Just Mercy is a worthy movie about the wrongful conviction of Walter McMillian and his fight for justice led by lawyer Bryan Stevenson. All based on the latter's book. Jamie Foxx and Michael B Jordan excel in their roles and Destin Daniel Crettin's direction is just right when it could have been so bad. If there is one thing I took from this film, it is how I felt so sorry for the murdered girl's family and friends by the police missing the true culprit and targeting a black innocent man. So it was the police and judicial system that let that white family down. A harrowing story of racial injustice in Alabama.
Despite some sniffy reviews, I enjoyed The Rhythm Section, a type of origins story for a female James Bond, full of early failures before she gets better at her job. The same producers have given us lots of different locations, a great car chase but fortunately not too many action scenes. Blake Lively is great and the script was actually quite passable. The cinematography was what made it for me on a big wide screen. And the sound was incredible.
I agreed with Mark Kermode's five star review of Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield. His adaptation and direction are brilliant. Personal, because this is the story as told by our protagonist played with verve and class by Dev Patel. (He wonders if he is the hero of his own story). The huge cast are all excellent with a masterclass from Hugh Laurie and Tilda Swinton. Also great were Peter Capaldi, Morfydd Clark (playing both Dora and David's mother), Ben Wishaw and others. I particularly liked Rosalind Eleazar as Agnes. I superbly understated performance. No wonder it has the most nominations for the British Independent Film Awards.
No comments:
Post a Comment