Shirley
At this point, it’s just frustrating how good Elisabeth Moss is. Her intensity, her frenzy, her measured, penetrating gaze. It’s no surprise that her portrayal of writer Shirley Jackson elevates the already stellar script from Sarah Gubbins, but it’s still vexingly impressive. Josephine Decker, a filmmaker experienced with pulling incredible performances from her collaborators, knows how to utilize and unleash Moss, and here she provides a chilling platform to demonstrate why the actress is one of the best working today.
The film centers on Shirley and her husband Stanley (Michael Stuhlbarg, as good as ever) as they play host to a young academic (Logan Lerman) and his wife, Rose (Odessa Young). It’s all very Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? but with an edge and an awareness that prevents Shirley from coming across as derivative.
Decker’s soundscape is pitch-perfect. Every creak, every click of a typewriter, and every clink of a glass, they’re all brilliantly in tune with one another. All in service of a truly unsettling feeling that hangs over the film like a dense fog while the score ticks like a metronome, anticipatory and maddening. Her handheld camerawork is at once enveloping and ostracizing. We first meet Shirley as she’s framed between two bodies crowded around her, her face dipping in and out of visibility as the camera sways. We’re invading her space, and we know it. Too bad we can’t dare look away. (Anna Swanson)
Swallow
One of the best movies of this year is all about swallowing objects such as tacks, marbles, and batteries. But in Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ Swallow, there is more than just the shock factor of Hunter (played by the stunning Haley Bennett) ingesting these items. It is instead a meditation on control over the female body and Hunter’s attempts to regain that control.
Hunter is a young woman who has married into an extremely wealthy family. Her husband, Richie (Austin Stowell), demands everything to be just so, from the pleats on his shirts to the colors of their walls. He dominates the meek Hunter, who just wants to please him. Then she discovers she is pregnant. Her body becomes property, seen as merely a vessel for Richie’s heir. With this news comes her need to swallow non-nutritious items, a compulsion called pica that is often associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In her compulsion, Hunter seeks the control she desperately craves; she is finally doing something solely for herself, a secret that is her own.
As Hunter’s compulsive behaviors progress, she reveals a traumatic past where she has never been good enough for those around her. The story, which could so easily fall into exploitation, is instead emotional and contemplative, viewing Hunter with a sympathetic and caring gaze. It is one of the best onscreen representations of OCD and portrays it as more than just the butt of a joke; it is all about trying to regain control over whatever means the mind deems necessary. (Mary Beth McAndrews)
True History of the Kelly Gang
Some of the best biographical films avoid the usual criticisms about authenticity by intentionally including blatant anachronisms and wildly exaggerating real or believed events. The story of Ned Kelly and his gang of outlaws — already straight-told cinematically as the earliest feature-length film back in 1906 and in many other movies since — is one of the more appropriately played with because Kelly is such a legendary figure. He’s like Robin Hood and deserves to one day be the subject of a Disney animated film in which he’s played by a fox.
Until then, True History of the Kelly Gang will more than suffice. The fictionalized take is particularly memorable for its scene-stealing performance by Nicholas Hoult, who is only bested as a supporting element by his own sock garters. And no action movie this year (never mind how few of those we are actually getting in 2020) will beat the climactic shootout found here. Kelly himself would be very proud. Wait, is that true? Who cares. (Christopher Campbell)
The Vast of Night
A telephone operator and a radio DJ connect in a small town when a mysterious signal catches their attention. The synopsis seems simple enough, but this ingenious little blend of science fiction, mystery, and nostalgia wraps an intriguing tale with the atmosphere and air of a radio play. It’s an impressive feat made that much more thrilling through charismatic performances, memorable cinematography, and overwhelming confidence. It’s not often you can say a film plays like nothing else around, but this little beauty is that rare example. (Rob Hunter)
Villain
Craig Fairbrass is the type of actor who believes that it’s better to be typecast than not cast at all. This down-to-earth mentality has made him one of the top actors in the world of British crime dramas, and he’s doing quite well for himself. However, it also means that some viewers and critics will dismiss a movie like Villain without giving it a chance. They’ll assume that it’s just another cockney gangster movie like the gazillions of others that go straight to DVD and sold in supermarkets. They’re wrong.
Villain has more on its mind than tough geezers getting up to no good, although that does happen at times. In the film, Fairbrass plays a former gangster who gets released from the knick with the aim of living the good life. But his younger brother owes some bad people a lot of money, and it doesn’t take long until the life of crime starts beckoning him again. That’s a standard crime story plot, but Villain is a movie that’s more concerned with human drama than gangster bravado.
While Fairbrass does take the hammer to some dodgy people, the moments when his character tries to reconnect with his daughter and become a better person stand out the most. Fairbrass’s performance is also a career-best, as the actor leans into a vulnerable side of his persona that he doesn’t often showcase in movies. Rise of the Footsoldier, this is not. Give Villain a chance, and prepare to be pleasantly surprised. (Kieran Fisher).
Related Topics: Mid-Year Report
