FILM | Reviews
COMEDY DRAMA A ROYAL NIGHT OUT (12A) 97min ●●●●●
A charming blend of whimsy and romance, Julian Jarrold’s latest is a beauty. An affectionate depiction of the royal family that resists swaying into parody, the seed of its story is based on a real event. On VE Day, the teenage princesses were allowed out of Buckingham Palace to soak up the atmosphere. Jarrold’s film takes this idea and runs with it, delivering a
cheeky tale in which Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) and Margaret (Bel Powley) are escorted to the Ritz, before they lose their chaperones and get separated. While the carefree Margaret parties hard, the earnest Elizabeth meets Jack (Jack Reynor), an army deserter and no fan of her father, King George VI (an excellent Rupert Everett). The narrative is driven by contrivance and coincidence – the
girls are never recognised and keep narrowly missing each other – but all is forgiven thanks to zesty direction amid the remarkable recreation of 40s London. Led from the front by a likeable Gadon and scene-stealing Powley, the cast is first-rate, with Emily Watson also on hand. Tender, funny and occasionally raucous, it’s what the tabloids might call a right royal knees-up. (James Mottram) ■ General release from Fri 8 May.
PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA THE FALLING (15) 102min ●●●●●
Carol Morley’s second narrative feature is a twisted and thoughtful drama set at an English all-girls school in 1969. The Falling is partly inspired by a recent case of mass hysteria at a US high school and by Picnic at Hanging Rock. Maisie Williams and confident newcomer Florence Pugh are inseparable teens Lydia and Abbie. Everything changes when Abbie loses her virginity and believes herself to be pregnant. When a tragedy occurs, Lydia begins twitching and fainting. Her malady infects fellow pupils but the headmistress (Monica Dolan) puts it down to overactive imaginations. Morley sets a suitably surreal tone, sprinkling humour
throughout, while Williams excels at conveying confusion, defiance and angst. Terrible secrets hide in the grand school's grounds, with the deterioration of Lydia’s mental state filtered through a strikingly captured autumnal setting, fashioned into a dreamy haze by cinematographer Agnès Godard.
Tracey Thorn provides the eerie musical accompaniment, although her score occasionally distracts. Female anxieties and emotions spill over in a potent brew, which effectively explores sexual awakening and fear of the opposite sex. (Katherine McLaughlin) ■ Selected release from Fri 24 Apr.
THRILLER CHILD 44 (15) 137min ●●●●●
‘There can be no murder in paradise.’ That’s the intriguing backbone of both Tom Rob Smith’s bestseller and this solid adaptation from director Daniel Espinosa, which casts Tom Hardy as Leo Demidov, a battle-hardened member of the military police in Stalin-era Soviet Union. Blindly devoted to both his country and wife Raisa (Noomi Rapace), his loyalties are tested when Raisa is accused of being a spy. After the couple’s departure from Moscow they investigate a series of child killings that have gone unacknowledged by the state.
Smith’s book has been condensed by screenwriter Richard Price who, after a brisk race
through history, sensibly focuses on the murder mystery. Demidov’s determination to solve the case drives the film and, in the process, he evolves from a man confident in the black- and-white morality of Stalinism to someone forced to confront the grey areas of humanity. Hardy is excellent, giving depth to a character who could simply have been a figurehead for the march of change. Rapace is also wonderful, playing the initially dutiful wife who’s revealed to be a woman of considerable fortitude. Robust support comes from such revered performers as Gary Oldman and Vincent Cassel, even if most of the accents waver.
Meanwhile, Oliver Wood’s stunning cinematography captures Demidov’s journey from the sweeping ravages of war to the oppressive opulence of success and the confines of exile, with every scene viewed through a miasma of suspicion and paranoia. It packs a little too much in but this is a pleasingly pulpy thriller which passes effective comment on the horrors of life in a country where original thought was treason. Child 44 is ambitious, striking and gloriously gripping. (Nikki Baughan) ■ General release from Fri 17 Apr.
ROMANTIC COMEDY MAN UP (15) 88min ●●●●●
Those who’ve yet to be swept off their feet by Lake Bell should make Man Up a must. Here, she makes even the limper lines snap, crackle and pop, papering over the sometimes cringing machinations with likeability and integrity. Nailing an English accent, Bell plays Nancy, a cynical Londoner who accidentally steals someone else’s blind date and ends up falling for him. The feller in question is Jack (Simon Pegg) and the date comprises a catalogue of disasters.
Ben Palmer directs with energy and perhaps an overabundance of confidence, while Tess
Morris’ zingy script and the endearingly awkward central pair make this lean appealingly toward screwball, as the dialogue flies fast and funny. Sadly, it’s poorly plotted and periodically crude; an embarrassing dance scene and a double-date with Jack’s unpleasant ex represent a couple of contrivances too many. Man Up doesn’t differentiate itself from the dregs of the genre as much as it might seek to, but in Bell’s most modern of romcom heroines, we’ve finally found a woman with whom many will chime. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 29 May.
80 THE LIST 2 Apr–4 Jun 2015