far more sinister. 

Operating with a shoestring budget and a relatively unheralded cast, the success of Vast of Night’s unique approach is attributed to writer/director Andrew Patterson’s stellar debut (also served as editor and producer). Patterson displays rare patience in his shooting techniques, utilizing smoothly-constructed tracking shots seamlessly while creating a taut sense of momentum. This approach fits the slow-burn tale to a tee, dulling out nuggets of information throughout while keeping audiences on their toes. 

Many films have utilized a nostalgic approach to wear an era’s zeitgeist qualities as a cheap pastiche, but Patterson’s screenplay cleverly weaves 50’s culture into its presentation. As well as capturing the zippy vernacular of the time, Patterson plays off the era’s mixed emotions of the impending future, wistfully embracing the potential of technological advancements while holding a deeply-seated paranoia for what could be out there. 

These conceits are baked into every frame of the film, playfully capturing a sense of discovery and danger with impressive results. Credit to stars Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz for balancing this tonal high-wire act, with their easy-going chemistry and sharp banter creating an instantly likable duo on screen. McCormick adeptly captures Fay’s longing for a grander life, while Horowitz elevates the wisecracking archetype with a clever embodiment of that persona. 

There’s so much to admire about The Vast of Night, yet its slight missteps constraint the effort from reaching genre classic territory. Patterson’s script features familiar debut faults, including a framing device that goes nowhere despite its intriguing introduction. While I appreciate the slight approach to its singularly macabre vision, the third act ultimately feels rushed and unsatisfying, with the destination being far less absorbing than the journey that proceeded it. 

The Vast of Night is a unique low-budget surprise, with Andrew Patterson’s inspired 50s serial approach displaying his bright future in the film industry. 

There may never be a timelier film than Spike Lee’s newest joint, “Da 5 Bloods”. With the United States more lost and divided than it has been since the civil war, Lee has made a film sure to fuel the fires of change.

We follow the four surviving members of a team of five African American Vietnam soldiers, who during the war came across a massive amount of gold and lost their commander. 

Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis), Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and Norman (Chadwick Boseman) make up the original five. It was Norman who didn’t make it home, and it is for his remains, and the gold, that they return to Vietnam in the present day. What they find is so much more than gold and bones, they find a catharsis cinema has been looking for ever since the Vietnam War ended, and a rallying cry for a people who fought to end their persecution, only to find things worse when they came home.

The Vietnamese being voiceless in films more about their history than anyone else’s has long been a point of criticism for any endeavour into the tragedies of the Vietnam War. It has always been a more than fair argument, but one hard to substantiate due to the high amount of quality most directors produce within the genre. It’s also a contentious point because Vietnamese filmmakers have the right to tell their own stories and not have them cannibalised by westerners. Thankfully I can safely say in the hands of Lee I don’t believe that has happened and instead I think he has made something never seen before from an auteur of his calibre.

The Vietnamese people may still form an antagonistic front in this film, but it is unlike ever before. Here they get to state their point, that American’s butted in where they didn’t belong and killed the mothers and fathers of an entire generation. The age-old American standpoint is also still there; they were just doing what they were told and didn’t deserve what happened to them as a result. There’s no answer to be found here, not when it comes to the perspective of soldiers from both sides; neither was right or wrong. Da 5 Bloods makes that clear and instead investigates the repercussions on the men, mentally and physically. 

Paul is the core of this. Through him, we see the toll war has on a man like never before. Lindo pours heart and soul into his performance here and produces career-best work, which just so happens to be Oscar-worthy. Tour de force would almost be an understatement his work is that physical and demanding, allowing every moment of it to be absorbing and thrilling. He’s supported spectacularly by the other four men and Jonathan Majors who plays his son David. Together they ensure the film is spectacularly well cast and brilliantly acted. 

As the story goes on, things ramp up in intensity and violence. The tonal change isn’t flawless and the exact moment when it happens is quite jarring, but the film is far too ruthless in its approach to have any time to dwell. The impact of every twist and turn ends up feeling like a full-on frontal assault, and it makes for a wild ride. The messages derived from this are what make it all worthwhile. That friendship should come before money, that fighting for your people should come before fighting for yourself, that African American soldiers were forced to fight while their families were persecuted back home, and that despite that they found the will to keep fighting. It makes for a lot to take in, yet everything resonates and acts as a genuine call to arms, and a call for change. 

Visually the film stuns, thanks to the work of Newton Thomas Sigel, who changes the aspect ratio throughout to significant effect and sharply captures the actors in their finest and most harrowing moments. He is supplemented beautifully by the subtle score by Terence Blanchard, which adds just enough weight to everything happening without making it all too much. All in all, the film is a technically sound as it is narratively, which makes it one of the best films to release so far this year.

Da 5 Bloods offers powerful correlations to reality, and also marks a significant development for war films as a genre. Spike Lee’s voice is needed now more than ever, and he’s delivering the way only he can.

Sweet, honest and patriotic; Jack & Yaya is more than a transformation story. It is a story about family, identity and the American way. Director Jen Bagley follows her subjects Jack & Yaya, best friends who, after growing up next door to each other, both go on their own journey of gender transformation.

Whilst the core message of this documentary is rooted in the stigmas and struggles of trans communities, it also delivers a beautiful message of community, as well as breaking stereotypes of poorer communities in the US. It’s refreshing and hopeful to watch a documentary of this subject matter that shows family acceptance and honesty.

Using archival footage from the Jack & Yaya’s respective family recordings, Bagley weaves a tapestry of experiences and characters that so embody America, but demonstrate change and tolerance that will inevitably influence the fabric of what it means to be American.

Whilst not everything in the film is blue skies and fresh daisies, both Jack and Yaya share their personal, no holds barred journeys that I’m sure will inspire, and give a frank reality of being part of the trans community. 

Bagly’s cinematography is thoughtful and non-intrusive, and she is obviously a trustworthy Director for her cast to let their guards down and be so open in front of the camera.

The to-camera interviews of family members telling their family history, give an interesting insight into ever-changing family values and social prejudice. 

After a successful run at film festivals internationally, Jack & Yaya will be available for streaming on June 15th