Director, director

Hāũā Öũā Ŷƒŋ ƩķĿŭ ĢłùāķĢðķƘ stamped by the masterful work of their directors. There’s the return of Jane Campion and her latest, The Power of the Dog, and from Edgar Wright, his Last Night In Soho.

¦Ğā ”ŋƒāũ ŋĕ ŶĞā 'ŋė ̛pāŶƪĢƗ̜ ̞ Jane Campion has captured an Oscar and a Palme D’or (Cannes) for directing The Piano, and just earlier this year, she copped a Silver Lion (Venice) ĕŋũ ŶĞĢŭ ƩķĿ ̞ Ğāũ ƩũŭŶ ùĢũāóŶĢłė ƒŋũĴ in 12 years. On the surface, it may seem an unusual choice for her to tackle, a Western set in 1925 Montana; but we’ll soon see just what drew her to this cult novel, and its potent psychological drama. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons as brothers Phil & George, they’re supported by Kirsten Dunst as Rose, who George takes as his wife, and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Rose’s son, Peter, ƒĞŋ ĞÖŭ Ö ķĢŭť Öłù Ģŭ āƦāĿĢłÖŶā̍ Rł Ö milieu marked by toxic masculinity, the elements are there for Campion to create cinema magic. This was actuÖķķƘ ƩķĿāù Ģł pāƒ ÑāÖķÖłù̇ Öłù ĢŶ̪ŭ amazing how the rough landscape and stunning vistas become a character in themselves.

This early, there’s talk of Cumberbatch possibly earning Best Actor nominations for his Phil. There’s an arc to his role that will be a surprise to people watching the film. Campion’s handling of the material will also make her a strong contender for Best Director honors in the coming award season. This dropped on NetƪĢƗ ķÖŭŶ 'āó̍ ː̇ Öłù ŶũŽŭŶ Ŀā̇ ĢŶ ƒŋł̪Ŷ make a dent in the Most-Watched list – Power of the Dog is part of the ŭŶũāÖĿĢłė ėĢÖłŶ̪ŭ ƘāÖũķƘ ŨŽāŭŶ Ŷŋ Ʃėure in the award season. Think Roma of a few years back, and The Irishman and Marriage Story, more recently. This falls in the same category of the high brow, prestige projects that earn accolades from the critics and cinema cognoscenti; but get ignored by the mainstream audience who’ll prefer output like Red Notice. Campion earns Ö ƒāķóŋĿā ũāŶŽũł ƒĢŶĞ ŶĞĢŭ ƩķĿ̇ Öłù I hope we don’t have to wait 12 years ĕŋũ Ğāũ łāƗŶ ƩķĿ̍

Last Night In Soho (Video on Demand) – Edgar Wright has been one of my favorite directors, dating back to Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and ĞĢŭ ˑˏː˖ ÖóŶĢŋł̓óũĢĿā ŶĞũĢķķāũ ÖðƘ Driver. There’s always been a dark-ish but hilarious sense of humor at play Ģł ĞĢŭ ƩķĿŭ̇ Öłù ŶĞā ƩũŭŶ ŶĞĢłė ƘŋŽ̪ķķ have to accept about this new twisted psychological drama of his is that in stretching his mastery of different genres, he has basically jettisoned this trademark comedy. What we get instead is a steady tightening of the screws, as we join his female protagonist down a rabbit hole of inhabiting someone else’s persona, and reliving the 1960s. In lesser hands, our suspension of disbelief would not have been as willing – for, from the outset, this could be considered a ludicrous premise, and could just as easily have ended up in unintentional comedy.

But from the very opening sequence, as Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) sashays around her bedroom to Peter & Gordon’s World Without Love, I was hooked and surrendered. An aspiring fashion designer, this small town Cornwall girl gets a scholarship to London, and we learn that these same ambitions were held by her late mother, who took her own life. Eloise has the gift of a third eye, seeing the dead. It isn't long before the room where she boards carry a deep secret – that of Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy), an ingénue singer in the swinging ˕ˏŭ ŋĕ !ÖũłÖðƘ œŶ̍̓ ĢðÖ dŋłùŋł̇ ƒĞŋ ƒÖŭ ðāĢłė āƗťķŋĢŶāù ðƘ Ğāũ ðŋƘĕũĢāłù̓ ĿÖłÖėāũ̓ťĢĿť̍ ¦ĞÖŶ̪ŭ āłŋŽėĞ ťķŋŶ ŋłā łāāùŭ Ŷŋ Ĵłŋƒ̇ Öŭ ƒĞÖŶ ŶĞā ƩķĿ Ģŭ ũāÖķķƘ ÖðŋŽŶ Ģŭ ÂũĢėĞŶ ŶÖĴĢłė ƩũĿ óŋłŶũŋķ ŋĕ the material, his actors, the cinematography and blocking, and making us believers of this wild tale.