The Brutalist ★★★★★
Directed by Brady Corbet. Starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy. 16 cert, gen release, 215 min
László Tóth (Brody), a Hungarian architect and Jewish refugee in the postwar US, attempts to construct a utopian pile in sub-rural Pennsylvania. Pearce is his dubious mentor, Jones his disabled wife. So overpowering is the technique it will, over the years, invite constant rewatches that unveil endless nuances. Lol Crawley’s camera finds a balance between starkness and elegance that honours Tóth ’s own aesthetic. Corbet makes a virtue of the financial limitations as he ratches up the tension of small groups in big rooms. An astonishing film that groans with scarcely creditable ambition. Full review DC
Presence ★★★☆☆
Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring Callina Liang, Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, Chris Sullivan, West Mulholland, Eddy Maday. 15A, gen release, 85 min
The latest clever-clever Soderbergh film. The director’s own camera hovers and swoops as Rebecca (Liu) and her family meet a slick real estate agent (Fox) in the unfurnished house. The jagged movements reflect the POV of the titular spook that lives there. It’s a neat, slightly overextended device after some 80 minutes., Soderbergh has more fun with the constraints than we do. There’s nothing as compelling or creepy as Kristen Stewart’s dance with the unseen in Personal Shopper. We’re never spooked. But an excellent cast and flashy filmmaking ensure we are entertained. Full review TB
Parachute ★★★☆☆
Directed by Brittany Snow. Starring Courtney Eaton, Thomas Mann, Francesca Reale, Gina Rodriguez, Joel McHale, Dave Bautista, Scott Mescudi. Sky Cinema, 97 min
Snow draws her own experiences with an eating disorder into this carefully calibrated directorial debut, co-written with Becca Gleason. Yellowjackets star Eaton plays a woman, just emerged from rehab, who connects with an attentive, caring friend-of-a-friend (Mann). Parachute swerves genre cliches in favour of Gen Z sensitivities and deft wit. The weight of the subjects is counterpointed with good humour and common sense. The action is character-driven rather than issue-led. It’s a heartfelt miniature, prettily shot by cinematographer Kristen Correll. Eaton creates a complex, believable protagonist. Full review TB
Posso Entrare? An Ode to Naples ★★★☆☆
Directed by Trudie Styler. Featuring Trudie Styler, Sting, Roberto Saviano. Disney+, 107 min
Styler meets writers, musicians, chefs, graffiti artists and striving garment workers in this pleasant dissertation on the great city of Naples. (Her husband, Sting, turns up to warble a number.) Gomorrah author Roberto Saviano calls Naples “the last of the ancient cities” and Styler helps that claim stand up as her camera moves through crumbling alleyways that remain impressively unaltered since Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders visited for Roberto Rossellini’s Journey to Italy in 1954. Alongside brutal truths, Posso Entrare? offers blissful sunlit escape during the grim winter months. Full review DC
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