Shudder Saturday: Martyrs Lane (2021)

As some may have noticed, I tend not to ever go out of my way to join in with things like "52 movies directed by women" or other ways that movie fans seek to make up for the imbalance that works against females in the movie industry. This isn't any bias on my part, and it's certainly not me trying to say that "it shouldn't matter who is directing, as long as it is good" as an excuse to go along with the status quo that has men still getting the bigger opportunities, whether they succeed or fail. There is some truth to that, however, and why I have never taken on any mission to see more movies directed by women is simply because, well, I do my best to consume SO many movies every week that I thankfully end up watching a lot more movies from female film-makers than the casual film fan. This here blog has a review on it every day (so that's 7 films a week), I watch between 2 and 5 films for the podcast, and I have, for the past few years, done my best to keep up with every movie that appears daily on the MUBI streaming service. It may be the latter that exposes me to a much more interesting variety of film-makers, but this Shudder selection for this week has shown me the impressive talent of writer-director Ruth Platt. Considering how impressed, and moved, I was by Saint Maud last year (the astonishing debut from writer-director Rose Glass), not to mention the emotional punch packed by Tigers Are Not Afraid (from Issa López), I felt that it was time to remind others of how much excellent work has been done recently by women mixing horror with sadly identifiable traumas.

Martyrs Lane focuses on young Leah (Kiera Thompson), a girl who lives in a large vicarage. It's a busy environment, but can prove to be an equally lonely one for a young child. Leah feels disconnected from her mother, Sarah (Denise Gough), and her father, Thomas (Steven Cree), is more comfortable discussing aspects of faith and spirituality than being a relaxed father. Then there's the older sister, Bex (Hannah Rae), who likes to torment Leah. The dynamic could feel very normal, a standard family that often has members rubbing each other up the wrong way, but there's something a bit off, something that nobody seems to want to address. Leah finds herself receiving visits from another little girl (played by Sienna Sayer), and the conversations between the two of them may end up laying out the problem at the heart of the family that nobody wants to discuss.

Although a tale of a mother and her children, Martyrs Lane stays focused on the viewpoint of a young child. It's a great approach, with Platt convincingly creating moments that will be familiar to anyone who had strange sensation of walking in on adults who you know had just been arguing with one another, or had been discussing something not to be spoken about within earshot of the kids. That's what this is, essentially, but that feeling is also wrapped in a layer of something that evokes loss and grief, but without young Leah being aware of what others are missing. As she gets closer to discovering the truth, helped along by her new friend, she also reminds her mother of pain that was barely being held back by the smallest of dams.

All of the cast are superb in their roles, and all play things perfectly. Gough and Cree are flawed parents who feel absolutely real at all times. Rae is the typical older sister, with her own teen turbulence distracting her from the bigger picture for most of the runtime. But the heart of the film lies with Thompson and Sayer, and both give performances so good that I hope other directors can figure out ways to keep making the most of their talents. Both are very natural, but Sayer has to act up a little bit more, playing her character as she is, someone wearing a costume/mask who wants to be completely honest with others, but fears the full repercussions.

Perhaps a little bit undecided on tone and look throughout, Platt nevertheless makes the right choice in being committed to keeping most of the film as events observed by children. Would I have liked a more gothic style? Would I have enjoyed a few more moments of creepiness, some actual scares? Yes. This isn't a film to watch if you're after some standard jumps and a bit of bloodshed, but it could have added a little bit more of either without losing its way (as far as I can tell). Platt clearly had her mind set on the way to best tell this story, however, and it's hard to really fault an end result that feels as if it accomplished everything she wanted.

I was enjoying Martyrs Lane while it was on, especially when I realised what kind of film it was, but I was a little bit in love with it by the third act. The ending may be a bit too unambiguous for some, especially after the dreamy quality of many moments in the first two acts, but it worked for me. As the end credits rolled, accompanied by some more of the lovely music provided by Anne Müller, I knew it was a film I would have to hastily recommend to others. I suspect few will like it as much as I did, but I'll be happy if one or two others share my view.

8/10

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The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

Writer-director Joe Cornish has, with his two features, gone out of his way to provide entertainment that touches on some great genre history while also staying very much its own thing. Indeed, comparing his movies to others can end up doing them a disservice, and give people preconceptions that I am sure he would prefer you not to have. That's how it was with Attack The Block, and that is how it now is with The Kid Who Would Be King.

It's all about a young boy named Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) who ends up pulling a sword out of a stone. That sword is obviously Excalibur, making Alex the leader that is needed to stop our world being taken over by forces of darkness (led by Morgana, played by Rebecca Ferguson). Alex needs to convince others of his leadership suitability. He has one very loyal friend (Bedders, played by Dean Chaumoo), and there's a strange new boy at school who is actually Merlin (Angus Imrie), but the three of them aren't enough to defeat the approaching baddies.

First off, I think it is very important to emphasise what this movie isn't. It's not a hilarious comedy (although it IS funny). And it's not aimed at older viewers. That doesn't mean that older viewers cannot be entertained by it, as I was. It just means that the best audience for this would be kids aged, at a guess, between 8 and 13, when they can still enjoy the fantastical elements, perhaps even believing in some of the onscreen magic, yet also appreciate the dramatic strands that serve a number of life lessons for the main characters to learn and grow from.

Now let's pin down what the movie IS. What Joe Cornish has delivered here is a movie not unlike the live-action Disney movies from the '70s and '80s. It's a more polished, and slightly less childish, effort than most of those adventures, but it's absolutely branching off from that particular cinematic family tree.

The script and direction from Cornish keeps everything in line with his ultimate aim, this is a film with the kids front and centre for about 85% of the runtime. They are the ones who know about the impending danger, they are the ones who hope to stop it. This is not a place for adults, and the rules of the battles allow for them to be handily "set aside" during the major set-pieces.

Serkis is excellent as young Alex, a boy who seizes the reworked mythology in a way that shows him hoping it will provide an answer to one major question in his life (connected to his father). Chaumoo is equally good as Bedders, and Imrie adds a vital energy and humour whenever he appears onscreen (the older version of his character is portrayed by a relative newcomer named Patrick Stewart, who also seems quite good at this acting lark). Tom Taylor and Rhianna Doris play characters who are initially antagonistic towards our hero, and they do decent work. Their journey may not ring as true as the journeys of the other characters, this is where the script slips up slightly, but Taylor and Doris do all that is asked of them. Last, but by no means least, you have two very different women making an impression in very different ways. Ferguson is an impressively determined and menacing villain, and Denise Gough is the concerned mother of Alex, doing her best to support her son while also trying to stop him from being consumed by what she thinks is a fantasy story that he has taken far too much to heart.

As long as you know what Cornish is aiming for, this has everything you could want from a piece of family entertainment. It updates a classic tale without attempting to include all of the latest trends and pop culture references, and that makes it feel both old-fashioned, in a pleasing way, and also quite refreshing. Cornish is two for two now, and I am very much looking forward to whatever he gives us next.

7/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Mubi Monday: Colette (2018)

It seems that I am behind the times when it comes to Keira Knightley, having placed her in the "I tend to enjoy her but she's usually not that good REALLY" category some years ago. This may have all been because of the long shadow cast by her horrible turn in Domino, or maybe I just have such a bad memory that I forgot every time I'd actually praised her work while somehow remembering . . . that horrible turn in Domino. Look, it's basically all the fault of Domino. As long as that's clear, let's move on.

Anyway, let's get to Colette, a film in which Knightley plays the title role. She is a country girl when the film begins, until she moves to Paris with her husband-to-be (Dominic West). And this begins a series of fortunate and unfortunate events that eventually lead to Colette developing into the famous and celebrated writer that she remains to this day. Sadly, her writing is all published under her husband's name, because that was more appropriate for the time and he had a brand to sell. Colette causes quite the stir throughout France, and starts to enjoy it even more, especially as she begins to explore her sexuality. As society seems to work ever harder to restrict her and keep her "in her place", Colette finds more ways to ruffle feathers and ensure she cannot be ignored or silenced.

Many people have already commented on Colette being a film that feels incredibly timely right now (the battle for sexual equality rages on and men still seem to have the position of having value to their names that women rarely get) and it is. It's an interesting, passionate, film that condemns the treatment of the leading lady, and also the treatment of many others. But that isn't the only thing that Colette is putting under a magnifying glass. As Knightley and West play out their complicated love/hate relationship throughout the film, it's equally an interesting study of the way in which people choose to believe various fictions, be they myths about the differences in gender, the power of artistic creations, or choosing to hope that a horrible and abusive relationship is anything other than that.

Director Wash Westmoreland, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Richard Glatzer and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, sets everything out in a traditional way, picking out the most important moments from a life that must have had many highlights to choose from. The score may be a bit generic, for this kind of thing (in my view), but the camerawork is given one or two moments to shine, such as the sequence that allows it to glide through a crowded room alongside Colette as she takes in the various displays of excess and "sophistication".

Although the script is a good one, and there are a couple of brilliant speeches that Knightley must have read on the page with sheer delight at the prospect of getting to deliver them, it's the cast who raise everything up. In case you were in any doubt, Knightley is excellent. Really excellent. This may be the best performance she has given in her career so far, relishing a role that allows her to be strong, sharp, funny, eloquent, sexual, and generally downright inspiring. She's equalled by West, who manages to do so well in his role that it's only much later in the film that you realise just how shitty he has been to his wife for so much of their marriage. Neither speak French, or attempt an accent, despite the nationality of their characters, and nor do many of the other cast members, which is a decision made for the better. The environment is enough to remind you of where everyone is living, and the writing (the heart of the film) is shown to be in French, as it obviously would be, while characters sometimes read out the prose in English. Other important characters are played by Denise Gough, Eleanor Tomlinson, Julian Wadham, Al Weaver, and Ray Panthaki, and everyone fits well in the role they're given (although both Gough and Tomlinson ARE given certain specific accents, with the former faring much better than the latter).

Oozing quality from every frame, Colette is superior drama, bringing a slice of history to life and exploring some issues that resonate just as much today as they did back at the end of the 19th century. Despite the pretty, perhaps what some may even call quaint, packaging, it manages to make things more palatable to observe and mull over without ever feeling as if it has held so much back that it warps the reality that it is all based on.

8/10

The disc will be available here.
Americans may want to order here.