Shudder Saturday: Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism (2023)

There's a good movie at the heart of Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism. Like the desperate soul of someone claiming to be possessed, it's in there. Somewhere. But it's almost impossible to find though. You can catch glimpses of it, and the final moments underline a very serious point that isn't handled as well throughout the rest of the runtime, but it's trapped by something horrible.

Based on a true story, which should ensure that most seasoned viewers still treat everything shown with a large pinch of salt, this is the story of a young woman (Lara, played by Georgia Eyers) caught between two individuals who have very different approaches to her health issues. There's Dr. Marisa Walsh (Eliza Matengu) on the one side, trying to have uncomfortable conversations and force some kind of breakthrough. Then there's Daniel James King (Tim Pocock), a man who seems to believe that he can help Lara by performing an exorcism.

Directed by Nick Kozakis and written by Alexander Angliss-Wilson, there's definitely something satisfying about this kind of tale being presented in a way that is totally antithetical to all of the propaganda nonsense we've been served up by the hugely-popular The Conjuring movies. While I have enjoyed those movies, I have always been very aware of the major lies at the heart of them, and I have always worried about other people taking them at face value. This film shows the damage that can be done by charlatans seizing opportunities offered by desperately ill individuals, but it still spends too much of the runtime trying to present the material as standard horror movie fare. Personally, I wanted more moments that juxtaposed the lies and the truth in a way that could prove more jarring to anyone not caught up in the immediate drama and confusion of the whole situation.

Eyers gives the kind of central performance that you need for something like this. It's powerful stuff, and as physically-demanding as it is emotional, and she's very capable of doing everything that needs to be done. Dan Ewing does okay in the role of her partner, someone complicit in everything that happens once science is refused in favour of a faith-based "solution", and Pocock has the kind of confidence and charisma that makes it clear to see how easily he can delude himself, as well as everyone else around him, as he tortures an already-tortured soul. A few other people help to fill out the cast, including John Wood as a detective, but most of the film focuses on a central triangle formed around an apparent battle for one soul, with even Matengu underused as her character is sidelined and pushed out of the way by those unwilling to accept her approach to the situation.

It's a shame that a film based on this kind of tragedy still needs to make use of horror movie moments. The victims mentioned deserve better. Like I said, there's a good movie at the heart of this. It's only visible in the briefest of glimpses though, moments when something real and human gets to reach the surface before being pulled back down by dark and smothering awfulness.

4/10

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Netflix And Chill: Sabrina (1995)

Although I like Harrison Ford, and have always been a big fan of his most iconic roles, I have overlooked many of his performances in "lesser"movies that I am only now keen to check out. This is all due to getting to see a bit more of Ford offscreen, and enjoying the droll and sardonic nature he often deploys in interviews. Age has allowed him to settle into the persona of an outright curmudgeon, but that has always seemed to be his preferred position.

Sabrina, a remake of a Billy Wilder-Audrey Hepburn-Humphrey Bogart film I am not familiar with, is the tale of a chauffeur's daughter (the titular Sabrina, played here by Julia Ormond) who has spent her life in love with the young playboy (David, played by Greg Kinnear) of the rich family that her father works for. Aiming to stay away from him when she is older, Sabrina starts life anew in Paris, but she is drawn back to David when she hears that he is finally looking to settle down and get married. His union with Elizabeth Tyson (Lauren Holly) will work in the favour of his older brother (Linus, played by Ford), who is looking to put together a very attractive merger package with Elizabeth's parents. As it quickly becomes clear that Sabrina may throw a spanner in the works, Linus sets out to distract her. Which is when he inevitably starts falling for her.

Written by Barbara Benedek and David Rayfiel, who I assume just had to tweak the source material to match their stars and the shiny modern world of the mid-90s, Sabrina is lightweight and surprisingly enjoyable throughout, mainly thanks to the casting. It's all a bit odd during the opening scenes, up until Sabrina returns and reconnects with a very impressed David, but things soon settle into a pleasing narrative that shows the ice cold and business-minded Linus being thawed out and reminded of how much more fun he could be having with all of his money and resources.

Director Sydney Pollack has always been reliable, if not always the very best choice for most of the films that he helmed, but he always had a particular knack for working with enjoyably varied casts orbiting one or two big names, which is why he does so well here. Ford may be the star, but Kinnear also gets to dazzle, and Ormond is allowed to give the kind of performance that feels like it's announcing her as a new shining star in the constellation of great leading ladies.

Ford gives the kind of performance I was hoping for here, very gruff and matter-of-fact while others act emotionally around him, and his ever-present charisma make the third act easy to buy into when people start to suspect that he and Sabrina have a connection. Ormond manages to delight and enchant without ever being turned into a complete "manic pixie dream girl"stereotype. She's just someone who was once an outsider, supported by a loving father to be able to do whatever she truly wanted to do with her life. Kinnear is sidelined for a lot of the runtime, but his main scenes, whether sitting down on some champagne glasses or reasserting his place in the family business, are highlights. Holly does well enough in her role, Richard Crenna and Angie Dickinson are a good choice to play her parents, Nancy Marchand is the mother of both David and Linus, and plays her part well, and John Wood, playing Sabrina's father, tries hard to stop you from wondering how much better someone like Tom Conti, James Fox, or Tom Courtenay would have been in his role. It's fun to see Paul Giamatti in a very small role, before he was being celebrated for his body of work, and Dana Ivey gets to deliver some of the best lines in the script as a very capable secretary/P.A.

It's easy to see why this wasn't a big hit when it was first released, and easy to see why it's one of many films destined to be forgotten by film fans seeking out more interesting fare, or just some of the many films that are much better than this, but Sabrina is full of performances and moments that should at least keep you smiling throughout. If you remain completely unmoved by any of it, I suspect you're actually the real-life equivalent of the character portrayed by Ford.

7/10

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Mubi Monday: Orlando (1992)

Written and directed by Sally Potter, adapting the book by Virginia Woolf, Orlando makes use of the androgynous form of Tilda Swinton in a lead role that allows her to command the screen for the majority of the runtime.

Swinton is the titular character, commanded by Queen Elizabeth I (Quentin Crisp) to always stay as he is. "Do not fade. Do not wither. Do not grow old." Remarkably, he manages to obey this command, with one major change happening many years later. On a journey that takes in love, art, politics, and more, Orlando wakes up one morning as a woman, which brings another viewpoint and some extra problems.

Difficult to review, Orlando is a well-made, intelligent, and interesting film. But it's also one that, much like the main character, just seems a bit too aloof, slightly disconnected from anything else (it certainly didn't connect with me, I'm afraid).

The script is full of enjoyable lines, as fans of Woolf would expect, and Potter does a great job of wrestling what could have been a troublesome sprawling narrative into something surprisingly straightforward, despite the gender change that occurs about halfway through. Although I am unfamiliar with the source material, a phrase I am aware that I use all too often nowadays, but the episodic structure, whether from the book or decided upon by Potter, feels like the best way it could have been done.

Swinton is as good as ever in the main role, although it's still harder to find her convincing in the male role than it is in the female role, something that could have been improved by some more work on the hair and make-up. Not to insult fans of her performances, but she plays up the androgyny better than she plays up any perceived male traits, as silly as that may sound. Crisp is wonderful in his royal role, a fitting one for someone of his stature in the LGBTQ+ community, and singer Jimmy Somerville (arguably best known for the hit song "Don't Leave Me This Way" when he was the front man in The Communards) pops up to impress with his vocal range. Charlotte Valandrey is a potential love interest for male Orlando, Billy Zane is a potential love interest for the female incarnation, John Wood is good value in the role of an Archduke who thinks very highly of Orlando, and there are small roles for Heathcote Williams, Toby Stephens, and more (including Toby Jones, although his appearance is fleeting).

This is a good film, in many ways, and there are people who will find more of value in it than I did. It just didn't ever fully click into place for me, despite the sure hand of Potter and the many solid performances from her assembled cast.

6/10

Buy the movie here.
Americans can get it here.