Aftersun ★★★★★
Directed by Charlotte Wells. Starring Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall, Brooklyn Toulson, Sally Messham, Spike Fearn. 15A cert, gen release, 102 min.
Hugely affecting drama concerning a youngish Scottish dad (Mescal, first class) holidaying with his 11-year-old daughter (Corio) in Turkey during the late 1990s. Aftersun is a memory piece about noticing what we didn’t notice at the time. Corio’s staggeringly natural and unforced performance gives us an intelligent child who understands when things are awry, but isn’t yet mature enough to assemble the ominous pieces into a forbidding whole. Aftersun is a sad film mostly concerned with a young person being happy. In her debut feature, Wells subtly hints at a sadness never fully clarified. Full review DC
Armageddon Time ★★★★☆
Directed by James Gray. Starring Banks Repeta, Jaylin Webb, Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Anthony Hopkins, Tovah Feldshuh, John Diehl, Andrew Polk, Ryan Sell. 15A cert, gen release, 114 min
Famously intelligent director Gray casts Repeta as a Jewish boy buffeted in a turbulent New York Jewish family at the beginning of the Reagan era. He has just been shifted to a posh school when he and his black pal (Webb) get into different classes of trouble following a theft. The dialogue occasionally leans into the theatrical. But Gray connects closely with genuine dilemmas. There is something here about how even the most decent people will occasionally ride their unfair advantages. The acting is strong throughout, but Hopkins exceeds even his lofty best as a kindly grandfather. Full review DC
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Aisha ★★★★☆
Directed by Frank Berry. Starring Letitia Wright, Josh O’Connor. 12A cert, Sky Box Office/limited release, 95 min
The latest from the director of Michael Inside is crafted from experiences within Ireland’s Direct Provision system, and doubles as a damning indictment of the private contractors who profit from the misfortunes of others. Black Panther’s Letitia Wright plays the character of the title, a Nigerian refugee who flees to Ireland following the murder of her father and brother. Far from being a white saviour narrative — an unwarranted accusation levelled at the film’s trailer — Aisha is a portrait of unassailable dignity in the face of cruel happenstance. Berry’s script is quietly seething. Full review TB
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths ★★☆☆☆
Directed by Alejandro G Iñárritu. Starring Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani. 15A cert, limited release, 160 min
A Mexican documentary filmmaker returns home to Venice. Even Iñárritu’s biggest fans will concede the director is inclined to self-indulgence. Clocking in at a mere 2½ hours — some 22 minutes shorter than the version that screened at Venice — Bardo is a film of arresting visuals, surreal rabbit holes and meandering detours. Even the tangents have tangents in Iñárritu’s throwback to Fellini’s 8½. Named for a Buddhist concept referencing the transition between birth and death, Bardo may well transport the viewer to a dream-space, but not perhaps the one Iñárritu intended. Zzzzz. Full review TB
