For It Is Man's Number: vicky krieps

Showing posts with label vicky krieps. Show all posts

Monday, 1 June 2026

Mubi Monday: Father Mother Sister Brother (2025)

I don't want to be too quick to dismiss writer-director Jim Jarmusch, but he's certainly been on a bit of a creative downward swing since the fantastic Paterson, which was ten years ago now. And let's not mention The Dead Don't Die. There's a feeling that Jarmusch still enjoys working with the talented collaborators he has befriended over the years, but he may now struggle to come up with a premise truly worthy of their talents.

Father Mother Sister Brother sees Jarmusch returning to the kind of portmanteau form that he's previously used to great effect. I just don't know what to make of it though, although I think it's a look at the unhealthiness of forced family duties. Maybe I'm wrong, but the sections titled "Father" and "Mother" certainly feel more strained and less healthy than the third "Sister Brother" section.

Tom Waits is Father, visited by his son, Jeff (Adam Driver), and daughter, Emily (Mayim Bialik). It's an odd situation, with the children feeling more responsible and parental than the actual parent, but very little actually happens until an amusing enough beat at the very end of the tale. Then it's time for Mother (Charlotte Rampling) to be visited by her two daughters, Lilith (Vicky Krieps) and Timothea (Cate Blanchett). There's a bit more happening here, considering how the two daughters seek approval from their mother, and also from one another, while Lilith tries to hide the fact that she's not exactly in the healthiest of financial situations. Finally, siblings Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat) spend some time reconnecting as they process the recent death of their parents.

There's nothing to fault here when it comes to the performances. Waits, Driver, and Bialik get to play up the awkwardness in a way that is light and fun, Rampling, Krieps, and Blanchett are mesmerising as they take part in what feels like some kind of three-way swordfight on criss-crossing tightropes, and both Moore and Sabbat are nicely relaxed for the majority of their segment. Whether he nails down his dialogue and thematic strands or not, Jarmusch can always rely on his casts to deliver.

Aside from the focus on family, there's also a Rolex watch linking the tales (the same one? doubtful, but it's a possibility) and the feeling that relationships are always inextricably linked to that constant root of all evil, money. It's just a shame that Jarmusch keeps things so light and relatively inconsequential. Especially when he has a lot of people who could have easily enjoyed sinking their teeth into something much more substantial. I didn't dislike the time I spent with this, but I doubt I'll ever want to rewatch it. I'd also be surprised if many Jarmusch fans strongly disagreed with me.

4/10

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Monday, 1 September 2025

Mubi Monday: Hot Milk (2025)

Not every celebrated arthouse movie is going to be appreciated by every film fan, which is obviously part of the reason why they don't have the crossover into mainstream levels of exposure and success. Of course, the world of arthouse and/or independent cinema is where you can find some of the more interesting explorations of the human experience. That's what I was hoping to get from Hot Milk. I got something else instead.

Emma Mackey and Fiona Shaw are Sofie and Rose, respectively. Rose has an illness that she can't seem to find a cure for, although that may change as she spends time in Spain to be examined by Dr. Gomez (Vincent Perez). Sofie seems a bit lost, both within herself and how she connects to a mother she views as being affected by an illness that may or may not be psychosomatic. The central relationship is defined by a lot of pushing and pulling, a mother claiming to want her daughter to be free and living fully in one breath before reminding her of just how much she relies on her in the next breath. Things obviously start to get tense.

Director Rebecca Lenkiewicz may be helming a feature for the first time here, but she has a fantastic selection of screenplays in her filmography already. Considering she also wrote this, based on the book by Deborah Levy, I was expecting something that would keep me engrossed and intrigued throughout. While that didn't happen, the very end of the film is strong enough to raise a lot of great questions and keep you thinking about things after the end credits have rolled.

Shaw is fantastic in her role, a twist on the kind of thing that she has played so many times in other movies. She seems to have been given increasingly better characters to play in recent years and I am delighted to see her effortlessly becoming such a grand dame of cinema. Mackey is equally good in her role, although a lot of her character moments are played out more internally. Perez is good in his few scenes, and Vicky Krieps plays a woman named Ingrid who ultimately doesn't create the turbulence that you might expect from her.

While there aren't films exactly like this one, which is something I will give it credit for, there are a number of films that have similar elements. And many of those films are a bit better than this. Hot Milk is a real disappointment, especially when you think of those who worked to get it made. One or two scenes pack a punch, but it needed more, and Shaw, Mackey, and Krieps deserve more. I'm interested in eventually reading the source material one day, another sign that there's definitely something worthwhile here buried under the many mis-steps and fumbles. And that ending really does make up for a lot.

5/10

Monday, 13 March 2023

Mubi Monday: Corsage (2022)

A look at a year in the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (played by Vicky Krieps), this fictional historical tale is actually an entertaining and insightful indictment of how women have been used, and continued to be used, as powerless figureheads, trophies for their husbands to show off while they remain shiny and pretty enough to dazzle those around them.

Krieps relishes another strong female role, playing someone becoming more and more fed up of the gossip and criticism surrounding her looks and behaviour as she strives to find ways in which she can make a difference to the lives of people looking up to her for guidance and support. This causes the most friction when she sees the many wounded and dying soldiers who are where they are because of a war waged by her husband (Emperor Franz Joseph, played by Florian Teichtmeister).

Written and directed by Marie Kreutzer (who also delivered the excellent The Ground Beneath My Feet), Corsage is a film that spends most of the runtime showing a woman struggling to retain her freedom and strong will while many around her try to bind her (sometimes literally, as happens with the titular corsage). It is, sadly, yet another film set in the past that shines a light on attitudes and behaviours that exist everywhere around us today. Thankfully, fighting spirits will always aim to call out the BS and upset the status quo.

While numerous others fill out the cast list, this film is owned by Krieps for almost every minute of it. Her strength shines through, even when she is feeling at her weakest and most vulnerable, and she wanders through the cold and stuffy environments surrounding her like ball lightning. The only downside of her marvellous performance is how much it made me angry all over again about whatever the hell Shyamalan did to get such a poor performance out of her in Old. Teichtmeister is also very good, as is everyone else onscreen, but the film is inarguably owned by Krieps, giving yet another tour-de-force performance to add to her impressive résumé.

Slightly anachronistic at times, but not jarringly so, Kreutzer makes use of the societal schmoozing and royal protocols to show the mix of small and large obstacles that are constantly put in the way of strong women. There are obvious parallels to be made between this headstrong royal and one or two other modern equivalents, but the point is never belabored. Events are shown as they play out, and viewers are left to make connections and judgements, or not, as they wish.

Stylish, smart, and presenting a fictional version of a character that I am now intrigued to learn much more about, Corsage is a film that reminds us of how stories can be used to tell truths without being obsessed with factual accuracy. In fact, sometimes a dry and academic approach can get in the way of what can actually be learned.

9/10

Monday, 8 August 2022

Mubi Monday: Bergman Island (2021)

A strange and playful drama that mixes in some warped rom-com elements, Bergman Island has writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve on good form, and assisted by a great core cast that she uses well. It’s not her best work though, but it’s as good a starting point as anywhere else for those who may want to start exploring her filmography.

Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps are Tony and Chris, a couple who decide to visit an island that influenced the great Ingmar Bergman (hence the title). They hope to soak up some cinematic history and get some inspiration for their own work, with Chris particularly using the location to directly feed into the vibe of the screenplay she is writing. Wandering around together, and spending time apart, viewers get to see how the leads connect to their surroundings in different ways, and there’s also the “film within the film” that gives roles to Anders Danielsen Lie and Mia Wasikowska.

Deceptively slight for a lot of the runtime, Bergman Island is a fun interconnection of wit, exploration of human nature, and the complex relationship between art and artists, whether that is from the point of view of the artists themselves or from those looking on from outside that world. This obviously creates an interesting layer of meta-fuelled introspection, with both the “film within the film” asking more questions, as well as our own viewing of this whole feature.

Roth and Krieps are both wonderful in their roles, seeming to enjoy material that is a bit lighter, in comparison to what they have done elsewhere over the past few years, but no less worthy of their talent. I was particularly pleased to see Krieps back on good form, considering how Shyamalan managed to wring an awful performance from her in Old. Wasikowska is someone I haven’t seen in a while (which may just be down to the movies I have been watching recently), but she is as good as ever, and Danielsen Lie works well alongside her. The other main character is played by Hampus Nordensen, and he does decent work, although his character is more of a signalman, simply there to allow the character played by Krieps to start viewing some different paths on her creative journey.

Easy to like, but a film I found surprisingly hard to love, Bergman Island needs the structure that Hansen-Løve uses to make it such a fun and layered experience, yet the structure also provides a barrier or two to becoming fully immersed in the onscreen world. Perhaps having the scenes from the film within the film interspersed throughout the main narrative would have worked a bit better, but perhaps I am just a lot less creative and thoughtful than the woman who made this. The latter is a lot more likely, and I am sure that many others will like this even more than I did.

A knowledge of Bergman’s work isn’t essential, but it will allow you to enjoy more references and gags. Although in terms of more general film viewing habits . . . I would say that a knowledge of Bergman’s work IS essential. And a knowledge of Hansen-Love’s work is recommended, because she has put together an interesting, thought-provoking, filmography that means I will always be interested in whatever she does next.

7/10

Thursday, 14 July 2022

Old (2021)

Here's the plot of Old. A few different groups of people end up on a lovely beach and discover that time works different there. Although I cannot remember the exact correlation, it's something like half an hour on the beach being the equivalent to one year (this fluctuates though, by my reckoning, so let's not view that measurement as set in stone). While worried by that turn of events, things get even worse for the people on the beach when they realise that they are unable to leave.

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan (although it's based on a graphic novel, 'Sandcastle', by Pierre-Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters, Old is one of the most staggeringly awful mainstream movies I have seen in some time. Frustratingly, it has a good idea at the heart of it, and there's an explanation at the end of the movie that at least explains some character motivation, but it is never handled well. Much like the characters onscreen, viewers will feel themselves ageing prematurely as this drags itself from one ridiculous moment to the next.

Here are some of the people featured in the cast though, a selection of names that may tempt you into watching the film. Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Alex Wolff, Thomasin McKenzie, Abbey Lee, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ken Leung, Eliza Scanlen, and Aaron Pierre. If you're anything like me then you will appreciate at least a couple of those actors. Don't let their involvement here fool you. Shyamalan has left everyone out to dry, giving them a horribly weak script and directing them to act in a way that is so far removed from their best work that you won't believe that the Vicky Krieps here, for example, is the same woman who did such amazing work in Phantom Thread. Nobody comes out of this well.

Although different from the more overt format of what many used to (and some may still) view as his biggest mis-step, Lady In The Water, Shyamalan has once again tip-toed his way right back to the cause of his previous "fall from grace", a plot that revolves people figuring out they are simply characters in a plot being crafted by someone else. There's one big difference this time around, the author of the narrative being someone who deliberately causes harm, even if it is for the greater good, but it certainly feels like Shyamalan has gone for another swim in the turbulent waters of hubris.

There's nothing else here that feels as if it is worth mentioning. I wasn't a big fan of the score, the special effects were sometimes good and sometimes not so good, and no one aspect can make up for that killer combination of the poor script and poor performances. I even think the cinematography, editing, shot choices, etc. seemed to be hampered by Shyamalan dedicating himself to creating a vision that he never really got a proper grip on.

My advice is to stay as far away from this as possible. And, funnily enough, I don't think time will be kind to it.

2/10

Saturday, 24 February 2018

Phantom Thread (2017)

There are times when I remember that I have yet to see a couple of movies from Paul Thomas Anderson and then kick myself for my oversight. Mainly because I OWN The Master, I just haven't given myself the time to watch it yet. Seeing Phantom Thread was certainly a reminder that I love his work, because this is another almost perfect movie.

At the centre of it all is a flawless performance (his last?) from Daniel Day-Lewis, playing Reynolds Woodcock. Woodcock is a celebrated designer of dresses, the name everyone wants to be wearing on their biggest days. He is also, in his own words, a confirmed bachelor. He finds himself interested in women, but only in the ways they inspire him to create more dresses. Or so it seems. The one constant woman in his life is his sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville), but things get shaken up a bit when he finds a more fiery muse than usual in the shape of Alma (Vicky Krieps).

I'm going to try to restrain myself until I revisit this film for another couple of viewings, which I will, but my first thought as the credits rolled was that I had just watched ANOTHER masterpiece from Anderson. And, considering I had initially been reluctant to give this one my time (mistakenly assuming the film would just be a rather sedate look at the life of a dressmaker), that came as a bit of a surprise.

Everything works, with the exception of a few of the scripted lines of dialogue that feel a little bit forced. Anderson is as assured as ever in his roles behind the camera (he both wrote and directed this), the quality of the design and detailing shines through in every scene, the score by Jonny Greenwood works wonderfully with the visuals, and the tone is allowed to be quite serious while also allowing for small moments of comedy, sometimes very dark comedy.

That's all well and good, and would be enough to make this a pleasure to watch, but the trio of lead performances takes it all to another level. Day-Lewis clearly assumed that this role would allow him to end his acting career with another Oscar, and I hope there's a chance it may (time will tell). Awards or not, his turn here is up with his very best, and that's saying something. I wasn't familiar at all with Krieps, who deserves almost an equal amount of praise for holding her own alongside Day-Lewis in a way that seems effortless. And Manville makes the most of her key scenes, allowed to ebb and flow as the script requires.

What plays out as a film looking at the drive and focus of an artist also says a hell of a lot more. Phantom Thread is about creating, it's about finding inspiration, and yet it's also about finding yourself matched with someone you only realise you need when you see aspects of yourself buried within them. The old saying tells us that opposites attract. Phantom Thread shows that it can just as often be the similarities that create a stronger bond for some people.

I want to try and say more about the film, but I can't. Even the title is incorporated in the narrative as a telling character moment, something with more than one meaning that becomes obvious once it has been discussed. Yeah, I am pretty sure I will be upping my rating to a 10 further down the line. Not yet though, not quite yet.

9/10.