The Killing of a Sacred Deer
As a huge fan of The Lobster, I was keen to see what Yorgos Lanthimos would follow with. Of course it was always going to be a psychological horror inspired by the Greek play
Iphigenia in Aulis by that cheerful guy, Euripides. A surgeon has a strange friendship with a teenage boy who wants to meet up with me, meet his family and invite to dinner with his mother. The surgeon has a wife, also a doctor, and two childre, a boy and teenage girl. But as the film unfolds the strange boy starts to take things too far, becoming an even more uncomfortable presence. Eventually it is revealed that his father was a patient of the surgeon but died during surgery and he holds the surgeon responsible. He therefore sets up a punishment that cannot be altered. A brilliantly executed story, its a slow hideous burner of a film as it cleverly unfolds showing cracks in a perfect set up. The horror comes from the unnatural and helpless feeling of losing control, there is literally nothing the surgeon can do to stop what will happen. It was not disappointing and left a horrible lingering pain in my mind due to the outcome of the ending. 3/5
Mudbound
Chronicling the story of two families, the white McAllens and the black Jacksons, in rural Mississippi as they deal with the living on a farm, trying to get through the day to day, the fallout from war and the disappointments with life. Overall I found the film depressing with a few hopefully moments, including the ending. But the outlook is bleak from the start, with a narration from Carey Mulligan's character Laura who marries her brother's boss even though she isn't particularly fond of him. Soon he moves her and their daughters to a farm, taking her away from the city. Their tenants, the Jacksons are a close knit family, encouraging each other to succeed, working hard so they can have a place of their own. The film talks covers everything it can from the period, rascism, lonliness and surviving war being the main themes. The multiple narration is perfect for this story, especially as dialogue is somewhat scarce, making the characters seem isolated and lonely even when surrounded by others. 3/5
Fack ju Göhte
After seeing a trailer for the Mexican remake of this German original, I tracked down a copy of the German film and became a little obsessed. I just wanted to know the ending. What I thought was goingto be a comedy about a criminal upon being released from prison finds out his stash has been buroed beneath a school gym, pretends to be a supply teacher in order to get in. What I got was this and a hell of a lot more. This was very universal. I could have imagined this with a British cast too. It was hilarious. There is actually two sequels for this film! God knows why it was needed, but I suppose sequelling a film to death happens everywhere.
Blade of the Immortal
I missed this at LFF so booked tickets immediately whne the preview came up. But then I missed out on seeing the Franco brothers in person for a Q&A and preview of The Disaster Artist to see Blade of the Immortal. At first I was slightly worried I made the wrong choice BUT after a few minutes, I was hooked into the world of Manji and Rin. Based on the manga of the same name, this samurai revenge story literally spills blood every minute (almost). Manji, after avenging the murder of his sister right in front of him lies dying until he is saved by a mysterious old lady who makes him immortal. Decades later, Rin, daughter of a fencing teacher seeks revenge for the murder of her parents. She teams up with Manji to kill the rebel group responsible. Its bloody, crazy and down right brilliant. Peppered with humorous moments, usually involving Manji having to retrieve body parts, the dark nature of the characters isn't swept aside. There are some spectacualr fight scene as well as quieter moments to balance the gore out. An excellent film that really deserves a proper release. 4/5
Jim & Andy
Watching Man in the Moon some years ago, I really had no idea who Andy Kaufman was. I guessed he was a 'big deal' in the US so I had to do a bit of researching before, after and during the film. Having a larger than life actor like Jim Carey play a odd and larger than life entertainer (as he is being described as) such as Kaufman was excellent casting. I thought the film was ok but very stressful as it seemed not many people understood Kaufman's humour or his comedy. The strange but true occurances of what happened on set were beyond bizarre as Jim Carey took method acting to the extreme when he acted as Andy on and off camera and as Tony Clifton the awful lounge singer. The film is a long interview with Carey as he relates the story which is intertwined with footage from the documentary crew who were allowed to film on set back in 1999. Its fascinating to see people's reaction to the characters as well as seeing 'Andy' back. It is emotional and disturbing at the same time, especially as Jim says that 'Andy' took over during filming, often refering to Jim as someone else as well as revealing some deep seated insecurities. I think this is a role Jim Carey will always carry with him. 4/5
Beach Rats
A story about a young guy struggling to come escape the boundaries of his Brooklyn life and try to understand his sexuality. Frankie seems to do the same thing every day, smoke weed with his friends trapped just like him in their neighbourhood, hang out at Coney Island at night and chat to men in gay chat rooms online. It's a question that come up, 'what do you like?" and Frankie's answer is 'I don't know what I like'. He's still trying to figure who he is and what he likes. With pressure from friends to be and seem masculine, trying to date a girl is painful to watch, and with the death of his father, things just get slowly worse. Its so brilliantly acted by Brit actor, Harris Dickinson, its heartwrenching seeing him try to surpress his real desires. Directed by Eliza Hittman, questions about the female gaze and how it works so well within this genre, its so rare to see a film with these characters from a female perspective. Although a somewhat bleak out look, I hold hope for Frankie to fid a way to be happy. 4/5
