Reviews & features: Gail Tolley
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- Gail Tolley
Cannes 2012: On the Road
25 May 2012
Walter Salles’ adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s classic novel struggles to capture a sense of the times
If, for two and a half hours, you can put aside the fact that Walter Salles’ (Central Station, The Motorcycle Diaries) latest work is an adaptation of one of the most famous, influential books in recent American history, you might just enjoy this…
Cannes 2012: The Paperboy
25 May 2012
Lee Daniels’ plot hole-ridden latest film is still a compelling, if occasionally ludicrous, ride
Lee Daniels follows up his sleeper hit Precious with an enjoyably trashy, if often misguided, story based on the book by Pete Dexter. It’s 1969 and journalist Ward (Matthew McConaughey) returns to his hometown of Lately, Florida to investigate what…
Cannes 2012: Killing Them Softly
24 May 2012
Andrew Dominik’s stylish gangster film is visually impressive if occasionally lacking momentum
Killing Them Softly, Andrew Dominik’s third film following Chopper and The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford, is a bleakly humourous gangster flick with an underlying commentary on modern day moral bankruptcy. It begins with…
Cannes 2012: Trashed
24 May 2012
British documentary about waste pollution could have done with burrowing deeper
Watching British documentary Trashed it’s curious to think who the filmmakers imagined their audience to be. Exploring the impact and problems of waste disposal, the film barely scrapes the surface of its subject matter, giving the air of a dry…
Two Years at Sea
4 May 2012
Meditative documentary about recluse Jake Williams, from British artist Ben Rivers
Artist and filmmaker Ben Rivers’ debut feature film, Two Years At Sea is a handsome and meditative documentary about Jake Williams, a man living an isolated existence in northern Scotland. Shot on textured 16mm black and white film, Rivers captures…
Cannes Film Festival 2012 line-up revealed
20 Apr 2012
Highlights include Cosmopolis, On the Road, The Paperboy and The Angels' Share
Cannes Film Festival has never been short on big names but this year’s event looks set to be positively swimming with stars after it unveiled a competition brimming with famous faces and with a heavy representation of American cinema. Of the 21 films…
North Sea Texas
18 Apr 2012
Sensitive performances fail to make this predictable coming of age story engaging
(15) 98 mins Given how difficult we’re lead to believe it is to get an independent film distributed in cinemas in the UK, you’d be forgiven for wondering why some of those that do reach our screens seem so familiar. North Sea Texas, the story of…
This is Not A Film
12 Apr 2012
A snapshot into the life of embattled Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi
(U) 75mins This is Not a Film shows us the world of acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi - currently under house arrest in Tehran and facing a 6 year prison sentence and 20 year ban on filmmaking - all for planning to make a film that was deemed…
Bonsai
10 Apr 2012
A likeable drama about past love and missed opportunities
There’s much to like in this gentle drama about young love and missed opportunities but Chilean feature Bonsái feels a little too familiar to make a lasting impact. Julio (Diego Noguera) is an aspiring writer, working in a bookshop by day and…
GFF 2012: 85A, Wrinkles and Death Watch
1 Mar 2012
Some darker but inspiring fare concludes this year’s Glasgow Film Festival
Czech animator Jan Svankmajer has made some strange films and nowhere is his wild imagination and unbridled creativity seen more vividly than in his many short films (26 in total!). In these works Svankmajer’s dark surrealism takes the form of biscuits…
The Kid with a Bike
28 Feb 2012
Naturalistic storytelling from the Dardenne brothers, starring Cecile de France and Thomas Doret
(12A) 87min The Dardenne brothers’ latest film is one of their very best – the story of the relationship between a young boy Cyril (Thomas Doret), recently taken into foster care, and local hairdresser Samantha (Cecile de France). The two meet by…
Khodorkovsky
28 Feb 2012
Disjointed but nonetheless absorbing study of the Russian criminal oligarch
(12) 112min A detailed and absorbing documentary on Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky which looks at the rise and fall of the businessman amid the bigger picture of the country’s relationship with capitalism. Following a public conflict with…
Coriolanus
5 Jan 2012
Ralph Fiennes proves as adept behind the camera as in front of it in this Shakespeare adaptation
(15) 123min Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut is a powerful reimagining of the Shakespearean tragedy and is a resonant story about leadership, politics and power. Acting as well as directing, Fiennes stars as the central character, the eponymous…
A Separation (Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin)
21 Jun 2011
Award-winning Iranian film is skilfully crafted, intelligent and considered
(PG) 122min A Separation begins with the event of its title: Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) sit in front of a local judge debating their decision to get a divorce. Simin wants to move abroad, where she feels their daughter, Termeh…
Profile: Asghar Farhadi - Director of A Separation
17 Jun 2011
Story of couple who split up over decision to leave Iran
Name Asghar Farhadi Born Isfahan, Iran, 1972 Background Farhadi embarked on filmmaking while still at school, where he made Super 8 and 16mm films as part of the Iranian Young Cinema Society. He went on to graduate from Tehran University…
Profile: Sue Bourne - director of Irish dance documentary Jig
26 May 2011
Director's cinema debut profiles World Irish Dancing Championships
Born London, then moved to Ayr, Scotland at one year old. Background Bourne is an award-winning documentary maker who has made her name producing and directing work that sheds new light on familiar subject matter. Her films include My Street…
Profile: Gregg Araki - director of Kaboom
23 May 2011
A wild, sex-filled ride heavily influenced by the B-movie genre
Name Gregg Araki Born 17 December 1959, Los Angeles Background Araki came to prominence in the 1990s as one of the leading figures in what was labelled New Queer Cinema (a collection of films by directors including Derek Jarman and Todd Haynes…
Kaboom
23 May 2011
Cult director Gregg Araki returns to his B-movie roots with comedy-sci-fi-horror
(15) 86min Cult director Gregg Araki (The Living End, Mysterious Skin), one of the leading figures in the New Queer Cinema of the 90s, returns to the style of his earlier work for Kaboom, a gloriously trashy, insane ride of a film that wears its…
Countdown to Zero
23 May 2011
Documentary highlights the problems with nuclear weapons, but proposes no solutions
Following the success of last year’s Oscar-nominated Waste Land, British filmmaker Lucy Walker returns with a persuasive argument for nuclear disarmament in her latest documentary, Countdown to Zero. Featuring a range of high-profile talking heads…
Xavier Dolan returns with Heartbeats
20 Apr 2011
The film marries humour with Nouvelle Vague cool, and stars Monia Chokri and Niels Schneider
(15) 100min Xavier Dolan caused a stir two years ago when his assured debut feature, I Killed My Mother, won a string of awards at Cannes. The young director from Montreal was only 20 years old. If that wasn’t impressive enough he returned to the…
Le Quattro Volte
20 Apr 2011
A warm recreation of rural village life in Calabria, Italy
(tbc) 100min Le Quattro Volte is a difficult film to define, part human drama part anthropological study, it explores the interconnectedness of life in a hilltop village in Calabria, Italy. The film loosely links together four narratives: the…
Love Like Poison
20 Apr 2011
Tender coming-of-age film starring Clara Augarde, Michel Galabru and Lio
(15) 85min You’d be hard pushed to find a more honest and tender portrayal of early adolescence than first time director Katell Quillévéré’s coming of age film Love Like Poison. Anna (Clara Augarde) has come home from boarding school for the…
Profile: Ken Wardrop, director of documentary His & Hers
10 Mar 2011
Irish director paints collective picture of woman in Irish Midlands
Wardrop grew up in a farming community in rural Ireland. After a stint working in London he enrolled at the National Film School, Dublin where he graduated in 2004 specialising in creative documentary making. His graduating short film, Undressing My…
The Wire's Idris Elba stars in Glasgow-shot thriller Legacy
10 Mar 2011
Elba turns in strong performance, but undermined by muddled plotting
(15) 114min One of the most interesting things about Legacy lies in its production: whilst the story is set almost entirely in New York the whole film was shot in Glasgow. Local film company Black Camel Pictures persuaded director Thomas Ikimi to…
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger
10 Mar 2011
Woody Allen's London-set comedy lacks vitality
(12A) 98min Sally (Naomi Watts) is frustrated with her marriage to failed writer Roy (Josh Brolin) and is struggling to understand her mother Helena (Gemma Jones) who has turned to a fortune teller to guide her through her break up with husband Alfie…
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