Our film critic, Mark Walsh, in a feature sponsored by Cambridge Arts Picturehouse, look ahead to what’s coming to the big screen.
Challengers
You never quite know what you’re going to get next from Luca Guadagnino, in the best possible way. Whether it be an ageing rock star in an Italian villa with a title borrowed from a David Hockney painting (A Bigger Splash), a James Ivory-scripted love story about a graduate student and a professor’s son with a Sufjan Stevens soundtrack (Call Me By Your Name), a remake of a Dario Argento horror casting Tilda Swinton in three separate roles (Suspiria), or Timothée Chalamet and Mark Rylance in an adaptation of a young adult cannibal novel (Bones And All), Guadagnino is as eclectic as he is talented.
So don’t be deterred if the sound of a love triangle set in the world of the challenge tennis tour doesn’t sound your cup of tea. Those non-James Ivory films I’ve just listed were scripted by David Kajganich, but here Guadagnino teams with debut screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes for a tale of a former tennis prodigy Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) who’s now turned her hand to coaching. Her husband (Mike Faist) is a Grand Slam champion who’s hit a slump in form, so she signs him up for a more junior Challenge Tour event. However, his opponent in the tournament is Patrick, a down on his luck player who just so happens to be his former best friend, and Tashi’s former boyfriend.
Zendaya serves as a producer as well as the lead actor in the film and it’s a star vehicle for her, likely to further raise her profile after the likes of the Spider-Man and Dune films and The Greatest Showman. Guadagnino and Kuritzkes serve up a film that’s as much about sex, passion and desire as it is about tennis, with a trilogy of compelling performances have surely served up another winner from the ace director.
Challengers opens on Friday, 26 April.
NT Live - NYE
Michael Sheen seems to have a number of gifts in life: a supreme talent for uncannily accurate portrayals of real life figures, from Tony Blair to Brian Clough and from Chris Tarrant to David Frost. He’s also been a passionate real life supporter of the NHS and so it seems wholly appropriate that his latest project sees him taking to the stage to portray the driving force in the creation of the health service, Aneurin Bevan.
Rufus Norris directs Tim Price’s take on the life of the politician described by many as having the greatest influence on our nation without ever becoming prime minister. Bevan’s story is told from a hospital bed, where he lies battling terminal stomach cancer in the Sixties. Flashbacks cover everything from his upbringing and his struggles with a stammer, his early days in local politics, his opposition of Churchill over miners’ rights and his work in the eventual creation of the NHS.
Sheen’s performance has been widely acclaimed and, coupled with Norris’s innovative staging, it’s a chance to see the actor bring another significant figure from twentieth century British history and culture to thrilling life.
Nye is screening on Tuesday, 23 April, with encores on Tuesday, 7 May, and Sunday, 12 May.
Almost Famous
The latest pick from the Watersprite Young Film Programmers is Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical story of a young journalist. Both Crowe and his fictional counterpart William Miller (Patrick Fugit) are writers for Rolling Stone magazine, with Miller sent on the road with the band Stillwater at the age of 15 to write an article about the group and the attention that surrounds them.
William’s mother Elaine (Frances McDormand) isn’t at all keen on rock music, so is less than thrilled when William takes to the road, sent out on a commission from rock journalist Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman). He befriends the band’s lead guitarist Russell (Billy Crudup) and groupie Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), but also gets caught up in the band’s tensions and wild lifestyle.
Crowe weaves his knowledge of the music industry and his own experience into the film and creates an authentic atmosphere that’s integral to one of the most beloved rock music films of all time. Guitarist Peter Frampton serves as a consultant on the film, while Crowe’s own mother – who provided the inspiration for McDormand’s character – ended up on set during filming. The film’s soundtrack is a quintessential slice of the era, with even Led Zeppelin being persuaded personally by Crowe to allow the inclusion of their music among the classic songs, which also range from The Who to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Elton John. Crowe’s musical background provided the source and inspiration for what remains his finest film.
Almost Famous is screening on Monday, 29 April.
Love Lies Bleeding
All eyes were on Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in their post-Twilight career, and while Stewart’s choices haven’t always worked, they’ve been incredibly varied. At her frequent best, in the likes of Pablo Larrain’s Spencer, where she portrayed Princess Diana, Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women, Greg Mottola’s Adventureland or her films with Olivier Assayas (Clouds Of Sils Maria, Personal Shopper), she can always be relied on to deliver strong character work at the heart of the drama, especially when paired with talented directors.
Excitingly she’s under the direction of Rose Glass, who also gave us the excellent psychological horror Saint Maud. Glass directs and writes (along with Weronika Tofilska) this genre-blending film which brings together romance and thrills in the world of Eighties bodybuilding. Stewart is gym manager Lou, who falls for a young woman called Jackie (Katy O’Brian) working out at her gym while on her way to a bodybuilding competition.
Jackie ends up being dragged into a world of violence involving Lou’s brother-in-law J.J. (Dave Franco) and her estranged father Lou Sr. (Ed Harris). Glass throws in creepy flashbacks, hallucinations and some plot pivots to create a gritty, greasy thriller that offers plenty of surprises, while offering Stewart yet another opportunity to extend her range.
Love Lies Bleeding opens on Friday, 3 May.
