2005: Mercedes Morán in "The Holy Girl"

by Nick Taylor

Few working directors are as exciting as Argentianian genius Lucrecia Martel. To talk about her work means to talk about her bold experiments with lensing and editing, her immaculately controlled sound design, her unusual risks with structure and dense layering of themes in her screenplays, all capped off with a very particular sense of humor. Martel’s films don’t immediately spring to mind as performance venues, but one of the many (many) things I love among her small but indomitable filmography is her ability to coax tonally compelling characterizations from her actors, rather than overwhelming them under the weight of her own directorial idiosyncrasies. Daniel Giménez Cacho is able to find a million minute gradations of wounded pride, misplaced vanity, and diminished hope in Zama, keying to Martel’s riskiest wavelength by resourcefully flexing a very deadpan poker face. The many women running around La Ciénaga are charged with their own peculiar energies that combine and differentiate from each other in endlessly fascinating ways.

Mercedes Morán, a high point in the latter film, returns for The Holy Girl in one of its main roles, and she not only delivers the best performance in the film but sets a high bar for what an actor can do in Martel’s canon...

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Review: Gemma & Gugu in "Summerland"

by Juan Carlos

Jessica Swale’s Summerland introduces us to Alice, an old writer living in the countryside during the 1970s. We watch her drive away children who are playing petty pranks on her. While it may seem random, the film utilizes this moment to inform us of her instinctive response to children which will interfere with the story to unfold.

Cut to the 1940s: in the same town, people are wary of the looming terror of the war. A young Alice (Gemma Arterton), then a recluse, is given the news that she is required to take in a young boy named Frank from London as the perils of the war continue to escalate in the capital. Meanwhile, she remembers a former lover (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) from the past...

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Our Links Are Sealed

• AV Club Steve Martin and Schitt's Creek cast pay tribute to Eugene Levy
• MNPP Josh O'Connor six times
• Variety uh oh trouble on the new live action adaptation of Avatar The Last Airbender. The original creators are leaving. That's a pity because the last adaptation was widely considered to be horrendous and the animated show is so fun.

After the jump The Go-Gos, Madonna and Diablo Cody, AMC reopening, the musical Diana and more... 

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NYFF Lineup: Art films, gay romances, female directors, and more...

by Nathaniel R

The gay romantic drama "I Carry You With Me" will play at NYFF

Most film festivals seem to be trying to soldier on with smaller lineups and virtual screenings. NYFF is no exception. Today they've revealed the full lineup after previously announcing their opening, centerpiece, and closing films. So let's dig in to the lineup shall we? It includes several female directors, two major Oscar hopefuls, a new anthology series from Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), and two gay romances...

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10th Anniversary: Scott Pilgrim vs The World

by Nick Taylor

I first saw Scott Pilgrim vs The World with my mom at an advanced screening, the benefit of a summer-long stint in 2010 where my parent’s work received passes for secret audience test runs of upcoming blockbusters. The theater was decently sized and completely packed, mainly crowded with teenage boys escorted by parents, grandparents, and other miscellaneous chaperones, plus a good number of twenty- and thirtysomethings who likely read Bryan Lee O’Malley’s recently concluded graphic novel series. You can imagine any number of reasons why this movie would’ve played well to the teen boys in the audience, though it still amazes me how much everyone in the theater seemed to be having a good time with it. Ten years later and it’s still a reliable hit with my immediate family, and someone referring to it as Edgar Wright’s best film can get me on their side real quick...

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