2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

JULY 2019 • UNCUT• 111

As it transpires, the death of Arnaud’s
mother is just the latest setback in a difficult
time; he is separated from his wife and
is floored when she files divorce papers
asking for sole custody of the child. Despite
such tragedies, Thunder Road is actually a
comedy, albeit a very dark one, heightened
by Cummings’ beautiful all-in performance.
The film is an extension of a short
Cummings made in 2016, and after a while
its origins begin to show: it becomes a solid
character piece in search of a narrative, and
often Arnaud’s journey seems a little forced,
straining to reach the 90-minute mark. But
there are some wonderful moments here,
with a terrific supporting cast (including
Blue Ruin’s Macon Blair as a concerned
teacher) that really lift this beyond a quirky
indie piece to something uncomfortable and
even profound, throwing light on the more
hidden recesses of masculinity by testing the
limits of its protagonist’s fragile ego.

hALston “Halston, Gucci, Fiorucci...”
Roy Halston Frowick once held his own
against the world’s fashion elite, and even
warranted a namecheck in the 1979 Sister
Sledge hit “He’s The Greatest Dancer”. At
that time, Halston held court at Studio 54,
counting the likes of Andy Warhol, Elizabeth
Taylor and Liza Minnelli among his
showbiz friends. A little more than a decade
later, however, he would be pretty much
forgotten. This extraordinary documentary
is a surprisingly compelling portrait of a
visionary and often ruthless designer whose
ambition proved to be his downfall.
The framing device is a little strange
and somewhat unnecessary – a fictitious
employee sets us up for a noir-style thriller

• but,whenit getsintoitsstride,Frédéric
  Tcheng’sfilmbecomesa powerfulcharacter
  study,likePhantomThreadmighthave
  beenif PTAndersonwasstillinBoogie
  Nightsmode.Lookingback,it’sbizarrethat
  Halstonisn’tbetterknown:asa millinery
  designer,hegaveJackieKennedyherfamous
  pillboxhat,and,incredibly,it seemsit was
  hisidea(notSteveRubell’s)toputBianca
  JaggeronthatwhitehorseatherStudio 54
  birthdaybash.Buttheseareincidentals;
  what’smostfascinatingaboutthisdocis the
  businessoffashionandthemachinations
  ofthecorporationsthatfundtheartisans.
  ThestoryofHalston’sperfumeragecould
  possiblywarranta documentarybyitself.
  Druguseis teasinglymentioned,covered
  bya singleanecdoteinvolvingmysterious
  envelopesstuffedwith“thousands”of
  dollars,andHalston’ssexlifeisn’treally
  exploredeither(Minnelliprimlyrefusesto
  dishthedirtona mansheclearlymisses).
  Buttheseabsencesaren’tsoserious– they
  justleaveroomfora killerbiopic,ofthe
  kindonlya trueNewYorkerlikeScorsese
  orFerraracouldeverdojusticeto.

LAteniGhtModernworkplacecomedy

whereEmmaThompsoncommands

thescreenastheimperiousKatherine

Newbury,hostofa late-nightNewYork

televisionchatshow.Newburyis morein

theveinoftraditionaltalk-showhostslike

DavidLettermanandConanO’Brienthan

youngerupstartslikeJamesCordenandJohn

Oliver.Sheis fêted– butasthestoryopens,

Newbury’sshowhaslostitssparkle.Asa

resultofa corporatechangeover,herbossis

lookingattheviewingfigures.Newburyhas

oneseasonleft,andif thingsdon’timprove,

hercontractwillnotberenewed.This

wake-upcallsendsNewburyintofreefall,

andherfirstinstincttogettogripswiththe

modernworldis tomakea diversityhirein

thewriter’sroom– inthiscaseMolly(Mindy

Kaling),a standupcomedian.

Thesetupis a familiarone,inwhich

oppositesmustworktogethertofightthe

middle,andtheframeworkoftencreaks

underthelaboriousneedtoinjecta seriesof

unlikelyromanticinterjectionsandhaveits

characterslearncosy,rosylifelessons,much

ofwhichservestoundercutNewbury’sfrosty

persona.Butthejokes,whentheyland,are

freshandbarbed,largelyattheexpense

ofNewbury’spale,maleandstalecreative

team,andKalingis anengaging,down-to-

earthfoil.Nevertheless,thisis (literally)

EmmaThompson’sshowandshestealsit

accordingly,whichmorethanmakesupfor

thesometimespatchypacing. DAMONWISE

When the bullets fly,

Birds Of Passage is

as satisfying as any

Hollywood thriller

roCKetmAn

OPENS MAY 22

Elton John – for it is he – hopes for some

Queen magic in an extravagant biopic.

John mcenroe: in the

reALm oF PerFeCtion

OPENS MAY 24

Documentary set at the final of the

1984 French Open between tennis

giants McEnroe and Ivan Lendl.

GodZiLLA: KinG oF

the monsters

OPENS MAY 29

He comes to crush puny humans!

Charles Dance, no less, is among the

very scared.

the BLUe AnGeL OPENS MAY 31

Welcome reissue for von Sternberg’s

1930 melodrama that launched

Marlene Dietrich to global stardom.

X-men:dArKPhoeniX

OPENSJUNE 5

Oneday,therewillbenomoreMarvel

films.Thinkonthat.

LiAmGALLAGher:Asit wAs

OPENSJUNE 5

Documentaryaboutthatguy,as

hedoeshisthing.Warning:possibly

involvessomeswearing.

KindheArts& Coronets

OPENSJUNE 7

Altogethernow:“I alwayssaythatmy

westwindowhasalltheexuberance

ofChaucerwithout,happily,anyofthe

concomitantcruditiesofhisperiod.”

dieGomArAdonA

OPENSJUNE 14

FromAmydirectorAsifKapadia,this

focusesontheArgentinianfootballer

duringhis‘80sheyday.

meninBLACKinternAtionAL

OPENSJUNE 14

Unexpected,buthere’sChris

HemsworthheadinguptheMiB’s

UKbranch.

sometimesALwAYsnever

OPENSJUNE 14

DirectorialdebutfromFarmbassist

CarlHunterwithBillNighy– himagain!–

reconnectingwithhismissingson.

ALso oUt...

X-Men:

Dark

Phoenix