Film REVIEWS
ALSO RELEASED HORROR THE RITE (15) 113min ●●●●●
‘What did you expect, spinning heads and pea-soup?’ asks Vatican- approved exorcist Father Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins) in Mikael Håfström’s demonic possession thriller, which initially offers a sober take on a horror genre that usually collapses into graphic schlock. Putting his relationship with his
mortician father (Rutger Hauer) behind him, doubtful US priest Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue) is recruited by Father Matthew (Toby Jones) to travel to Rome to join the Pope’s secret army of exorcists, formed to combat a rising wave of possessions. Father Xavier (Ciaran Hinds) hooks Kovak up with Welshman Lucas, who demonstrates a practical authority when it comes to casting out demons, but Kovak’s faltering faith is tested when Lucas falls under the spell of a demon.
Having already adapted Stephen King’s short story 1408, Håfström brings a similarly tight control to The Rite, with lengthy exorcism scenes delivered in tight close-ups. With The Rite claiming some old fashioned frights, it’s an initially effective approach, but one which quickly becomes boring as Michael Petroni’s script bogs down in interminable theological discussions. The Rite’s commendable restraint
and serious intent will find some adherents, as it attempts to swim against the tide of over-the-top horrors, but despite a strong cast and expensive production, it’s still just a hoary variation on The Exorcist. (Eddie Harrison) ■ General release from Fri 25 Feb. See DVD Panel, opposite.
Big Momma’s: Like Father, Like Son (12) 98min ●●●●● Martin Lawrence returns as FBI agent Malcolm Turner/deep-cover alter ego Big Momma for another complete unpolished turd of a comedy. General release from Wed 16 Feb. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 3D (U) 104min ●●●●● Tedious tour documentary about the nauseous child star who didn’t know what ‘Germany’ meant. General release from Fri 18 Feb. I Am Number Four (12A) 109min ●●●●● Action-packed thriller based on book by Pittacus Lore about young man, John Smith (Alex Pettyfer), who is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Decent enough adventure thriller for younger viewers. General release from Wed 23 Feb. Drive Angry (3D) (18) 104min ●●●●● Nic Cage breaks out of hell. Review embargoed until Monday 21 February. Read online at www.list.co.uk. General release from Fri 25 Feb. 46 THE LIST 17 Feb–3 Mar 2011
THRILLER ANIMAL KINGDOM (15) 113min ●●●●●
This dark Australian crime thriller has had critics lining up to heap praises upon it since its prize-winning debut at Sundance last January, and it arrives on these shores fresh from a deserved Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category for Jacki Weaver. These endorsements should hopefully provoke discerning cinemagoers to look past the film’s lack of big-name actors and its rather misleading title (it’s not a nature documentary) and give it a shot. Those who do are in for a treat – if a rather grim one – because the film is a riveting drama that announces the arrival of a distinct filmmaking talent in debut writer-director David Michôd. In the film’s opening moments teenager J (James Frecheville) discovers
his mother dead from a drug overdose, then gets in touch with his estranged grandmother (Weaver) who insists that J comes to live with her. Michôd’s brutally unsentimental presentation of these events sets the film’s tone very effectively; clearly indicating that the world we are entering is one where self-preservation is everything. J initially falls in with his three uncles, all of whom are involved to varying degrees in lives of violent crime, but a local police officer (Guy Pearce) becomes aware of J’s situation, and urges him to escape his family’s criminal ways.
Michôd takes his time setting up the story’s various characters, elaborately laying the foundations in the earlier stages for some powerfully effective pay-offs once the plot’s momentum kicks in. He refuses to handhold the audience at any point, building up characters then killing them off without warning, creating an ever-present sense of danger. His casting is also spot-on; as well as featuring two knock-out performances from Frecheville and Weaver – his subtly shifting, hers fearlessly cold – the cast is a virtual who’s who of Australian character actors (Joel Edgerton, Ben Mendelsohn, Dan Wyllie), all on top form. It adds up to a potent Shakespearean brew that dramatises humanity’s kill-or-be-killed instinct with chilling conviction. (Paul Gallagher) ■ General release from Fri 25 Feb; also showing as part of Glasgow Film Festival, Cineworld, Wed 23 & Thu 24 Feb. See feature, from page 12.
ROMANCE/COMEDY NO STRINGS ATTACHED (15) 107min ●●●●●
The moribund romcom genre emits a shrill death-rattle in No Strings Attached, in which Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher play friends who find themselves in a casual sexual relationship, only to find that there are always strings attached. Ivan Reitman, director of Ghostbusters, makes his comeback with a sweet-and-sour confection that coasts by on personable leads, but stutters awkwardly through lame, Judd Apatow-by-numbers comedy. Kutcher plays Adam, an aspiring television writer who gets thrown over by
his girlfriend in favour of his lothario dad (Kevin Kline) and seeks solace by calling every girl in his phone contacts. Adam ends up on the couch of Emma (Portman), a workaholic doctor whose schedule allows little time for relationships. With a Greek chorus of friends lending advice, Adam and Emma gradually try to figure out whether they’re friends, lovers or soul mates.
If Black Swan offered Portman the role of a lifetime, No Strings Attached demonstrates she can play pretty and likable, no matter how thinly written the character. Kutcher phones in his usual doe-eyed schmuck, leaving Kline as an over-qualified support to mop up the rather crude, standard-issue jokes about pop-culture and bodily fluid emissions. (Eddie Harrison) ■ General release from Fri 25 Feb.