Without being a masterpiece, this 1961 British drama about a former child molester (Stuart Whitman) trying to make a fresh start after a prison term is an example of intelligent and compassionate liberal filmmaking that seems especially rare nowadayswhich suggests that it warrants a second look. Whitman received an Oscar nomination for his performance, but the usually overwrought Rod Steiger may be even better in the low-key part of the hero’s sympathetic psychiatrist; Maria Schell is effective as well. Thoughtfully written by Sidney Buchman and Stanley Mann, and not at all badly directed by Guy Green. (JR) Read more
The great Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene directed this 1968 feature about a poor man who receives a money order in the mail but whose attempts to cash it are thwarted by the bureaucratic elite. In Wolof with subtitles. 90 min. (JR) Read more
The underrated and neglected Robert Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird, Inside Daisy Clover, Summer of ’42, Clara’s Heart) may be one of the only American directors left with a fully achieved style that is commonly (if misleadingly) termed classical. Indeed, he is a master of carving out dramatic space with liquid camera movements and precise angles, a mastery that’s matched by a special sensitivity in handling adolescents. These qualities are fully apparent in this tender treatment of the romantic heartbreak experienced by a 14-year-old girl (Reese Witherspoon) in rural Louisiana during the 50s, although Mulligan is less than ideally served by a script (by Jenny Wingfield) that at times borders on the obvious and simplistic. The heroine is infatuated with the 17-year-old boy (Jason London) who runs a neighboring farm, but he’s more interested in her older sister (Emily Warfield). Mulligan does a fine job both with the nonprofessionals playing the kids and with Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, and Gail Strickland as their parents (1991). (JR) Read more
A vintage film noir item (1946) directed by John Brahmfamous, or at least notorious, for having a flashback within a flashback within a flashback. The ploy pivots on the emotional distress of a bride (Laraine Day) on her wedding day as she remembers her past lovers and indiscretions, though these events are perceived mainly through the eyes of her former lovers. Scripted by Sheridan Gibney and costarring Robert Mitchum, Brian Aherne, Gene Raymond, and Ricardo Cortez. (JR) Read more
A nearly hour-long video documentary by Sachiko Hamada and Scott Sinkleralternately fascinating and depressing in its intimate details and unsentimental candorchronicling two and a half years in the life of an impoverished extended family camped out in an impromptu shelter on an empty lot in lower Manhattan. One of the most potent documents of its kind (1988). (JR) Read more
Nicole Garcia, an actress who has worked for Jacques Rivette and Alain Resnais, directs Nathalie Baye, an actress who has worked for Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, and most of what’s interesting about this first featurescripted with critic Jacques Fieschi and othersderives from their close collaboration. Baye plays a divorced actress with a faltering career who is allowed only limited custody of her two young children. On a whim she runs off with them for a few days in a stolen car, trying to win back their love. While this doesn’t offer a lot of narrative momentum, Baye often works wonders with her part, and Joachim Serreau and Felicie Pasotti are fine as the two kids (1990). (JR) Read more
John Sayles’s seventh feature (1991, 130 min.), his first in ‘Scope, is a highly ambitious and grimly powerful look at urban corruption, representing a marked improvement over most of his earlier efforts despite his relative lack of skill in directing actors, framing, and editing. Set in the fictional Hudson City, New Jersey, which suggests a combination of Hoboken (where Sayles lives) and nearby Jersey City, the film centers on the troubled son (Vincent Spano) of a successful contractor who gets involved in an attempted burglary, which sets off a chain of events that ultimately involves politicians, policemen, hoods, teachers, street people, and assorted other characters in this densely populated film. Though it depends on an overall orientation that’s about as up-to-date as leftist thinking of the 30s, the film is nonetheless highly persuasive. (The raving street person employed as a choral figure seems straight out of Clifford Odets.) With Tony Lo Bianco, Joe Morton, Angela Bassett, Gloria Foster, and Sayles himself (in a very effective turn as a villain with a perfect New Jersey accent). (JR) Read more
If there’s such a thing as a standard-issue cutesy feminist comedy, this 1991 British picture, directed by Beeban Kidron from a Marcy Kahan script, pretty much fills the bill. The title heroines, played respectively by Saskia Reeves and Imelda Staunton, are lifelong friends who share the same psychiatrist and express their irritation as well as affection for each other as they usher in flashbacks recounting their relationship. There’s nothing really wrong with this pleasant movie if all you’re looking for is a light romp through the subject with inflections that recall Woody Allen, but don’t expect many dividends. (JR) Read more
