Mini-Redlight was away at scout camp yesterday so Mrs Red and I had a cinematic indulgence day and saw three films back-to-back…
STAN AND OLLIE - Lightweight but charming, with some strong period detail. The two lead actors have, I think rightly, been praised for their performances but to my mind it's the two supporting actresses who steal the show, particularly the one playing Ollie's wife, whom I barely recognised as Moaning Myrtle from the Harry Potter films. It's worth seeing for the opening take alone. I shan't spoil it for you.
THE FAVOURITE - Great, bawdy fun and just a bit weird around the edges. The interplay between the three female leads is wonderful; there are some great verbal and visual gags* and it's a pleasant change to see an historical film in which the men are merely props for the main characters. Olivia Coleman stays just the right side of hysterical to make her character believable and Rachel Weisz manages to be both scary and vulnerable at the same time. Emma Stone is fine, but I don't think brings anything to the part that a dozen other young actors could have offered, other than some box office recognition over the pond. *She does have the best gag though:
"So are you going to seduce me or rape me?"
"Madam, I am a gentleman!"
"Oh. Rape then."
and finally…
VICE - See it! Christian Bale does a very good line in pure Machiavellian malice but, to my mind, Amy Adams deserves as many plaudits for her performance as his equally manipulative wife. Their contrasting reactions to their younger daughter's announcement that she is gay - and their subsequent behaviour towards her - give the film an emotional depth that might otherwise have been lacking, rather than being a sideline to the main story. Sometimes the film can be a bit irritating, in that there are lots of "symbolic" interjections - a beating heart, a stack of teacups, etc - that can make it feel a little like a film school project, but overall it's compelling and deeply unsettling. The final scene is magnificent and I'm not committing a spoiler if I warn you not to get up and leave when the credits start to roll.