Good Will Hunting ( IS) ((ius Van Sant. US. I997) Matt Damon. Robiii Williams. Minnie Driver. IZo mins. A young college janitor (Damon) with a history of abuse is given the opportunity to fulfil his potential as a maths genius by a kindly therapist (Williams). Hot-shot Damon and co-star Ben AflIeck won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. but it's Williams in an understated performance who steals the show. An insightful script. tenderly acted. I‘alkirk: Town Hall. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. Great Expectations( IS) (Alfonso (Timon. US. I997) Iithan Hawke. (iwyneth I’altrow, Anne Bancroft. Ill) mins. Hollywood‘s free adaptation of Dickens's novel turns a dank. foggy tale into a dayglo romance incorporating art. sex and the media. Haw'ke plays a young artist who becomes the toast of New York. but can't get I’altrow otit of his mind. Adding colour are Robert De Nll‘t) as a gruff convict and Anne Bancroft doing her version of Miss llavisham. It's at its best when faithful to the novel. but when the action shifts. the film dies a quiet predictable death. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith. La Haine ( IS) (Matthieu Kassoy-itI. I‘i'ance. I995) Vincent (‘asscI. Hubert Kounde. Said 'I‘aghmaoui. (‘25 mins. This edgy. black-arid- white portrait of racial tension and police brutality on a run-down estate outside l’aris won twentysomethirig Kassovill. the I)ii'c'c‘toi"s I’ri/e at the I995 (‘annes I-ilm I-‘estivaI. Three ethnically mixed lads come up against the cops when one of their pals is hospitalised after a raid. Urgent. compelling Iiltnmaking that's as punchy as a blow to the head. lidinburgh. I‘ilmhoiise.
Highlander ( l5) (RiisseII Mulcahy. UK. I9ts'o) ('hristopher Lambert. Beatie Iidney'. Sean Connery. I I l mins. A handful of immortals battle through the centuries to win a mythical prize. A curious mixture of romance in loth century heather and car chases in present day New York. the film is an inelegant. often ludicrous. btit enjoyably daffy ads'enturc. Only the ever wonderful Connery has the requisite style for the kitsch Scottish scenes. (ilasgow; (iilitiorehill.
The Hill ( I5) (Sidney Lumet. UK. I965) Sean Connery. Harry Andrews. Michael Redgrave. Ian Bannen. ()ssie Davis, Roy Kinnear. I23 mins. (iritty British melodrama. set in a military detention centre Ill North Africa during World War Two. (‘onnery is excellent as one of the prisoners who rebel against the harsh regime inflicted by Andrews‘ ruthless sergeant-major. (ilasgow'. (ii-T.
Hotel De Lover I5)((‘raig Rosenberg. Atistralia. I996) 95 mins. I’assions mount at a gaudy Melbourne hotel specialising in honeymoon stopovers when an old flame of the manager turns tip with her new boyfriend. I‘unny. fast and set to a 7()s soundtrack. it's another comedy hit from Down Under. (ilasgow: Show case. [FCI (‘Iydebank Iidinburgli: l'(‘l. liast Kilbride: l'(‘l. I’aisley. Showcase.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (I’m (\Villiam Dieterle. US. I939) (‘harIes’ Laughton. Maureen ()‘Hai‘a. (‘cdric Hardwicke. I I7 mins. Not exactly pin-up material. Laughton woos his gypsy love in and around the Notre Dame and wins much audience sy mpathy in the process. Stylishly and atmosplierieally directed. You might not remember Quasimodo's name. bttt his face rings a bell. (ilasgow; (il’l‘.
In And Out ( 12) (l'rank ()z. US. I997) Keyin Kline. Matt Dillon. Tom Selleck. 9| mins. When an ex-student seemineg ‘outs’ him during an Oscar speech. Midwestern teacher Iloward Brackett (Kline) has to reassess his life and sexuality ~ pisl days before his w edding. A funny. feelgood movie that is aimed squarely at a mainstream audience. In Am/ Our contains nothing to startle Middle America. Kline turns in a delightful comic performance. Stirling: i‘sIacRolx-rt.
In The Company Of Men ( I8) (Neil l.aBute. US. I99o) Aaron lickhart. Matt Molloy. Stacy Iidwards. 97 mins. The misanthropy of American commerce is right (ip there on screen. fifty feet high. as (‘had and Howard plan to date the same vulnerable woman and dump her without warning It‘s corporate America's strongest- wiII-survive ethos which is the real target in this powerful independent that‘s ftill of sucker punches. lidinburgh: I-‘ilmhouse.
The Innocents ( I8) (Jack Clayton. UK. l9ol ) Deborah Kerr. Megs Jenkins. Michael Redgrave. 99 mins. lixcellent adaptation of Henry Jaines's Turn ()1. The Seren- by Truman Capote has Kerr as a tormented governess looking after two mysterious Victorian children. l-ieddte I-'i‘;iiicis‘s black- and-white photography is amongst the best of his career. Beautifully builds tip its sinister atmosphere without resorting to crass shock tactics. lidinburgh: l’ilmhouse. It's A Wonderful Life (l’(i) (I-"rank Capra. US. I946) James Stewart. Donna Reed. Henry Travers. Thomas Mitchell. I39 mins. Small-town boy Stewart runs into Iinancial difficulties and is on the brink of suicide when an elderly angel descends to earth to show him all the good his life has done for those around him. Areheiypal (‘apra sentimentality with a superny detailed fantasy framework and one of Stewart's most lovable performances. Due to warm even the most glacial heart. Iidinburgh: U('I. Jackie Brown ( I5) (Quentin 'l‘arantino, US. I997) I’ani (irier. Samuel L. Jackson. Robert De Niro. IS-l mins. 'I‘arantrno's blaproitation homage is proof that the director rust loves to hear his characters run their months off. However. the dialogue is pure pleasure in this sprawling. funky. triple-crossing heist lll()\’lC about a liederal Agent sting to trap a gun runner. A classic Hollywotxl thriller in the sense that it is about the emoynient of the moment. rather simply finding otit whodiinit. I-‘alkirk: Town Hall. Stirling: MacRobert. The Kid (U) (Charles Chaplin. US. I93I) (‘harles ('baplin. Jackie (‘oogair Iidna I’urviance. ('arl Davis conducts the Royal Scottish National ()rchestra as they play (‘haplin's own score for his much-loved feature. The man himself plays the Little Tramp. who tries to bring tip an abandoned child despite the meddling of cops. doctors and an orphanage. Undeniany sentimental. but an unmissable live experience. ('haplin's short The /(//e (‘luss also shows. See preview. (ilasgow: Royal (‘oncert Hall. Kundun ( I5) (Martin Scorsese. US. I997) I40 mins. Scorsese's biography of the fourteenth Dalai Lama is also a painstaking record of a culture close to extinction. The beauty ofTibet and gentle nature of the people is disrupted by invasion by China. but the Dalai Lama remains true to the ideal of non-violence. A highly cinematic. though heavin wrought film. Rum/rm also features a pulsating music score by Philip (ilass. The first hour. while beautiful to watch. does seem to pass very slowly. but. by the end. it has a curious calming energy all of its own. (ilasgow: (irosvenor.
LA. Confidential (IS) ((‘urtis llanson. L'S. I997) Kevin Spacey. Guy Pearce. Russell (‘rowe. Kim Basinger. I35 mins. Adapted from James lillroy-‘s neo-noir novel. the best American lilm of I997 evokes a glitzy post- WWZ l.os Angeles underpinned by an all- pervasive. festering corruption. An intricate. drop-dead brilliant plot Iinks bent cops. good cops. Hollywood star lookalike prostitutes and the mob. The dialogue crackles and the actors burn tip the screen: one of the few films one would dare mention in the same breath as the definitise ('lrinulou'n. (ilasgow: ()dcons.
Last Tango in Paris ( l8) (Bernardo Bertolucei. I-‘rance/Italy'. I973) Marlon Brando. Maria Schneider. I30 mins. A young I’arisienne meets a middle-aged man with whom she develops an increasingly violent and purely sexual relationship. ()ne of the key lilrns of its decade. Bertolucei's powerful drama is a meditation on the expression and communication of personal identity through intense sexual contact. Stirling: MacRobert. The Life Of Stuff ( IS) (Simon Donald. UK. I997) Iiw'en Bretnner. Jason I-‘Iemyng. (iina McKee. 9() mins. Simon Donald’s drug- fuelled. pitch-black comedy has made a rather bumpy crossing from stage to screen. Set in a delapidated nightclub during one long. violent night. this noirish comedy- thriller is sprinkled like the night sky with unexpected starbursts of compassion. Donald makes basic schoolboy errors (the make-up in particular). btit the photography is good and the casting is also astute. See feature and review. (ilasgow; (il-T. Iidinburgh: Cameo.
Continued over page
index FILM
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EEITIVAL THEATRE
Thur II to Sat I3 June at 7.30pm
Tickets From £5.50
‘is NDT2 the best young dance company in the world? Yes.‘
Christopher Bowen. THE SCOTS/MN
III
the (Joeeno Spades on Peter Iluion ionaiHovsHu
I7 & I9 June at 7.ISpm
lid lliIVlfllfl tru Giuseppe Verdi
Production sponsored nu Halter Scott ti Partners I6, 18 & 20 June at 7.ISpm
Tickets From £9.00 C
(odor ottlr
'Ndl III tour '
Sponsored by Safeway Wed I5 to Sun I9 July Children‘s tickets from £6.00
k « Come dressed as a tourist
Box I] flee IIIZI 533 5000 (troops [IIZI 529 6005
11—25 Jun I998 THE UST31