After many, many (many) previews, Speak No Evil finally finds its way to theaters this week, but there are other films to speak of as well. This set of write-ups includes a courtroom horror film, a family drama, a coming-of-age story with a twist, a black comedy biopic, a drama focused on a Haitian family, and a biographical sports pseudo-documentary. The following features reviews for Red Rooms, His Three Daughters, My Old Ass, Winner, Mountains, and The Featherweight.
Red Rooms: 8 out of 10
The Setup: Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy) is obsessed with the high-profile case of a serial killer and reality blurs with her morbid fantasies. She goes down a dark path to get the missing video of the murder of a young girl to whom Kelly-Anne bears a disturbing resemblance.
Review: Working in a manner suggesting Anatomy of a Fall but through the lens of a horror film while not operating in a manner reliant on any visual form of violence or gore, Red Rooms does know how to unsettle its audience. Writer/director Pascal Plante has delivered a psychological thriller fit for the digital age, letting the main character function as a modern woman with an obsession that is grappled with through various online means in addition to her physical actions. In handling this, Gariépy delivers a terrific performance by letting the audience be compelled by her choices, which include an entirely inscrutable series of facial expressions.
While the film opens up enough to have us understand what’s taking place in this courtroom, there is a real skill in creating a variety of emotions stemming from a lead performance that is bent on masking any sense of emotion. Still, that doesn’t prevent Red Rooms from getting under one’s skin. It’s a deliberately paced feature that doesn’t fit into a more traditional mold of horror, but there’s a tremendous amount of effort in building around some seemingly simple ideas and using it as a way to comment on society, the grip murder-themed content has on audiences, and other intriguing angles.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters.
His Three Daughters: 8 out of 10
The Setup: Three distant sisters (Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olsen) reunite in NYC to care for their sick father. Tensions rise as they confront past issues, aiming to heal family bonds amid laughter and tears.
Review: Director/writer Azazel Jacobs has focused on small-scale character stories, some more humorous than others. His Three Daughters is another excellent example of what he’s capable of. Putting plenty of shine on his abilities as an actors’ director, Jacobs gets a trio of great performances from Coon, Lyonne, and Olsen, with some extra touches from Jovan Adepo and Jay O. Sanders as well. Primarily set in one location, a New York apartment, so much of this film relies on how to play into the varying dynamics of these sisters, and thanks to a deft hand when it comes to balancing just how far to take things, the film plays out quite effectively.
There are attitudes on display that can undoubtedly run an audience through an emotional gauntlet, knowing the circumstances. Still, it works as a strong showcase for these leads and how they can bring their efforts to characters that waver regarding how likable they choose to make themselves. With that said, it should hardly matter to begin with, as so much of this film is rooted in a level of reality to better deal with how family tragedy, grief, and more bring out certain emotions and understandings. Furthermore, the build this film has to a conclusion that leads to sequences that could have been made to be as heartbreaking as possible, instead, finds a profound approach to what needs to be done to conclude this compelling, minimalist feature.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters and available on Netflix starting September 20, 2024.
My Old Ass: 7 out of 10
The Setup: An 18th-birthday mushroom trip brings Elliott (Maisy Stella) face-to-face with her wisecracking 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza). When the older Elliott starts handing out warnings about what her younger self should and shouldn’t do, she realizes she has to rethink everything about family, love, and what’s becoming a transformative summer.
Review: It’s unfortunate that MGM couldn’t find a place to release this film during the middle of the season, as it plays pretty well as a summer hang-out movie. Sure, there’s a plot that sets up some forward momentum when our lead character’s older self begins providing some important information. For the most part, however, so much of what works about this film comes from how natural Stella is when it comes to scenes where she spends time with her friends, family, and Plaza’s older version of her. It’s compelling enough for the audience to hardly feel the need to question how little the two performers look like each other at different times in their lives.
Writer/director Megan Park invests the attitude of this film with enough sardonic and witty humor to go along with the broader moments. The emotional heft that comes with one’s way of coming to terms with how the reality they live in is bound to shift and take new form (which is a way of justifying the different looks) is strong enough to allow the film to work as more than just a high concept comedy. With very little fat on the film, despite an effort to focus on downtime, My Old Ass is sharp enough to stay away from going too deep on its fantastical element. At the same time, is there more that could have been done to expand some aspects of the family dynamic? Perhaps. However, this is a winning comedy that should resonate in the right sort of way with audiences.
Where To Watch: Opening in select theaters on September 13, 2024, and wider release on September 27.
Winner: 5 out of 10
The Setup: A brilliant young misfit from Texas, Reality Winner (Emilia Jones) finds her morals challenged while serving in the U.S. Air Force and working as an NSA contractor.
Review: Here’s a film that serves as an excellent case for why the “all-in” approach to biopics can be a crutch when far greater ways of examining a topic can be explored. Reality Winner can be seen as an interesting case that explores how one interprets patriotism, a conviction in one’s beliefs, and how to deal with matters of fact. The problem with this film is that while director Susanna Fogel and writer Kerry Howley attempt to put this into a larger, somewhat humorous context surrounding the Winner’s life leading up to choices that led her to jail, 2023’s Reality starring Sydney Sweeney already found a stronger way to approach this story. Based on a stage play, it adapts a critical point in Winner’s life by using the actual transcript from the event to great effect.
That’s not to say two films covering the same topic can’t exist, but I can’t help but think this take on Reality pales in comparison. Sure, Jones is quite good in her no-nonsense portrayal. There’s also fine supporting work from Connie Britton, Zach Galifianakis, and Kathryn Newton, but that only matters so much in a film that’s not adding much to the conversation. Winner serves as a more mainstream approach to essentially informing an audience that a real person leaked data surrounding how much the U.S. knew about the actual attempts by Russia to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election. What it lacks is more of a reason to exist beyond being able to point fingers while providing moderate entertainment.
Where To Watch: Opening in select theaters on September 13, 2024.
Mountains: 8 out of 10
The Setup: A Haitian demolition worker (Atibon Nazaire) faces the realities of redevelopment as he is tasked with dismantling his rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
Review: Haitian-American filmmaker Monica Sorelle has put together a feature that may not speak to her exact upbringing but certainly reflects personal experience. The way Mountains speaks to a particular culture yet plays as a relatable family drama is the kind of thing I find immensely rewarding. It tasks the audience with finding common ground with something less familiar yet immediately fitted within a dynamic that must resemble something one can relate to. In the case of this film, Nazaire provides terrific work as Xavier, a husband and father who is conservative in nature when it comes to his understanding of how the world works and what to expect. And yet, I believe in how he conducts himself and treats those around him. That includes his wife, Esperance (Shiela Anozier), who dreams of moving into a nicer home, and his son, Junior (Chris Renois), who aspires to be a professional comedian.
Tying all of this into a neighborhood undergoing gentrification, which Xavier has a direct hand in as part of his work, is skillfully handled as well. It’s not exactly a subtle theme, but it doesn’t feel like an intrusive element of the story. Instead, as parts of this area are torn down, the characters we follow are given the time to consider what they had, what they could have, and how to recognize that their challenges may be frequent but not always limiting.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters.
The Featherweight: 7 out of 10
The Setup: In 1964, a camera crew follows retired featherweight boxing champion Willie Pep (James Madio). Down and out in Hartford, Conn., married to a woman half his age (Ruby Wolf) and facing mounting debts, Pep decides to return to the ring.
Review: This was a fun surprise. As a whole, there’s only so much one can do with this kind of biopic. Still, because of director Robert Kolodny’s handling of the film, it managed to go the extra mile and deliver something unique for the genre. Boxer Willie Pep has some wild real-life stats regarding his boxing record, and this heightened approach to the later years of his athletic career achieves compelling results. Sure, one has to get used to the idea of a 1964 documentary looking like this film does (the low budget is stretched to its limit, but the overall aesthetic is solid). However, once onboard with the conceptual approach to this story, there’s a lot to admire in the attempt to achieve a level of honesty regarding this version of Pep.
Madio delivers a strong performance, not letting vanity get in the way of being a very insecure human wanting to prove himself. Solid work is also shown from newcomer Ruby Wolf as his much younger wife, and Keir Gilchrist as a troubled son. Having pros Stephen Lang, Ron Livingston, and Lawarence Gilliard Jr. step into the ring, so to speak, also does well in better rounding out this movie. However, thanks to some solid know-how when it comes to the idea that a camera crew is capturing all of this in real-time, there’s a lot to admire about the way this film is bound to inform an audience about a real person by way of a fake doc pushing a pseudo narrative. That it may or may not line up with at least an idea of how the real Pep was is beside the point, which also plays into how one can shape one’s legacy. Not quite a K.O., but it’s a good match.
Where To Watch: Opening in select New York and Connecticut theaters starting September 20, 2024, and in Los Angeles on September 27.
