Two big premieres landed at Cannes in the last couple of days that could have an impact on the upcoming Oscar race. The first was Tommy Lee Jones' latest directorial effort, which he also stars in opposite Hilary Swank, The Homesman. The reviews have been mostly pretty go so far, but there are some detractors. Some praise the focus on women, something most westerns simply do not do, while others complain about the pacing, and the overall effect. So the potential Oscar effect at this moment is a bit up in the air, but Swank is certainly in the mix, and the technical aspects could be in as well. Also remember that we have seen plenty of films premiere at Cannes to uncertain futures, only to rebound later (think Inglourious Basterds). So don't give up yet on The Homesman. Here are some sample reviews:
Peter Debruge at Variety complements Jones for his subtlety and surprise feminism:
"Unlike other actor-directors, Jones never seems to indulge excess on the part of his cast. Though the characters are strong, the performances are understated. Even the three ladies settle into a state of near-catatonia after awhile, rather than indulging their various “hysterias.” In the past, people have whispered about Jones’ attitudes toward women; with this film, he says a thing or two on the subject with a sensitivity that comes as a welcome surprise."
Full Review: http://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/cannes-film-review-the-homesman-1201184932/
Todd McCarthy at The Hollywood Reporter was impressed with the final product:
"The rough lot handed to women in the Old West remains a footnote in the cinematic history of cowboy days, but it figures front and center in The Homesman. Tommy Lee Jones’ adaptation of the late Glendon Swarthout’s flavorful 1988 novel is both lyrical and shocking, weirdly funny and grimly serious. Fronted by fine and wise performances by Hilary Swank as a self-sufficient unmarried pioneer charged with transporting three insane women back East and by Jones himself as a shiftless claim-jumper obliged to help her, this beautifully crafted film intrigues as a story never told before and ratchets up dramatic interest through a succession of unexpected turns."
Full Review: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/homesman-cannes-review-705259
The other major debut is David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars, whose first trailer was intriguing to say the least. Now I know that Cronenberg has never been popular with the Academy, sometimes deserving, other times not (I still can not get over the fact that A History of Violence missed out on so many nominations). This one will probably not inspire too many notices, but it looks to be a fascinating and hard-hitting look at modern-Hollywood culture.
Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian (UK) writes:
"David Cronenberg's new film here at Cannes is a gripping and exquisitely horrible movie about contemporary Hollywood – positively vivisectional in its sadism and scorn. It is twisted, twisty, and very far from all the predictable outsider platitudes about celebrity culture. The status-anxiety, fame-vertigo, sexual satiety and that all-encompassing fear of failure which poisons every triumph are displayed here with an icy new connoisseurship, a kind of extremism which faces down the traditional objection that films like this are secretly infatuated with their subject. Every surface has a sickly sheen of anxiety; every face is a mask of pain suppressed to the last millimetre. It is a further refinement of this director's gifts for body horror and satire."
Full Review: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/may/18/maps-to-the-stars-cannes-review-julianne-moore-robert-pattinson
Oliver Lyttelton at The Playlist at Indiewire writes:
"Real talk: it's been quite a while since David Cronenberg made something truly satisfying. "Cosmopolis" has a few defenders, "A Dangerous Method" not so much, and while there's stuff to like in "Spider," "A History Of Violence" and "Eastern Promises," all felt compromised to some degree or other. Indeed, the truly unfiltered Cronenberg picture, one where bits fall off people or people try to have sex with orifices not traditionally used for any sexual act, seems like something of a distant memory at this point...But good news is here, because the Canadian director's latest, "Maps To The Stars," just premiered at Cannes, and while it's substantially different from the "Videodrome"s and "Crash"es of the world, and probably rather more disposable, it's certainly the director's most twisted, and as a consequence, most deliciously entertaining film, in quite a long while."
Full Review: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/review-david-cronenbergs-maps-to-the-stars-with-robert-pattinson-mia-wasikowska-julianne-moore-john-cusack-20140518
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