Oops, I inadvertently didn't post one yesterday so let’s double up today.
The Worst Person In The World
Dir. Joachim Trier / Dur. 127 mins
Strand:- Love
In A Nutshell:- A look at the life of Julie, a restless and indecisive medical student-cum-photographer-cum-writer…
The Good:- It’s a fun and lively film, with great performances from the three lead characters. The structure laid out at the start of a prologue, twelve chapters and an epilogue works nicely to give you a sense of how far the journey is. There’s a nice realism to the scenes where they interact with friends and family which is balanced out by a couple of scenes of high fantasy, most notably a frozen time sequence and a magic mushrooms trip. It’s very funny in places but also manages to bring in some moments of genuine emotion without feeling sentimental. It’s a testament to the writer and director that, in different hands, this has all the capability of sliding at times into slightly cliched romcom territory but they manage to deftly avoid that, largely by managing to put in some very and occasionally inappropriate moments (I doubt many other Hollywood romcoms would have a scene where two characters, trying their best not to cheat on their partners, would watch each other going for a piss. Of the main actors, it’s Renate Reinsve that anchors the film and deservedly won at Cannes for her role in this film.
The Bad:- There’s a voiceover technique which is used quite effectively throughout much of the film but seems to oddly disappear by the end. Also, the “frozen time” sequence was enjoyable enough but felt a little out of place with the rest of the film.
The Verdict:- Funny and genuinely touching in equal measures while avoiding the pitfalls of a standard romantic comedy, this is one to watch.
No Q&A for this screening.
Queen Of Glory
Dir. Nana Mensah / Dur. 78 mins
Strand:- Laugh
In A Nutshell:- Ghanaian-American Sarah’s life is thrown upside-down when she inherits a Christian bookshop after the death of her mother
The Good:- It’s a confident debut and does a good job of highlighting the pull that first generation immigrants feel between the country they’ve grown up in and the culture that their parents came from. Mensah plays the lead role herself and is a compelling lead. There are some nice moments of comedy as well as an emotional payoff to the journey that the character of Sarah goes on.
The Bad:- Overall, it feels a little by-the-numbers; there’s no real surprise in how it all ultimately unfolds.
The Verdict:- An enjoyable comedy but with not enough truly funny moments to make it really memorable.
Q&A Notes:- The film was largely funded via Kickstarter; Nana Mensah never initially intended to play the lead role as well as writing and directing but that was the financial reality of the project. Due to the low budget nature of the film, a large number of friends and family of the cast and crew also appear in it (the next door neighbour’s daughter and mother are played by her real life daughter and mother). Mensha’s family genuinely do own a Christian bookshop which was used for the filming - filming had to take place there on Sundays as this was the day the store was closed due to them all being at church!
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