IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE? is a cry for solidarity outside the bounds of what society considers normal. Filmmaker Ella Glendining is as exacting and rigorous with her assumptions as she is in challenging others, encouraging an empathetic reflection as the film’s ending scenes roll.
A competent, intriguing drama like this gaining award traction feels more symptomatic of it being the kind of good film that is now a rare occurrence within the film zeitgeist, rather than one that feels like it will be remembered after the award cycle.
The title of EVIL DOES NOT EXIST initially implies a sense of virtue, an optimistic hope that the world isn’t as fatally flawed as our experience would make us believe, but Ryusuke Hamaguchi slowly and surely maps out the different layers of the local community that are a microcosm of our larger society.
FOE feels lethargic rather than slow-burn, a throwback rather than progressive and misjudged in too many key aspects, and its disservice to Ronan and Mescal is unfortunate. It’s left to the audience to determine who the foe of the title might be, but on the evidence presented, the strongest candidate would seem to be the script.
SHORTCOMINGS is a title that almost invites criticism, but this easygoing look at relationship difficulties has more strengths than weaknesses. It doesn’t default to feelgood safety, and has flawed characters that don’t undergo magic transformations.
With THE ROYAL HOTEL, Kitty Green has once again shown that she can strike a perfectly pitched tone, knowing exactly how she wants to escalate tension, whether it be from female powerlessness at the hands of predatory executives or the roaring, blistering diatribe spat from the drunk mouth of an average man.
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON achieves a delicate balance and underscores the dysfunction of America as a result of the pursuit of wealth; the warping of ambition into exploitation, ingenuity into criminality, and dreams into delusions.
HOARD has some elements which could be tidied up. Still, the sum of this precarious pile of performances, imagery, and characters is a film of deep-rooted emotion and a beautiful mess by design.
PENAL CORDILLERA delivers on its intriguing premise with a close examination of the characters of arrogant, formerly powerful men.
SALTBURN ends up feeling like an aristocratic British estate. Superficially, it looks wonderful, but the deeper you get, the more you see the cracks and how much this symbolic edifice is crumbling away with nothing meaningful to hold it up.
