Film and TV^31NewsoftheWorld
Dir:PaulGreengrass (1hr58mins)(12A)
★★★
TomHanksisathis“twinkliest andcrinkliest”
in thisold-fashionedWestern,said Robbie
Collin inThe DailyTelegraph.He plays
CaptainJefferson Kidd, aveteranofthe Civil
War’slosingside whonowmakesalivingby
travellingaround Texasreadingnewsstories
to theilliteratemasses.On thetrailhecomes
acrossanabandoned,mutewhitegirl,Johanna
(HelenaZengel). Her Germanparentshadbeen
killedyearsearlier, bytheKiowatribe,who
raisedher –untiltheywerethemselveskilled
bywhitesettlers.At this point,Kidddecides
to take her ontheroad,inorder todeliver her
to herclosest livingrelatives, anauntanduncle
on thefarside ofthestate.“That’s the film:twopeople,awagon andtwo
horsesagainstagangofoutlaws,treacherous
cliffs,lost wheelsandaduststorm that turns
the landscape intoafiery,redunderworld,”
saidTom ShoneinThe SundayTimes.I
thought itwas“superb”, witha“spare, wind-
chappedvisualstyle”thatyoucan“feel”as
much assee,a“quietlypiercingperformance”
fromtheyoung Zengel,andthe sort of
“minimalist”approachfromHanks thatmarks
himoutasoneof the greatestfilmactorsin
history.Oh dear,saidPeterBradshawin The
Guardian,I’mafraidIfoundit“stolidand
blandlyself-satisfied”. Hanksishisusualeasy-
goingself,but hischaracterdoesn’tdevelop
significantly, and with itsdullliberalmessage,
the film feelsas“unexceptionable”asoneof
thenewsstories Kiddreadsto hiscrowd: we
missthe“dynamismandvisceral action” of
Greengrass’sbestwork.Availableon Netflix.Greenland
Dir:RicRomanWaugh(1hr59mins)(15)
★★★★
Greenlandis the latest inarecentstringof
actionmoviesstarringtheScottishactor
GerardButler,butthisoneiswithout the
“jingoisticbombast” ofpredecessorssuchas
OlympusHasFallen,saidClarisse Loughreyin The Independent. Instead, this deliberately
low-keydisasterfilmis“lacedwithapalpable
sense offear”. Butler playsanAtlanta-based
engineer, JohnGarrity, who–when asteroids
startpounding Earth–must gethimselfand
hisfamilytoaUS governmentbunker near the
NorthPole. Butwithhisestrangedwife Allison
(MorenaBaccarin) anddiabeticson,Nathan
(Roger Dale Floyd), he gets caught up in the
social chaosthat inevitably unfolds: trafficjams,
failingphonesignals andtrips to thechemist for
Nathan’s medication allbecomepanic-inducing
mattersoflifeand death.Thereisnoneofthe spectacular“apocalypse
porn”ofprevious,biggerbudget killer-comet
movies,saidChrisHewitt inEmpire: we
glimpsethe large-scaledevastation only in
news reports, while our focusstay stightly on
the family, making for “compelling”drama.
Butlerisonfineformhere, said KevinMaher in
The Times:it’s possiblythemost“empathetic”
performanceof his career.Abandoning his
normal “cardboard Californian twang”, he
speaks in his“original brogue”,andseems
more realfor it.He’s physically“weather-
beaten” andabit overweight(a source of
jokesin the film), andhischaracter is “useless
at fighting”. It’ssmall touchessuchas these
that makeGreenlandseemsurprisingly
“inventive”,and even “strangely cathartic”,
amid thecurrentgloomanddoom.Available
on Amazon Prime.Filmstostream New releasesWithitsenticing,headymix
ofcreativity,moneyand
power,thefilmbusinesshas
longbeenafavouritesubject
forfilm-makers.Herearefive
greatproductsofthisself-
reflection:Sullivan’sTravelsJoel
McCreaplaysadirectorof
Hollywoodfarcesintenton
makingaworthysocial
drama,inPrestonSturges’s
194 1comedy.It’sfunnybut
complex–payingtributeto
escapistentertainment(ina
famousclimacticscene),but
satirisingHollywoodtoo–
andfeaturinganunusually
frankdepictionofpoverty
inDepression-eraAmerica.8½Oftennamedasa
favouritebyother directors,
Fellini’s 196 3masterpiece is
asurrealjourneythroughthe
lifeand mind ofabig-name
director (playedbyMarcello
Mastroianni) sufferingfrom
creative block.It issprawling,
self-indulgent,andoften
obscure,butfullof scenes
of dreamlikeintensity.BewareofaHoly Whore
TheNewWave directorsof
the1960slikedmakingfilms
aboutfilm-making.There’s
Godard’sLeMéprisand
Truffaut’sDay forNight
–butFassbinder’sauto-
biographical 197 1effort is
themoststriking,chartingthe
viperish infightingandsexual
cruelty ofacastandcrew
ruled byatyrannical,
alcoholicyoungdirector.The PlayerRobertAltman’s
1992 satire, starringTim
Robbins, was the darkest
self-portrait Hollywood
hadproduced sinceSunset
Boulevard,andis asharp
commentary on thewider
avarice of the 1980s, too.AdaptationSpike Jonze’s
2002 filmis aboutits own
real-life screenwriter,Charlie
Kaufman–playedby Nicolas
Cage–struggling toadapt a
novel,The Orchid Thiefby
Susan Orlean (MerylStreep),
for the screen. It’sadizzyingly
self-referential explorationof
the nature ofstorytelling that
managestobeengrossing and
funny,too.HanksandZengelspreadthenewsThe “brash, expensive” eight-part
crime dramaZeroZeroZero(Sky
Atlantic) has arrived on British
screensayear after it appeared
in the US and Italy, said Ed
Cumming in The Independent.
Based onanovel byGomorrah
writer Roberto Saviano, its grand
ambition is to explore the global
cocaine trade by focusing on the
suppliers in Mexico, the buyers
in Italy, and the middlemen
operating out of New Orleans.
Packed with spectacular set
pieces, it’s “about as subtle as an
elephant loadingadishwasher” –
and it makes for “exuberant”, if “bleak”,
entertainment for “long February nights”.As in most gangster dramas,
Mexico comes across asaplace
of “pre-Christian horror and zero
hope”, said Hugo Rifkind in The
Times, and Italy doesn’t fare much
better. It’s the US shipping family
who humanise things, as father
Edward (Gabriel Byrne) grooms
daughter (Andrea Riseborough)
for succession, while both struggle
to preserve the innocence of her
brother (Dane DeHaan), who has
Huntington’s disease. Yet it still
lacks the “emotional depth” of
the Netflix hitNarcos,said Lucy
Mangan in The Guardian. It’s
“gorgeous to look at”, but so nihilistic that
Ifound it hard to care about the characters.ZeroZeroZero:ableak new cartelsagaRiseborough: family crime13 February 2021 THE WEEK©THE FILMS ARE AVAILABLE ON GOOGLE PLAY (EXCEPT
8½
), APPLE TV AND AMAZON PRIME