HAPPENING/L'ÉVÉNEMENT ★★★★☆
Directed by Audrey Diwan. Starring Anamaria Vartolomei, Kacey Mottet-Klein, Sandrine Bonnaire, Louise Orry-Diquero, Louise Chevillotte, Pio Marmaï, Anna Mouglalis. Limited release, 99 min
Detailing the cold shoulders offered to a young woman after she becomes pregnant in 1960s France, Happening works evocative period detail in with implicit warnings against contemporary backsliding on reproductive rights. The relentless clockwork of human biology lends it an awful tension. The actors give in to no cheap options. Vartolomei is terrific as a young woman whose friends and advisers, fearful of prosecution, cover their ears when she even hints at termination. It has become a cliche to suggest any film that relies on tension "works like a thriller". But the comparison here is unavoidable. Full review DC
PLAYGROUND/UN MONDE ★★★★☆
Directed by Laura Wandel. Starring Maya Vanderbeque, Günter Duret, Karim Leklou, Laura Verlinden. Limited release, 72 min
Wandel's first feature is an astonishingly powerful depiction of schoolyard bullying. Shot close-up, Frédéric Noirhomme's claustrophobic camerawork stays shoulder high with its young cast – a jarring effect designed to make the most robust viewer feel small. The shallow focus amplifies the inescapable horrors faced by seven-year-old Nora (Vanderbeque) who is first glimpsed clinging to her father (Leklou) and brother Abel (Duret) at the school gates. It's her first day of school and she's in need of assurance. At 72 minutes, Playground falls shy of feature length, yet it atones with a sickening sense of dread and pinpoint emotional accuracy. Full review TB
THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT ★★★☆☆
Directed by Tom Gormican. Starring Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish. 15A cert, gen release, 106 min
Cage stars as a version of himself in a film that, though fun, is not inventive enough with its meta-logic. Pedro Pascal plays Javi Gutierrez, a billionaire who lures our hero to Spain for his birthday. Cage soaks up praise, tours a museum devoted to his own memorabilia, and otherwise rides the solipsistic wave towards a coming catastrophe. It transpires that Javi is an arms dealer and Nic(k) will need to take on his fictional persona to save the day. Most of the best jokes are packed in the opening third. Then it slips into typical high-Cage action moves. Full review DC
ENNIO ★★★☆☆
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Featuring Ennio Morricone, Giuseppe Tornatore, Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen, Hans Zimmer, Dario Argento, Lina Wertmüller, Bernardo Bertolucci, Oliver Stone, Quincy Jones. Limited release/VoD, 150 min
Intriguing, lengthy documentary on late legendary composer Ennio Morricone. There is little sense of the maestro's home life, or Maria, his wife of 40 years, constant sounding board and occasional lyricist. He, however, makes for a warm emotional presence on camera who never flags even when the tributes around him get a little repetitive. His account of the improvisation he used for Dario Argento's giallos is wild, his various John Cage-inspired techniques are ever wilder. Throughout, however, as various contributors note, there's a Morricone sound that remains unmistakable. Full review TB
