A Boy Called Christmas (2021)

Here we are, with the last Christmas movie of 2021, but is it a good one to end on?

The latest attempt to deliver a nice bit of Christmas cheer to families is this tale of a boy seeking magic in a faraway land, and the cast and special effects work together to tell a familiar tale with a twist. 

Maggie Smith is the relative visiting children who she then decides to entertain with a story. That story is all about Nikolas (Henry Lawfull), a boy who lives alone with his father (Joel, played by Michiel Huisman) in a kingdom that seems to have lost all sense of hope and joy. The King (Jim Broadbent) asks people to travel far and wide in an attempt to bring something that will lift the spirits of his citizens, and that is when Joel heads off on a long journey. He wants to keep his dad safe, but also wants to find the secret magical location where elves live, as described to him by his deceased mother. 

Director Gil Kenan has mostly worked with material that has a healthy portion of the fantastical in it. Arguably best known for Monster House (an animated film loved by many, although I just found it decidedly okay), Kenan is a dependable pair of hands and he has certainly been given a cast capable of helping to lift the material. 

Aside from Lawfull, who is perfectly fine as the wide-eyed boy with good intentions, and Broadbent, a lot of fun, you have a wide variety of roles for people like Kristen Wiig (gleefully playing an evil relative), Sally Hawkins (a powerful elf who resents the presence of any humans in the elf village), Toby Jones (a kind elf), Stephen Merchant (voicing a mouse named Miika), and Zoe Margaret Colletti (a pixie who cannot lie). Everyone is wonderfully earnest and happy to deliver a message all about Christmas spirit, and that is before I even mention the lovely, mischievous, turn from Maggie Smith, who gets to appear intermittently as her young audience question her about the tale they are being told.

Based on a book by Matt Haig, the script co-written by Kenan and Ol Parker plays out exactly as you expect it to, which is no bad thing when you are being comforted by archetypes and beautifully landscapes covered in snow, and this is a safe choice for those seeking some wholesome entertainment for all during the holiday season. It doesn't do enough to become an instant new favourite, mainly because the lead character is just a bit too bland, but it should be a welcome viewing option for the next year or two.

There are moments of magic, there are thrills, there's a helpful reindeer, you have children helping to fix a mess made by adults, and a talking mouse. What more do you need?

7/10

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Mubi Monday: The Other Lamb (2019)

A look at a cult, the warping of religion, and the constant use of women in assigned roles that serve men, The Other Lamb is definitely an interesting and thought-provoking work of art. It also has a lot of stark beauty throughout. Which makes it a shame that it falls a bit short of greatness, feeling just a little bit undercooked and not quite as focused and sharp as it could be. 

The plot is quite simple. Raffey Cassidy plays Selah, a young woman who is part of a cult under the leadership of Michiel Huisman (“the shepherd”). She is due to become the latest in a series of wives, which is the way to ascend on their chosen path. But the lead up to the crucial moment gives Selah time to consider the truth behind the way she and her companions are being treated. Is it really the right and proper way to show love and enlightenment? Or is it symptomatic of something else, something much more familiar to so many women?

Working from a screenplay by Catherine S. McMullen, director Malgorzata Szumowska creates a constant sense of unease and intrigue here that allows viewers to know, from the very beginning, that the patriarchy and misogyny on display are not going to remain accepted as the norm from everyone involved in the story. 

Selah has some disturbing visions, obviously displaying the troubling thoughts starting to froth and ferment in her mind, and those visions somehow feel both metaphorical and fantastical and also grounded and realistic. Szumowska takes care to keep context to a minimum at the earliest stages, layering it all on as the story goes on and allowing it to enrich the bigger picture. 

There's something wonderful about the way The Other Lamb manages to deliver what you may expect from it while also doing everything in a way that seems to keep holding back any moment of real . . . catharsis/redemption/celebration. There's a very effective, and fitting, end to things, but it's easy to see that some people will be unmoved by it, leaving them to shrug and sigh as the end credits roll while others can still ruminate on the beautiful bleakness they've just been served up.

Everyone does good work here, and I'll also note Mallory Adams for her performance, but the film really belongs to Cassidy. Huisman, as good as he is, actually remains a presence in the film due to the shadow he casts over everyone, the power he holds, and the scenes that have him actually present and interacting with others slightly undermine the idea of him (which I assume is one of the points that the movie is making). Moving convincingly from wide-eyed innocent girl to a young woman who wants to ask some important questions, Cassidy is perfect in the lead role. She's been building up a solid filmography over the past decade, and I see no reason why that will stop happening over the next decade.

Quietly powerful, The Other Lamb is a supernatural-tinged work of art that I highly recommend to those with the patience for it. I think it could also end up pairing nicely with The Beguiled (1971, not seen the new version yet), but maybe it's just me thinking that.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Invitation (2015)

I really need to check out the other titles in the filmography of director Karyn Kusama. Having only seen Jennifer's Body and this one, for now, I seem to quite enjoy her work. Neither of her two films that have passed before my eyes have been perfect but, arguably more importantly, they have been interesting and entertaining.

The Invitation concerns a man (Will, played by Logan Marshall-Green) who heads to a dinner party with his current girlfriend (Kira, played by Emayatzy Corinealdi). The party is being hosted by Eden (Tammy Blanchard) and David (Michiel Huisman). That wouldn't seem to be a premise loaded with tension unease except for the fact that Eden and Will used to be married. Something bad happened to cause them to tear apart from one another. Is the party a reconciliation, or can the events of their past not be overcome so easily?

The main strengths of The Invitation are the lead performances and the script, although Kusama directs with a sure hand, showing great restraint until a finale that tips viewers into, well, something else altogether. The shot choice and visual style helps to emphasise the strange, slightly disorientating, atmosphere of the party, and the affected mindset of a number of the guests who view the events unfolding around them with bewilderment.

Writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi are probably better known for their work in the comedy genre but this script shows that they should be able to do more than feed lines to Kevin Hart and Ice Cube (and others). Their work here is effective and efficient, teasing out background details and providing enough highlights throughout to keep viewers from feeling too frustrated or bored as the film takes time to build towards a satisfying conclusion. Yes, some of the plot points are a bit harder to swallow, such as the video that the hosts decide to play for their guests and the house feeling far too tightly locked up for what is supposed to be a relaxed dinner party, but these things are also addressed by other characters in the film. They are odd but viewers have to start wondering how much oddness they would tolerate if they were in the same situation.

Marshall-Green is very good in the lead role, easy to like and sympathise with as he wavers between politeness and lashing out at more disturbing elements of the evening. Corinealdi is equally good, shining in a supporting role that could have easily seen her almost immediately relegated to the background of every scene. She may not be front and centre but she's always there to support her partner, and that stops her from being forgotten as the film goes on. Blanchard and Huisman have a few more quirks to play with, and they both do well to avoid eye-rolling overacting, and John Carroll Lynch is worth mentioning for his small, but vital, role in the proceedings. He gives his usual dependable level of work.

One to watch before you hear or read too much about it, which is my excuse for this review perhaps not being on a par with some of my other reviews (who am I trying to kid, I know I always write crap), The Invitation is a solid thriller that leads you step by step to somewhere you probably won't expect to end up. And that's no bad thing.

7/10

There's A blu ray available here.
Americans can pick it up here.