Journeyman

Paddy Considine’s drama, Journeyman, explores the story of middleweight boxing champion Matty Burton. At the end of his career, Burton steps into the ring for one final fight to make money to provide for his family. Following the fight, Burton collapses at home in front of his wife, played by Jodie Whittaker, suffering a delayed reaction to a calamitous punch. Upon awaking from a coma, Burton’s personality is altered. After that, Burton has to try and piece his life back together following devastating memory loss. This “heartbreaking” drama is “compelling but flawed.” Where the film falters is in its “bafflingly quick resolution” and oversimplification and sentimentality.

Watch the trailer below:

Mary Magdalene

Garth Davis’ biblical drama Mary Magdalene attempts to portray the enigmatic and misunderstood scriptural figure of the woman of the same name. Mary, played by Rooney Mara, defies the traditional patriarchal and hierarchal standards of the day, to join the new movement led by the magnetic Jesus of Nazareth, played by Joaquin Phoenix. An understanding develops between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and eventually she finds herself at the heart of the movement and the journey to Jerusalem. The film explores “the tale about a woman tormented by doubt and oppression, and the one man who respects her enough to ask.” Ultimately, “powerful feminist undertones eventually give way to a traditional Christ tale.”

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The Lodgers

Brian O’Malley’s gothic horror film, set in rural ‘20s Ireland, tells the tale of twins Rachel and Edward, played by Charlotte Vega and Bill Milner. The pair live in a crumbling estate, set in the supposedly haunted Loftus Hall. Ostracised by the village due to their strangeness, the twins are beholden to a sinister presence, which implements rules upon the siblings; they must be in bed by midnight, no outsiders are permitted within the threshold of the estate, and if one twin attempts to escape – the life of the other is in danger.

Tensions come to a head when Rachel meets a soldier recently returned to the village from fighting in the First World War. Once she begins to disobey the rules set down by the spirit, something’s gotta give with her brother Edward and the spirits that possess them.

Although the story is thin at times, the “darkly bewitching visuals make this spooky tale an atmospheric addition to Irish horror.”

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You Were Never Really Here

Lynne Ramsey’s thriller, You Were Never Really Here, tells the story of Joe, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Joe is a former FBI agent and combat veteran, and a contract killer hired to track down trafficked girls. Joe’s grim history comes graphically back to haunt him through flashbacks to his childhood and military past caused by post-traumatic stress disorder. Joe’s next job is a big one – Albert Votto (Alex Manette), a New York State Senator, is willing to cough up a large sum of money to surreptitiously rescue his abducted daughter Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov).

You Were Never Really Here is a “powerful thriller” but suffers with “problems of convention and cohesion.”

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Isle of Dogs

The favourite film this week is maverick director Wes Anderson’s latest animated film, Isle of Dogs. Set in dystopian near-future fictional city of Megasaki in Japan, a dog flu virus leads to all dogs being banished to an ominously named Trash Island. The decree is signed by the authoritarian mayor, who offers his ward Atari Kobayashi’s dog Spots as the first dog to be expelled.

Later, Atari (Koyu Rankin) runs away to Trash Island to find Spots and encounters a gang of five dogs to help him on his mission; Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), Duke (Jeff Goldblum), Boss (Bill Murray) and Chief (Bryan Cranston).

Isle of Dogs, is receiving rave reviews and is likely “one of the most satisfying movies” of Wes Anderson’s career.

Watch the trailer below:

See full film reviews, and an interview with Isle of Dog's Bryan Cranston, in the current issue of Hot Press.