STACK June 2016 Issue 140

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oming so soon after his Oscar-winning turn as
tephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, the
dds were always against Eddie Redmayne repeating
he feat for playing another tortured real-life character.
ut as good as he is as Einar Wegener/Lilly Elbe,
ho in 1930 became one of the first recipients of
ender reassignment surgery, it's only right that it
as Alicia Vikander who took home the Oscar for
est Supporting Actress. The Swedish star gives a
eautifully nuanced performance as his wife Gerda,
of him as 'Lilly' set him on the path towards
discovering his true sexual identity, and who then has to helplessly
watch the man she loves gradually transform into a different person.
A touching and unconventional love story. JF
Portrait of a lady.
THE DANISH GIRL
She may be a long way from the
grandeur of Downton Abbey,
but Maggie Smith is still at her
imperious best as the homeless
bag lady of the title, reprising
the role she first played on
stage in Alan Bennett’s play of
the same name. Loosely based
on a true story, the film charts
the unlikely relationship that
develops between Bennett (an
uncanny impersonation from
Alex Jenning) and Mary (Smith),
who lives in a beat up old
van and ends up ‘temporarily’
parked on his driveway for 15
years. A witty, whimsical and
ultimately poignant exploration of
loneliness, middle-class guilt and
the creative process. JF
LADY IN THE VAN
Release Date:
09/06/16
Format:
Cate Blanchett is exquisite in
the title role of this flawless
adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s
1952 novel, while Rooney Mara
is equally superb as the object of
her desire, young New York shop
assistant Therese. The two meet
when elegant and affluent Carol
buys a Christmas present for her
daughter from Therese and there is
a subtle but electrifying connection
between the pair. But it’s the
1950s and society wife Carol has
everything to lose, including her
child, if the women’s relationship is
discovered. Director Todd Haynes
(Far From Heaven ) evokes the era
with ravishing period detail and
captures the tantalising thrill – and
piercing pain – of falling in love. JE
CAROL
Release Date:
02/06/16
Format:
Release Date: 09/06/16 Format:
here’s no need to look under the bed, for the reds are right
ere onscreen! When the first tendrils of the Cold War
arted spreading unbridled paranoia post-WWII, Americans
ho had seen sense in Communist thinking and had
ined the party previously became outcasts. Hollywood
reenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) was one such
erson, and soon found himself jailed and blacklisted along
ith several peers. To fulfil his need to continue writing (and
help combat a now yawning chasm in quality Hollywood
icks), he started farming scripts out pseudonymously
Oscar or two just to add to the ridiculousness of the
situation. That sums it up – it was a ridiculous situation, given life here
through a sublimely droll performance from that Breaking Bad bloke, who's
supported by the likes of Helen Mirren, Louis CK and John Goodman. AF
When they tried to silence him, he made the world listen.
TRUMBO
There’s sweetness and a joyful
wonder at the heart of this
nevertheless utterly believable
coming-of-age drama set mainly
in New York in the 1950s.
Saoirse Ronan superbly captures
the vulnerability, innocence and
quiet determination of the young
heroine Ellis Lacey, who moves
from her sleepy Irish village to
the bright lights of Brooklyn,
eventually finding an adoring
Italian boyfriend (Emory Cohen).
However, an unexpected family
tragedy forces her to reassess
where she truly belongs.
Directed with subtlety and dry
wit by John Crowley, Brooklyn
is an understated delight from
start to finish – to be sure. JF
brooklyn
Release Date:
16/06/16
Format:
Winner of this year’s Oscar for
Best Foreign Film, this Hungarian
Holocaust drama is the closest
you'll get – and ever want to get
– to the horrors inside the Nazi
death factory. It's also the closest
thing to a found-footage Holocaust
film, with the camera following
protagonist Saul (Géza Röhrig)
throughout, as he attempts to
find a rabbi who can conduct a
proper burial for a young boy. With
a soundscape to match the tight
visuals, it's a sensory experience,
an intimate, over-the-shoulder
descent into hell. However, Saul's
resolve in his mission and the
risks involved bring a humane
perspective to an inhumane world.
Highly recommended. SH
SON OF SAUL
Release Date:
09/06/16
Format:
Release Date: 16/06/16 Format:
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