A Man Called Otto ★★★☆☆
Directed by Marc Forster. Starring Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Truman Hanks, Mike Birbiglia, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. 12A cert, gen release, 126 min
Otto Anderson (Hanks), a widower, lives miserably in a tidy, bland cul-de-sac whose bylaws he enforces with the rigour of a camp commandant. Just as he is plotting to hang himself, a new couple (Treviño and Keller, both lovely) move in across the street and inveigle him into assisting with their hopeless attempts to set up home. No, this is not the film in which the lovable old grump fails to get reformed. We are heading in a predictable direction, but the strong cast justify this remake of a tart Swedish comedy from 2015. Full review DC
Till ★★★★☆
Directed by Chinonye Chukwu. Starring Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, Whoopi Goldberg, Jayme Lawson, Tosin Cole. 12A cert, gen release, 121 min.
Harrowing true-life retelling of how of how Mamie Till-Bradley (Deadwyler) fought for justice after the racist murder of her son Emmet in 1955. The violence is writ large in every harrowing shot of Deadwyler’s face. Grief rings from every corner of the film. It’s in every calibrated, dignified dress designed by costume designer Marci Rodgers. It’s etched into the crumpled posture of Whoopi Goldberg, playing the grandmother who encouraged Emmet to journey to the Deep South. It sounds out from Abel Korzeniowski’s score. This is a woman’s account of striving for racial justice in the era of Jim Crow laws. Full review TB
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Alcarràs ★★★★☆
Directed by Carla Simón. Starring Jordi Pujol Dolcet, Anna Otin, Xènia Roset, Albert Bosch, Ainet Jounou. Limited release, 120 min.
A family struggles with the decline in the agricultural business. The first Catalan-language film to scoop the Golden Bear at the 72nd Berlinale – and certainly the first Bear-winner performed in Lleidatà, the western dialect of Catalan – utilises sunny vignettes as it moves toward a sorrowful, inevitable conclusion. A non-professional cast makes it seem as if director Carla Simón, editor Ana Pfaff and cinematographer Daniela Cajias simply happened upon every beautifully composed sequence. The effects can be slow-burning and occasionally a little shapeless, but they cast their own dappled spell as the summer wears on. Full review TB
The Enforcer ★★☆☆☆
Directed by Richard Hughes. Starring Antonio Banderas, Kate Bosworth, Mojean Aria, Alexis Ren, Zolee Griggs, Natalie Burn, 2 Chainz, Mark Rhino Smith, Luke Bouchier. 16 cert, gen release, 90 min
Largely useless avenger thriller concerning (yes) an enforcer for the Miami mob who, for no apparent reason, takes to caring for the victims of sex trafficking. The film is sometimes too sleazy, but it is, more often, not sleazy enough. The sex traffickers’ lair looks like something from a 1990s Depeche Mode video. The overarching feeling is of comic naughtiness rather than life-destroying malignity. That said, there is no doubt but that Banderas knows how to carry this stuff off. Surprising prominence given to Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime by The Korgis. Full review DC
