Critique OCTOBER 2018 : ISSUE 89
Film The Old Man and the Gun Dir: David Lowery Robert Redford takes on the role of real life American career criminal Forrest Tucker AT BEST: “It would require a true curmudgeon to not derive pleasure from Redford’s twinkling performance, radiating smoothness, wisdom and charm.” The Guardian AT WORST: “If Redford really is done, this is a perfect way for him to say goodbye.” ScreenCrush
Suspiria AIR
Dir: Luca Guadagnino Life at a happy dance company takes a turn for the worse, when horror consumes the artistic director and an ambitious young dancer AT BEST: “A film of rare and unfettered madness... leaves behind a scalding message that’s written in pain and blood.” indieWire AT WORST: “A breathtaking achievement in hollow, know-somethingish sensationalism that fully deserves to be called ‘pretentious’.” RogerEbert.com
The Hate U Give A drama centred on Starr Carter, who switches between two worlds: the poor, mostly black neighbourhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends AT BEST: “Entertaining, enraging, and ultimately deeply moving, it is poised to be a hit, and deserves to be.” Variety AT WORST: “Is wholesome and heartbreaking. It’s visceral and at the same time makes so much sense.” Black Girl Nerds
Free Solo Dirs: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chinz An unflinching portrait of free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he climbs the 3,000ft El Capitan (without a rope) AT BEST: “Is so absorbing because it strives for even a tenuous grip on the balance between love and need.” indieWire AT WORST: “[It] brings up some knotty questions. Is Honnold an unfeeling monster for doing this to the ones he loves? Is all this death-defying in some ways an act of cruelty?” Vanity Fair 20
Images: Fox Searchlight; Amazon Studios; 20 th Century Fox; National Geographic Documentary Films
Dir: George Tillman Jr.
