THE WACKY sometimes works on screen. Just think of films such as “Edward Scissorhands” or quirky shows like “Widow’s Bay”, the biggest winner at this year’s Emmy Awards. Our list of recommendations this week spans the offbeat and ostentatious. There is an absurd slasher flick, a look at the making of a lavish costume drama and a delightful yarn about a man made of wicker. Unfortunately, one new film is disappointing, in part because it prizes eccentricity over emotion.
THE WACKY sometimes works on screen. Just think of films such as “Edward Scissorhands” or quirky shows like “Widow’s Bay”, the biggest winner at this year’s Emmy Awards. Our list of recommendations this week spans the offbeat and ostentatious. There is an absurd slasher flick, a look at the making of a lavish costume drama and a delightful yarn about a man made of wicker. Unfortunately, one new film is disappointing, in part because it prizes eccentricity over emotion.
“Crystal Lake” (on Peacock and Sky)“You may only see it once, but that will be enough,” was the slogan of “Friday the 13th”, a slasher film from 1980. This prequel series has the same over-the-top style. Linda Cardellini plays a mother who becomes a monster as she searches for her son who supposedly drowned at summer camp. The show is messy, both in its gore and outlandish plot. But it has an eccentric charm that will appeal to fans of horror films or anyone looking for something eerie to watch this Halloween.
“Making Marie Antoinette” (in cinemas in America and Britain) This documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at “Marie Antoinette”, Sofia Coppola’s Oscar-winning film of 2006. Directed by Sofia’s mother, Eleanor Coppola, this film contrasts the pomp of a period drama with the quotidian aspects of life on set (pictured below). The cast and crew, filming in the Palace of Versailles near Paris, loiter in gilded rooms. Ugg boots poke out from under flamboyant period costumes; elaborate jewels are hidden by bathrobes between takes. Seen through her mother’s lens, Sofia seems “a little tired” during filming. But, unlike her subject, she doesn’t lose her head.
“Wicker” (in cinemas in America and from October 30th in Britain)Most of the residents in a medieval seaside village treat the lonely fisherwoman (Olivia Colman, top right) as a “basket-case”. So she asks an actual basketmaker to weave her a husband made of wicker. Her spouse turns out to be anything but wooden: the wicker man, played by Alexander Skarsgard (top left), is charming, dutiful and kind. As word spreads about the wicker man’s skills in the sack, the fisherwoman begins to incite jealousy among the other women of the village, who bemoan their lousy husbands. Yet “Wicker” isn’t merely a romp—it becomes a madcap fable with just enough sap.
And what not to watch:
“Klara and the Sun” (in cinemas worldwide)Taika Waititi, a film-maker who made his name with movies such as “Jojo Rabbit” (2019), has a bold, darkly comic style. In this film he adapts Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian novel about an artificial friend bonding with a sick child. There are some funny and charming moments, and Jenna Ortega (above) does a good job as Klara, an ungainly and enthusiastic robot. But Mr Waititi’s irreverent film flattens the emotion and empathy of the story. The human characters end up seeming more shallow and artificial than the robots.
One Subscription.
Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines
to 100 year archives.
Archives
HT App & Website