Colours of Time, Finding Emily and Backrooms

Suzanne Lindon plays Adele, a young woman who was brought up by her grandmother in rural France. But when that grandmother dies in 1885, Adele is off to Paris to track down her mother. Who is not who she expects. This French drama, Colours of Time, has been called "Monet meets Mamma Mia". There is a dual timeline as four cousins in the present day explore an old dilapidated house that has been left to the wider family in the will of one of their ancestors. This dual timeline is sometimes confusing, as there seem to be too many cuts between the two time timezones. 

Developers want to buy the plot, but there are arguments within the family about its future. The four who are selected to investigate the property find clues to its history. However, by far the best part of the film is the story of Adele and her time in Paris. The city looks great; the costumes, the sets, and the people are wonderful. Especially the two young men she meets on the boat and with whom she ends up staying. So the contrast with modern-day Paris is startling. I know which period I would have liked to live in.  

Finding Emily is yet another Working Title production (see The Sheep Detectives). But this movie was awful. It's Spike Fearn, who plays Owen, who tries to find Emily, a girl he met in a club. But I found him so annoying and stupid. And yes, that is the whole plot. I never believed that someone would go to these lengths to find a casual acquaintance. It says something when the second most important character (a different Emily played well by Angourie Rice) takes top billing! I guess that Gen Z would appreciate the film far more, and it does have lots of positive reviews. It is certainly a product of its time. 

There are, however, moments that are true to the genre, and at times the story is original and clever. But the relationship between Spike and Emily did not ring true, as I could never ever see them as a couple. They were so different. The scenes of Manchester were fine, but again, if I had looked at the soundtrack of songs before I went, I would have known who this film was for. Not me. Tom Shone, in his long review in the Sunday Times, says, "It's a smart set-up," and Mark Kermode called it "kind of charming, kind of sweet and kind of funny," although this was a very mixed review.

Then we come to Backrooms. This was the strangest film I have seen since Under the Skin (2013) that starred Scarlett Johansson. So definitely not a mainstream film; there was only one other person in the cinema when I went. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark and Renate Reinsve as his therapist Mary. He does need help. He is so angry, even with Mary. So two of the very best actors working today. It's Clark, who failed as an architect, whose job at a sort of department store leads him through a wall into another dimension. A seemingly never-ending maze of rooms. I will not try to describe the plot such as it is. 

Suffice to say that director Kane Parsons and writer Will Sodic have conjured up a highly original feature. It's not really a horror film, although it is highly weird and unsettling. But it does have a kind of mystic quality. However, unlike the positive reviews from Peter Bradshaw and Mark Kermode, I cannot recommend it for most audiences. But I'm glad I watched it, as it is certainly, like Under the Skin, completely unforgettable.