Viceroy’s House
Opens:May 18
Genre:Historical drama
Duration:106 minutes
★★★✩✩
Bonneville’s Mountbatten
foiled by Bollywood subplot
At the heart of this visually
handsome tale of the final
daysoftheBritishRajliesa
contradiction. UK director
Gurinder Chadha(BenditLike
Beckham)is descended from sub-
continentals who lived through
thosedays,andclearlywantsto
dotherightthingbythelocals
in a story centred on the arrival
inIndiaofLordMountbatten
(Hugh Bonneville,Downton
Abbey)inordertooverseeIndian
independence in 1947.
The film counterpoints
Mountbatten’schallengeswith
aRomeo and Julietsubplotoftwo
young locals, one Muslim, one
Hindu, representing the hopeful
dreamsofacountrybeingtorn
apartbyethnicrivalries.But
this descends into Bollywood
melodrama, while the royal
tale, with its thread of British
establishmentchicanery,rises
well to the occasion. When
it’s beingDowntonwith better
weatherandevengranderhomes
the film is at its most successful.Berlin Syndrome
Opens:April 20
Genre:Thriller
Duration:116 minutes
★★✩✩✩Luridpulpdramasimplyshows
that Berlin ain’t no SnowtownAn Australian photographer
(Teresa Palmer) visiting Berlin
isheldcaptivebyamaninthis
second feature set in Germany by
Australian director Cate Shortland,
following the excellentLore,about
kids travelling across the country
in the final days of WW2. That
film used thriller elements while
remainingessentiallyadrama,but
thisone,adaptedfromMelanie
Joosten’s novel bySnowtown
screenwriter Shaun Grant, never
transcends its lurid pulp origins or
offers startling insights. It’s hard to
see why she decided to make it.Things To Come
Opens:April 27
Genre:Drama
Duration:102 minutes
★★✩✩✩Even Huppert can’t save this
ramblerfromgoingnowhereDespiteatypicallyexcellent
lead performance from French
actorIsabelleHuppert,Things to
Comeisadisappointinglylimp
and rambling film from France’s
usuallyreliableMiaHansen-
Løve in which Huppert’s aging
philosophy teacher struggles
todealwithachangingworld
(mostnotablywhenherhusband
decides to dump her for another
woman). In dramatic terms, what
shouldhavebeenalifecrisis
becomesahalf-assedfriendship
withayoungermanthatnever
really goes anywhere.PANORAMA OThings To ComeViceroy’s House