It was a busy first week at the Cannes Film Festival, although some would say that most of the films that have premiered this year have been met with mixed-negative reviews so far, leading some critics and bloggers to pronounce the fest a bit underwhelming. Still, there are a few standouts to take a look at. I'll be back in a few days with more of the smaller movies, but for now here are three of the most talked about films on the circuit:
MR. TURNER- Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville. Dir. Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh's epic biopic about the life of J.M.W. Turner was the first raved about film to premiere at Cannes, garnering nearly unanimous acclaim for both the film and its star, often overlooked character actor Timothy Spall. This would seem to be a surefire Oscar contender much later in the year when it's released in the U.S. (not until December 19th), but it will have to hang on a good long while, waiting for other movies are to come out and perhaps ceding its chance to become the critics' darling (although support from British critics seems guaranteed). Apparently it's also a bit reserved, which is Mike Leigh's unique style, and as such will always have some naysayers- but since I'm someone who hasn't disliked a single film of Leigh's, to me it sounds amazing:
Timothy Spall brings the artist to life
"Mike Leigh's biopic of JMW Turner is a rambling, richly detailed character study with a magnificent central performance from Timothy Spall." (The Independent)
"'Mr. Turner' feels like a perfect summation of Leigh's career. Bold, beautiful and a little cranky." (VF)
"It's funny and visually immaculate; it combines domestic intimacy with an epic sweep and has a lyrical, mysterious quality that perfumes every scene, whether tragic or comic." (Guardian)
"Leigh has made another highly personal study of art, commerce and the glacial progress of establishment tastes, built around a lead performance from longtime Leigh collaborator Timothy Spall that's as majestic as one of Turner's own swirling sunsets." (Variety)
MAPS TO THE STARS- Julianne Moore (above), Mia Wasikowska. Dir. David Cronenberg
Like Mike Leigh, David Cronenberg is another auteur with a signature style that lends almost all his movies an air of divisiveness, and Maps to the Stars is no exception. This film proved bitterly divisive at Cannes, with some largely in favor of it while others proclaim it doesn't work at all. A twisted Hollywood satire starring Julianne Moore, who's said to give a bold and raw performance as a desperate, aging movie star, this will probably come nowhere near awards, as dissecting Hollywood in a negative way has never been the Academy's cup of tea. But it may turn out to be a favorite among some critics. As of now, the reaction is a little too mixed to predict where this one might land, but a Cronenberg film is always interesting nonetheless.
"This Canadian-German co-production looks sharp but, in the end, comes off like a prank more than a coherent take on 21st century Hollywood, even if there are crumbs of truth and wit scattered throughout it." (Hollywood Reporter)
"Cronenberg locates a deeply sick spirit in his take and explores it through far-fetched fiction told with deadly seriousness, also adding a dose of baroque to proceedings and a streak of wicked humour." (Time Out)
Julianne slays on the red carpet
"There's so much in this seething cauldron of a film, so many film-industry neuroses exposed and horrors nested within horrors, that one viewing is too much, and not nearly enough. Cronenberg has made a film that you want to unsee- and then see and unsee again." (Daily Telegraph)
"Casting isn't nearly as big a problem as the feeling that most of (screenwriter) Wagner's criticisms were hatched in the early '90s, in a pre-smartphone era, before the Internet got nasty and back when the line 'Harvey's Harvey' would have packed a lot more punch." (Variety)
FOXCATCHER- Steve Carell (above), Channing Tatum. Dir. Bennett Miller
The other heavyweight contender to emerge from the first week of Cannes was Foxcatcher, which entered the festival as a predicted heavy hitter and seemed to deliver, making it the third highly acclaimed feature in a row for director Bennett Miller. Performances were praised as well as direction and scope of the movie's themes, and most seem to think Steve Carell is a lock for an Oscar nomination for his mesmerizing turn as the murderous psychopath John Du Pont, although it hasn't been decided whether he'll be placed in the lead or supporting category. Believe it or not, based on the early word, even Channing Tatum has a chance to get Oscar attention for this (although that's probably an uphill battle) along with Mark Ruffalo, who's been there before, and it's going to be a likely candidate for Picture, Director, Screenplay and other tech nods as well. It does sound extremely dark and disturbing though, more along the lines of Capote in terms of an unsettling character study, so I wouldn't think this would be major hit with audiences. And comparisons to The Master are a little troubling as well in terms of awards prospects- although critically raved about, that movie was extremely divisive and inaccessible, managing to land nods only for its actors in the end. But I guess we'll see:
Tatum and Ruffalo spark Oscar buzz
"A film to be considered along with David Fincher's 'The Social Network,' and Paul Thomas Anderson's 'The Master' as a swirling, smoke-black parable of modern America." (Daily Telegraph)
"We're left with an acrid, anguished commentary on the temptations of wealth, the abuse of power and the downside of the human drive for success, as a picture that, in setting a cold-blooded account of a true crime in the world of competitive sports, retains a faint, narrative kinship with both 'Capote' and 'Moneyball.'" (Variety)
Channing Tatum at the 'Foxcatcher' photo call
"Centered on an astonishing and utterly unexpected serious turn by Steve Carell, this beautifully modulated work has a great deal on its mind about America's privileged class, usurious relationships, men's ways of proving themselves, brotherly bonds and how deeply sublimated urges can assert themselves in the most unsavory ways." (Hollywood Reporter)
"Channing Tatum's Mark is vulnerable and sad; Mark Ruffalo's Dave is smart and professional; and Steve Carell's Du Pont is a compelling monster- but a monster who inspires not fear but pity." (Guardian)
