FILM | Reviews
DRAMA CHRONIC (15) 93min ●●●●●
BIOPIC TRUTH (15) 125min ●●●●● DRAMA THE HERE AFTER (15) 102min ●●●●●
Chronic is the kind of inscrutable drama that requires a great deal of patience from the committed viewer. It may have won writer-director Michel ‘After Lucia’ Franco Best Screenplay at Cannes but his mannered, poker-faced approach ultimately makes for a i lm as exasperating as it is intriguing. Tim Roth gives a meticulous performance as David, a residential nurse who tends to the terminally ill. His involvement with those he cares for goes beyond the call of duty as he extends the role of nurse to that of coni dant and trusted friend. There is something of Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley about him as he absorbs aspects of his patients’ personalities, or repackages elements of their lives and presents them as his own.
David is a compelling-enough character and you are invited to speculate as to whether this angel of mercy might be a more sinister i gure; Franco provides hints and clues but much is left to the imagination. Sadly, the i lm’s monotonous pace, decision to forego the use of music and coolly detached manner becomes tiresome, even at a relatively trim runtime. What’s more, the abrupt, unexpected ending poses yet more questions and provides precious little in the way of answers. (Allan Hunter) ■ Selected release from Fri 19 Feb.
The truth, so the old adage goes, will set you free. Not so for CBS 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes (played here by Cate Blanchett) who found herself in the middle of an ethical and political maelstrom when she aired a 2004 story questioning George W Bush’s Air National Guard service record. The rousing screenplay by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) – making his assured directorial debut – is based on Mapes’ book and it spins the story of a paper trail into an exhilarating, emotional quest for justice. The dialogue sometimes feels exposition-heavy,
but the performances ensure the i lm never becomes sluggish. Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace are great as members of Mapes’ research team and Robert Redford is perfect as stoical traditional newsman Dan Rather. This is, however, Blanchett’s i lm and she delivers a nuanced performance. Truth calls into question the viability of non-partisan journalism in an age in which to challenge the status quo is to be scrutinised and vilii ed. So, while it may be awards season i lmmaking at its most conventional, as a eulogy for independent news-gathering it has undeniable power. (Nikki Baughan) ■ Thu 25 Feb, Glasgow Film Theatre, part of Glasgow Film Festival. General release from Fri 4 Mar.
Swedish director Magnus von Horn’s slow-burning i rst feature poses provocative moral questions concerning the punishment and aftermath of a horrii c act committed by a teenage boy. We meet John (singer Ulrik Munther – turning in a notable performance as a young man on the edge) on his release from a secure facility, but are not given details of his crime until the midway point. The Here After (Efterskalv) asks us to sympathise with John, who is bullied, beaten and given the side-eye by everyone in his small community except another teen, Malin (Loa Ek), who is new to the neighbourhood. She shrugs her shoulders at his past actions while she i xes his moped for him and is even attracted to his dark side. The i lm conjures up a strong sense of unease
in the most mundane of situations, including an oppressively quiet family dinner that speaks volumes in its silence. There’s danger in the air that threatens to detonate at any point and when it i nally does it’s a highly charged and bellowing explosion of emotion. This is a promising debut that suffers a little from its withholding of passion until the i nal throes, and thus feels a tad too premeditated and unnatural by design. (Katherine McLaughlin) ■ Selected release from Fri 11 Mar.
CRIME THRILLER TRIPLE 9 (15) 116min ●●●●●
Triple 9 may look nothing out of the ordinary. Bank jobs, dirty cops, Russian mobsters, Latino gangs – it feels like just another game of Grand Theft Auto. But, characterised by its urgency, John Hillcoat’s thriller is a visceral ride, compellingly told with a i rst-rate ensemble from both sides of the pond. Set in a seedy Atlanta, it begins as it means to go on as masked men raid a local bank, making their escape by the skin of their teeth, all guns blazing.
Turns out these crooks are – or in some cases were – law- enforcers. The crux, however, comes when it’s revealed that the leader, Terrell (Chiwetel Ejiofor), is beholden to a Russian- Jewish mai a outi t run by the terrifying, power-suited Irina (Kate Winslet). When she forces the gang to rob a Homeland Security outpost, the only way to succeed is to trigger the all-units ‘999’ cop code used when an ofi cer is down. Primed for the fall is Casey Afl eck’s rookie Chris – the new partner of one of the gang members, Anthony Mackie’s cop, and nephew to the hard- drinking veteran detective (Woody Harrelson) trying to solve the opening robbery.
Matt Cook’s interlaced script spins on a cold-blooded premise that i ts right into Hillcoat’s wheelhouse after his western The Proposition and Prohibition-era tale Lawless. Fine support comes from Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus and Clifton Collins Jr as the other shifty, sweaty gang members. But it’s Winslet who is the revelation as the menacing mai a madam, her lines dipped in pure poison. Edited with verve and cut to a nervy score by a collective led by Atticus Ross, the result reinvigorates the heist sub-genre with a huge shot of adrenaline. It’ll leave you buzzing. (James Mottram) ■ General release from Fri 19 Feb.
62 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016