Out to Own Today: Dark River, The Shape of Water and I, Tonya

Out to Own Today:

Dark River

“Did he suffer?” Alice (Ruth Wilson)
 
Writer-director Clio Barnard knocked it out of the park, straight out of the gate, to combine two metaphors.THE ARBOR (2010) is that rare beast, an original piece of cinema. Sophomore feature THE SELFISH GIANT (2013) is a Ken Loachian social discourse ending on an emotional gut-punch. It was thus with great anticipation one walked into DARK RIVER. Unfortunately, it disappoints. I think of TYRANNOSAUR (2011) in comparison, Paddy Considine's excellent feature debut, and DARK RIVER pales. Both are about abuse and the aftermath. Both have a cathartic prison scene. Both climax with death. If TYRANNOSAUR is a shriek of pain, DARK RIVER is a whimper. Too much of this film is unsurprising.
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​I, Tonya

“Why can’t it just be about the skating?” Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie)
 
If only more biopics showed this level of vitality. The camerawork, editing and dialogue work in harmony to create frenetically gripping snapshots of a life story. I, TONYA is that rare creature: A headline dissector. The film opens implying it will get you to question the testimony offered by the participants, but does for everyone bar Tonya. It definitely comes down on her side. Everyone else comes across as villains. As a kid I was vaguely aware of the scandal surrounding Tonya Harding. The movie causes reassessment. That is a real accomplishment: To question the received view. How the media unfairly vilifies is the concomitant.
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The Shape of Water

“When is a man done proving himself?” Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon)
 
This may be controversial, but director Guillermo del Toro has not made a five star movie. (PAN’S LABYRINTH is a bit overrated.) Del Toro has plenty of striking design ideas, from costumes and make-up to production sets, but they are not tied to satisfying storytelling. Bar PAN’S LABYRINTH, there are either major flaws or at best a shrug of the shoulders. His non-English language movies showcase the peaks of his prowess. THE SHAPE OF WATER does not join them.
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