A Taste of Hunger (Smagen Af Sult)

Rated: MA Taste of Hunger (Smagen Af Sult)

Directed by: Christoffer Boe

Written by: Tobias Lindhold & Christoffer Boe

Produced by: Louise Vesth & Sisse Graum Jørgensen

Starring: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Katrine Greis-Rosenthal.

Danish with English Subtitles.

‘If you ask me what I want

I’ll tell you.

I want everything.’

A Taste of Hunger is about the journey of a chef wanting to fulfill his dream of being awarded a Michelin Star.

Going back ten years, it was when Carsten (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) met Maggie (Katrine Greis-Rosenthal); when she tasted his fancy food at a party no-one else wanted.  When she told him that he deserved his own restaurant. That’s when he knew what his life was.  A dream.  A Michelin Star. Together. That’s what they hunger for.

It’s a film more about the relationship between Carsten and Maggie, and their family of two children, Chloe (Flora Augusta) and August (August Christian Vinkel), and the sacrifices they make to have everything.  But can they have everything?  Eventually, something has to break.

The journey of food and the subtleties of relationship are intertwined, told in chapters, named after the tastes: sweet, sour, fat, salt and heat.

The food adds the sensory to an emotive mystery as Carsten makes food worth fighting for but becomes so focused that nothing else matters beyond what’s on the plate.

Then Maggie finds a letter, typed, anonymous, addressed to Carsten: ‘Your wife is in love with someone else.’  She hides the letter, knowing it will destroy all they’ve worked for.

The knowing looks and play of dialogue lead an emotional investment as Carston describes creating a dish requiring the same elements as attributes needed in a relationship: attention, dedication and passion.

Knowing actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jamie Lannister in, Game of Thrones (winning him a Primetime Emmy Award in 2018), it was refreshing to see him in this role as a native Dane.
He wears the suit of an obsessive chef well, and he’s a man you believe to be in love.

The relationship between Maggie and Carston is the centrepiece of the film offset with the warm aesthetic of the restaurant with the light shining up through moss onto the branches of a small tree – an echo of Maggie looking up into the autumn leaves of a tree in awesome relief when they find out they’ve successfully purchased a place for their restaurant; their dreams coming true.

Along with the relationship’s dynamics, the looks; the children, brother and sister, are given space and relevance in the story as well, adding weight to the pressure of having everything, and the price to be paid.

There’s attention to detail in the portrayal of the story, like the echo of the tree, like the title of each chapter overlaying the view of each setting and giving each stage of the relationship a taste: sweet when they first meet, sour when the story of their relationship begins to turn.

The detail in the telling adds that emotional tone, drawing me in so the journey of their relationship was felt, the need for that dream of being awarded the Michelin Star understood.  It means everything.  But not without everything else.

 

Don’t Worry Darling

Rated: MDon’t Worry Darling

Directed by: Olivia Wilde

Screenplay by: Katie Silberman

Story by: Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, Katie Silberman

Produced by: Olivia Wilde, Katie Silberman, Miri Yoon, Roy Lee

Starring: Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne and Nick Kroll.

‘We shouldn’t be here.’

Victory is a company that wants to change the world.

Together, all those living in their desert community, all the couples living in the community, are living their most perfect life.

It’s like taking a step back to the 1950s: neighbours come together and have drunken dinner parties; the whole setting is heavy cut crystal, the men in suits and skinny ties, the women in dresses and heels, the music is swing and jive.  It’s frothy and fun.

Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) can’t get enough of each other while best friend Bunny (Olivia Wilde) is jokes and smiles with her two cute kids.  It’s a dream life.  All in the community are thankful.  They revere the head of the company, their leader: Frank (Chris Pine) and are in awe of his wife, Shelley (Gemma Chan).

All is well.

Except for those weird flashbacks.

And Margaret (KiKi Layne) a friend and neighbour who’s become unwell: ‘We shouldn’t be here.’

Don’t ask what job all the husbands are driving to every morning – it’s for the company.  Top secret.

Discretion is the solution to chaos.

The tension builds gradually with hints that signal, all is not right at Victory.  The earth shakes.

While Alice cracking empty eggs becomes a metaphor.

She hums an unfamiliar tune.  Because if the song didn’t come from the records in their home or over the community radio – where did it come from?

The build of story is backed by the silence intertwined with sound off-kilter.  It’s an uneasy feeling, but has a subtle touch, handled by director, Olivia Wilde (who also stars as best friend, Bunny), while performances from Florence Pugh and Harry Styles drive the story.

There’s great chemistry between these two as husband and wife, while Harry pushes his luck with a somewhat British accent, he holds the character well to reveal layers.

The standout is Pugh as Alice, believable as she catches glimpses of what’s underneath the community of Victory.

And that’s all I’m giving away.

This is Olivia Wilde’s second feature as director, and while I was gripped by this film, this wasn’t as cohesive as her first feature, Booksmart (2019).

And there’s a glossing-over of backstory, particularly the community’s leader, Frank and wife Shelley.

But there’s good pacing here, building on that feeling of being trapped as the story slowly tightens its grip.

 

Fall

Rated: MFall

Directed by: Scott Mann

Written by: Scott Mann, Jonathan Frank

Produced by: Christian Mercuri, James Harris, Mark Lane, Scott Mann, David Haring

Cinematography: Miguel ‘MacGregor’ Olaso

Starring: Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Mason Gooding.

‘No trespassing.  Danger of death.’

Let me start by saying, I’m scared of heights.

So from the opening scene of vertical views down onto rock-climbers hanging onto cliffs and leaping for another hold.  My heart was pumping from the get-go.

And it didn’t stop.

Fall is relentless in ratcheting up the tension, truly, edge-of-seat viewing.

But there’s cheese.

Adrenaline junkies, Becky (Grace Caroline Currey), hubby, Dan (Mason Gooding) and best buddy, Hunter (Virginia Gardner) push their limits together.

Seemingly unstoppable, until the worst happens, leaving Bec devastated.  And her dad (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) concerned she’ll never snap out of her deepening grief.

It’s when Bec looks like she can’t go on, best buddy, she’s-my-cherry-pie, Hunter has the cure: climbing an abandoned radio tower via a rusty ladder, 2000ft into the air.

Time to tame fear, ‘And kick it’s arse.’

Cue the strings in the soundtrack.  Cringe.

Up to this point, I wasn’t convinced I was going to get into this movie, I’d just be on edge because of that insane height, standing on a pancake platform, Bec and Hunter about to fall any second.

Then those rusty bolts started rattling.

The camera work here pushes that feeling of vertigo and the thought of falling is always there as the girls hang off the edge of the tower to take selfies.

There’s a lot from Hunter’s online persona, Danger D and #LifeOverDeath moments.

But this, ‘kick fear in the dick,’ mentality gradually won me over – you get the vibe though, a bit twee.

Then the shots widen, pushing the sky into the background of these crazy climbers as the bolts start to fall and I’m gripping the arms of the chair.

It just keeps pushing that tension to the point I was thankful for some of the cheesy drama of the story.

It’s not ALL tension; there’s some room to breathe.

But wow not much.

Be prepared for a bracing thrill and some unexpected moments in this intense survival film: worth seeing on the big screen.

 

Three Thousand Years of Longing

Rated: MThree Thousand Years of Longing

Directed by: George Miller

Written by: George Miller and Augusta Gore

Based on the Short Story, ‘The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye’ by: A. S. Byatt

Produced by: Doug Mitchell and George Miller

Starring: Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton.

‘Whatever it is, I’m sure it has an interesting story.’

Three Thousand Years of Longing is a film about stories, about a narratologist, Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) and her fateful discovery of a bottle containing a Djinn (Idris Elba).

Alithea lectures about stories, the old mythos, the science, the metaphor; how people have told each other stories to escape the chaos of the world.

Alithea’s a solitary creature who finds her feelings through stories.  And she’s content with that.

So when the Djinn asks what she desires – she has no answer.  Alithea wishes for nothing.  Besides, she’s read all the stories, she knows that with wishes granted, there is always a cost.

She recites the story of the magic fish discovered by three fishermen, who grants them one wish each.  The first fisherman wishes to be home, his wish is granted, and he disappears.  The second fisherman wishes to be playing in a field with his children – his wish is also granted.  The third fishmen becomes lonely and wishes that his friends were there with him…

Even the jokes about wishes end badly.

But if the Djinn is ever to escape his prison, Alithea must be granted three wishes of her deepest desires.  To convince Alithea that she must desire something even if she doesn’t realise it, the Djinn begins his story.

There’re stories within stories in this film as the Djinn weaves his narrative into a fantastical tale of queens and kings, of sultans and love.

Each chapter is given a title such as, ‘Two Brothers and a Djinn’ and, ‘A Djinn’s Oblivion’.

He’s had a lot of bad luck over his thousands of years of imprisonment.

It’s a sweeping tale with decadent settings of harems and bazaars full of colourful glass bottles, gadgets invented by a hidden third wife who’s frustrated by her bridled genius.

It’s a colourful escapism which is the point of the film (stories within stories).

In the production notes, director and writer, George Miller (Babe (1995), Happy Feet (2006) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)) is quoted: Alithea Binnie is a narratologist. She studies stories throughout the ages. “We seemed to be hard-wired for story” poses Miller. “Why?”

Miller read British author A.S. BYATT’s 1994 short story ‘The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye’ in the late 1990s. “It’s a story that seemed to probe many of the mysteries and paradoxes of life, and so succinctly” Miller states.

The Djinn laments his idiocy of finding himself trapped because of his love of a woman’s company and Alithea finds she has a desire afterall.  There’s a letting go, coming together, letting go to be together.

It just takes a few circles in the film to get there.

I kept thinking, Oh, OK, that’s the end.  But then there’s another part, another chapter.

It felt, ambitious.

But it all comes back around in a satisfying way.

Alithea is free, she’s solitary, she can be and want without losing herself; the reaching out lets her know herself by understanding the Djinn, by the two of them discussing life.

It’s a magical film but also grounded because the characters are genuinely relatable: delightful.

 

Orphan: First Kill

Rated: MA15+Orphan: First Kill

Directed by: William Brent Bell

Screenplay by: David Coggeshall

Story by: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Alex Mace

Based on Characters Created by: Alex Mace

Produced by: Alex Mace, Hal Sadoff, Ethan Erwin, James Tomlinson

Starring: Isabelle Fuhrman, Rossif Sutherland, Hiro Kanagawa, Matthew Finlan and Julia Stiles.

‘Welcome home, Esther.’

The prequel to, Orphan (2009), Orphan: First Kill takes the story back to Esther’s (Isabelle Fuhrman) origins, back to Estonia 2007.

But back in 2007, Esther isn’t, ‘Esther’.  She’s Leena.

Incredibly, Isabelle Furhman has returned in the same role and yes, is believable.

Many in the audience will know of Esther’s disorder, hypopituitarism where she’s essentially an in-proportion dwarf making her look like a child even though she’s an adult woman in her 30s.

As do the psychiatrists in the film, treating her in the Saarne Institute.

Opening with the same emotionless bloody violence that Esther is capable of, there’s no surprise or hiding who she really is, so the prequal is layered differently.

I wasn’t sure what concept returning story writer, Alex Mace along with original screenwriter, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick was going to come up with after the big reveal was already known – that the innocent 10-year-old girl Esther is in fact a psychotic, manipulating, murdering, adult woman.  But Mace and Johnson-McGoldrick have teamed up with new screenwriter, David Coggeshall and director, William Brent Bell (Separation, (2021), The Devil Inside (2012), The Boy (2016)) to create something, dare I say, playful.

Here, Esther manipulates her way into a wealthy American family, The Albrights.

Their family came over on the Mayflower and built this country.  They ‘mean something.’

Esther finds another man to fall in love with (Allen, (Rossif Sutherland)) while hating her new, ‘mummy,’ (Julia Stiles as Tricia is fantastic in this role) while her older brother, Gunnar (Matthew Finlan) remains suspicious of his returned little sister.

Let the manipulation and killing begin.

I was bracing for a bit boring and more of the same, but as the film progresses, I was drawn in and ended up having a lot of fun watching this new perspective of Esther.  Fun.  In a good way.

Prequel Orphan was better than expected and that’s all I’m going to give away, except to say, gotta like a wry sense of humour in a horror movie.

Fire of Love

Directed by: Sara DosaFire of Love

Written by: Shane Boris, Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput, Sara Dosa

Produced by: Shane Boris, Sara Dosa, Ina Fichman

Executive Producers: Carolyn Bernstein, Greg Baustead, ben Braun, Josh Braun, Jessica Harrop

Narrated by: Miranda July

Archive Footage: Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft.

Maurice and Katia met in 1966.

The story goes, ‘The café closes.  It begins to rain.  They will never leave each other.’

Fire of Love is a documentary about two people who found each other, who shared the same passion: volcanoes.

Maurice a geologist and Katia a chemist, both are fascinated by the same phenomena in their own unique way.  The relationship of the couple and their relationship to the volcano is the driving force of the documentary, shown with care, attention to detail, turning the footage taken by the couple, Maurice recording video, Katia always with her camera, into a poetry.

Narrated by Miranda July, the story of the lives of Katia and Maurice is told with shots from above a coffee cup, the coffee disappearing to illustrate the time when they met, the conversation, the beginning of their shared obsession.

Paper lithography of mountains growing out of the earth change the texture of the documentary and are used to show the movement of the tectonic plates beneath, along with split screen of nature shots by Katia so there’s this constant flow of imagery as the audience gets to know the couple while they document and educate the world about the volcano.

This is a beautifully crafted documentary using video footage and images captured by the volconists as they travel the world, chasing the volcanoes as they erupt.  It’s mind-blowing to see humans standing in front of such a force of nature as the heat from the centre of the earth melts rock so it spews into the sky and runs like a river, destroying everything in its path.  And there they stand, in silver suits, awe struck.  Obsessed.  Nothing could be better than being right there as a volcano erupts.

The relationship of the pair is a running thread through the doco, but it’s also about the science, their exploration and documentation of what was still a mystery.

Their passion to chase erupting volcanoes from: Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Hawaii, Zaire in Africa, Colombia in South America, Japan, was at the same time as the tectonic plates of the earth were being mapped.

They were mesmerised by the ‘red’ volcanoes as they stood before exploding showers of red rock, revelling in how small humans are in the face of such heat and power.

There’s a philosophy at play here, to understand what makes two people put themselves in danger, in front of such force, knowing that at any moment they could fall or miscalculate.

Their curiosity was stronger than their fear.

They go on the interview circuit, captivating the world with their stories of standing in front of such danger.  Maurice explaining in one interview that he didn’t want volcanoes to be categorized, going as far as saying classification is abusive.  He wanted each volcano to be seen as unique.

But after witnessing the devastation of 25 thousand lives lost after an eruption in Colombia (despite scientists warning of the potential eruption), their focus shifts from the ‘red’ volcano to the ‘grey’, named after the ash from these killer volcanoes, to better understand the danger, to try to predict an eruption to warn people, to save lives.

Fire of Love is a fascinating documentary that’s both exciting and poetic, romantic and philosophical.

A truly unique experience that I enjoyed from the start to its poignant finish.

 

Nope

Rated: MNope

Written, Produced and Directed by: Jordan Peele

Also Produced by: Ian Cooper p.g.a.

Executive Produced by: Robert Graf, Win Rosenfeld

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, Brandon Perea, Keith David.

‘What’s a bad miracle?’

Nope is the third movie Jordan Peele has directed (among many others he has written), and I had high expectations after enjoying, Get Out (2017) and Us (2019).

Peele has a certain off-kilter vision in his films that translates here, opening with a monkey on a TV set, covered in blood.

I didn’t know what I was walking into with, Nope, producer Ian Cooper explaining the intention to withhold from giving away too much away in the trailers.  All that was clear was the title, Nope, which I thought was perhaps a wry push too far but the humour here is spot on.

Cooper goes on to explain that Jordan was originally thinking of, ‘Little Green Men’ for the title, hinting at, “The idea of the quest for fame and fortune, and the quest for documenting existence of life beyond Earth,” Cooper says. “The double entendre of ‘Little Green Men’ was a way in which you could talk about dollar bills as well as talk about aliens and the unknown.”

As always with Jordan, the concept of, Nope is unique.

Inheriting the horse ranch from their father, Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith David), OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) attempt to continue the legacy as horse wranglers for film and TV.

Living on a ranch, far out in the Sant Clarita Valley in Southern California, the sky is endless, the expanse filled with clouds and something otherworldly lurking within.

The film has a western feel with OJ selling horses to child star, come cowboy-themed fair owner, Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park (Steven Yeun), crossed with the family drama of the reserved, OJ and his larger-than-life sister, Emerald – the people person of the partnership – crossed with a sci-fi with an alien creature causing electrical black-outs before sucking up whatever happens to be looking up into its guts.

The horror aspect of the film the sound of screams from the sky when the power cuts out.

It’s not an in-your-face horror here, more an unsettled feeling built with the soundtrack but also with the strangeness of the film.

It’s a confusing beginning and continues with random threads brought into the storyline that don’t always make sense in the general narrative of the film.  There is some structure with chapters named after the horses featured in the film.  But otherwise the threads are left to spool with not all coming full circle, well, not quite.

The cinematographer character, Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott) brought to the ranch to help capture what’s lurking in the sky comments, ‘That’s the dream I never wake up from.’  It sounds cool.  But doesn’t quite have enough weight in the end to stand up straight.  Again, adding to the slight disconcerting tilt to the film.

The wonder I had about the humour being pushed too far with the title, Nope was however, unfounded.  Daniel Kaluuya as the steady and reserved horse wrangler gives the word ‘nope’ a weight that just tickles.  Again, Kaluuya is well-cast and obviously a favourite of Peele’s because he brings it every single time.

All the characters in, Nope are well-cast, Angel (Brandon Perea) the Fry’s Electronics IT expert adds another layer of humour as he misses his girlfriend while ingratiating himself into the plot of the film because he’s slowly losing the plot with his life and needs to be involved.

It’s an entertaining film.  A strange slightly off-kilter film where Jordan has juxtaposed sci-fi, (some) horror, family drama and western that comes together as something funny and unique.  I just couldn’t quite get on board with the why of it.  Still, a fun ride.

The Forgiven

Rated: MA15+The Forgiven

Directed and Written by: John Michael McDonagh

Based on the Book Written by: Lawrence Osborne

Produced by: John Michael McDonagh, Elizabeth Eves, Trevor Matthews, Nick Gordon

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith, Chris Abbott, Caleb Laundry Jones.

‘Interesting in a good way?  Or interesting in a bad way?’

A speed boat takes husband and wife, David (Ralph Fiennes) and Jo Henninger (Jessica Chastain) towards the coastline of Tangier, Morocco.

It’s an unhappy interaction, Jo tapping her chin as they toss comments back and forth; well-oiled insults disguised as a battle of wits.

They’re on their way to Richard’s (Matt Smith) Moroccan indulgence – a walled castle in the middle of the Saharan desert for a weekend of partying, joined by old-school pals and others known from the, Club.

David’s been drinking all day.  He embraces the comment from Jo that he’s a highly-functioning alcoholic, commenting, the, ‘high functioning should negate the alcoholic.’

David, an English surgeon, is an abrasive, stubborn man, tolerated by his beautiful wife, a published writer of children’s books.

Drunk and lost in the dark desert, their insolent tolerance of each other is interrupted when a young boy (Omar Ghazaoui) is suddenly in the headlights of their car before he goes down.

Guests already at the party wonder what has happened to the Henningers?  As they drink and dance and revel in the beginnings of their hedonist weekend.

It’s the building tension of, The Forgiven that kept me at the edge of my seat, the film starting with red font credits, hinting of what’s to come.

There’s tension between husband and wife, David and Jo, driving in darkness, lost.  A tension in the conflict of cultures as the Moroccan staff cater to the taboo gay couple, Richard and his ‘side-piece’ Dally Margolis (Caleb Landry Jones).  Morning tea is served in rooms of naked men.  Richard is a character that understands the nature of things.  He is shameless, none-the-less.

Eventually the hosts are told of the dilemma.  A local boy is dead.  They will call the Moroccan police.  It will be OK.  No-one wants a fuss.  It was an accident.

Richard explains, you just need to be overwhelmingly contrite.

‘If it’s absolutely necessary,’ replies David.

And then the boy’s father (Ismael Kanater) arrives at the gate.

Instead of the expected black mail, the father wants David to return home with him to bury his son.

Reluctantly, David goes.

More surprising, he goes without too much fuss, no-one really knowing if he’ll come back.

And with him gone, the weekend can continue.

Based on the novel written by Lawrence Osborne, the complicated idea of this abrasive Englishman willing to leave with the nomadic father of the boy he has just killed is the beginning of the unpacking of his complicated nature.

Each character is revealed as the weekend continues with witty dialogue and silence amongst the dust and heat in contrast to the fireworks and drinking and lounging about a mirage in the desert become real.

The bourgeoise nature of the characters are honest in their debauchery, a contrast to the local Moroccans as they live with nothing but their children and fossils they dig up to sell to tourists.

And now, a father taking David back to his home to bury his only child.

The narrative is gripping in its revelation, the scenery beautiful and stark, a rose in a box of soaps can almost be smelt, the heat of the desert vibrates as David is driven to his unknown fate.

The backstory of each character has been translated into the film using the clear-eyed dialogue of its characters:

‘A woman without discretion is like a pig with a gold ring through its nose.’

‘You should open a Twitter account,’ the Moroccan staff laugh.

Like McDonagh’s previous films, greatly enjoyed and included in my, ‘If you haven’t watched, you’re in for a treat’, list: ‘The Guard (2011)’ and ‘Calvary (2014)’, The Forgiven is a quality film that will stay with you.

 

Official Competition

Rated: MOfficial Competition

Directed by: Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn

Written by: Andrés Duprat, Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn

Starring: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas & Oscar Martínez.

Viewed in Spanish with English subtitles.

‘What a wanker.’

It’s Humberto’s (José Luis Gómez) 80th birthday.  His life summed up in the presents laid out before him: a massage chair, a Virgin Mary under a glass dome, a rifle set in its casing.  A painting of a sad clown.

He’s a millionaire who feels like he has money but no prestige.

He wants to be remembered, differently.

He decides he wants to build a bridge.  Or a movie.  Yes, fund a movie.  A good one.  Only the best.

Enter award winning director, Lola Cuevas (Penélope Cruz).

Humberto buys the rights of a Nobel Prize winning novel to base this, only-the-best movie on, and having failed to read it, he asks Lola what it’s about.

She explains its about a rivalry between two brothers.  She has the two actors in mind to build on that rivalry for the film:

Iván Torres (Oscar Martínez): a teacher, an academic, an actor of integrity and respect.

And, Félix Rivero (Antonio Banderas): popular, multi-award winning and arriving at rehearsal in a Lamborghini pashing his latest.

Let the butting of egos begin.

Official Competition is a movie about making a movie, most of the set in an expansive, minimalist house as Lola pulls the actors into the minds of their characters.

Kinda sounds boring, but it’s brilliant watching the techniques used to get the ego’s of these two actors into a place so Lola gets the tone she needs for each scene.

‘I want the truth,’ she demands.

Have to say, Penélope Cruz as Lola looks amazing as the sensitive, brilliant and dedicated director, Lola.  She is the wild, red curly-haired, sensitive and very aware puppeteer.

The film is about how very different these two actors she’s chosen to play the parts as brothers, are; to then realise, they’re as vain as each other.

Iván at one point is seen to be accepting a pretend Academy Award in the mirror, after denying he’d ever lower himself to the popularist farce, and of course not speaking anything but Spanish, to announce in his pretend speech that he was only attending the ceremony to formally reject the award.

Meanwhile, Lola looks incredulously at an online video of Félix making a plea to save the pink dolphin.

I just kept bursting out laughing.

It’s hilarious, all set to Lola’s tricks, using big screens in the background of monologues, rocks suspended over their heads during rehearsal, the sound of kissing while surrounded by microphones, a meat grinder used to signify transition but also showing the edge of Lola’s destruction.

Even Iván’s wife, Violeta (Pilar Castro) an academic hipster who’s written a children’s book is shown as vain as Iván shares a new piece of discordant music where she comments on the brilliance of the tribal drumming.  But no, that’s just next door banging on the wall, again.

This is one of those quietly clever films that seems like it’s not about much but then gives you a tickle when the cleverness of a layer reveals itself.

The whole film’s about ego so in the end the film finishes with a forced clever ending with an ego all of its own.

Great acting, unique and clever story and a good laugh.

The Black Phone

Rated: MA15+The Black Phone

Directed by: Scott Derrickson

Screenplay Written by: Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill

Based on the Short Story by: Joe Hill

Produced by: Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill

Executive Produced by: Ryan Turek, Christopher H. Warner

Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, James Ransone and Ethan Hawke.

‘Would you like to see a magic trick?’

It’s 1978.  Finney Shaw (Mason Thames) is pitching a baseball, trying to impress a girl.

With two strikes, he almost does it.

He lives with his dad (Jeremy Davies) and little sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw).

Their dad drinks.  Finny and Gwen are tense.

Kids in town are going missing.  And they all know why.  It’s the Grabber (Ethan Hawke).  He’s taking them.

What drew me into this film was how cool the kids are – this is a movie about them; a crime, supernatural horror where kids are being kidnapped and a black phone that’s dead but still ringing.

The film is based on the short story written by, Joe Hill, Stephen King’s son and a great horror writer in his own right, see, 20th Century Ghosts (2005), short fiction piece, Best New Horror – a unique voice that’s haunting and has a punk horror feel about it.  There’s also the novel, Heart Shaped Box (2007) and others worth checking out.  Yes, I’m a fan with signed copies.

Adapted for the screen by director Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill (Sinister (2012), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) and Doctor Strange (2016)), it’s like there’s a window into what it’s like growing up in a small town in Denver: bullies, parents, crushes.  Serial Killers.

Gwen as the little sister is hilarious with her little skips of excitement and comments like, ‘Dumb fucking fart knockers.’

Not only is she a fire-cracker, she has a gift.  Her dreams show her things she’s not supposed to know, like, The Grabber has black balloons.

So when her brother’s taken, she prays to God for her dreams to show her where he’s been taken.  And desperate, the cops listen because no-one else knows about those black balloons.

The suspense is built by slowing the shots, the words silent, the sound of sinister amplifying the quiet to give a moment to feel, to then screech a sudden shot to a dead kid, to get the heart pumping.  There’re some jumps here, layered over the suspense so, The Black Phone creates a suspense thriller without the gore.

There’s a lot of thought here from director Scott Derrickson with cuts back and forth when Finney realises he’s trapped in basement, where no-one will ever hear him scream.

There’s good use of objects from the creepy mask of the killer to create an other-worldly monster, the toy rocket ship like a talisman, the crack in the wall of the prison like a bleeding cut.  And of course, the black telephone.  The ringing built in the soundtrack like the sound of a saviour.

There’s a careful stepping as each piece of the story come together, each given space and care and more thought than I expected.  And there’s restraint to let the performances of the characters become the focus.

Where do they find these kid actors?!

And there’s good support from Jeremy Davies as the dad and ‘night-night naughty boy’ Ethan Hawke suitably creepy as, The Grabber.

A better than expected suspense, supernatural thriller with thoughtful pacing set to a 70s vibe.

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