West of Memphis (MA)
Directed by Amy Berg
In 1993, three eight year-old boys were found dead in a creek in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas. The next year, three teenagers were convicted of the murders despite the lack of any evidence. David Echols (who co-produces this documentary), Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were to spend eighteen years in prison while a growing number of people tried to free the West Memphis Three. Eight thousand miles away in New Zealand, well-known filmmaking team Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh heard of the inadequacies and injustices of legal proceedings that had left the three young men on death row and funded fresh investigations to stop the State of Arkansas from killing three innocent men.
Amy Berg received an Academy Award nomination for Deliver Us From Evil, the documentary which exposed the Catholic priest in California who admitted to sexually molesting and raping 25 children. She spent two years documenting the long series of omissions and outright manipulations of the case of the West Memphis Three. As she delved deeper, she exposed unbelievable twists and turns from many of the major players. Her intriguing documentary is confronting, with graphic pictures of the murdered boys as new evidence and testimony is unearthed. Investigations show that what had been portrayed as satanic ritual slayings had a much simpler motive … and the killer was still roaming free. But the legal system didn’t want to know, and getting the story into the public arena was the only way to get any support to free David Echols from the 10 square metre room with no natural light. This real life suspense drama is a must-see. The findings of the dedicated sleuths are incredible but, with no neat ending, it certainly leaves many questions still unanswered.
Django Unchained (MA)
Directed by Quinton Tarantino
Writer/director Quinton Tarantino’s reputation precedes him. Set two years before the American Civil War, his characters indulge in a bit of levity before buckets of blood splatter the screen and lots of nasty men with bad teeth meet their grizzly demise. The master filmmaker treats his audience to sensational cinematography, tongue in cheek dialogue and an entertaining if somewhat ludicrous story. German-born Dr King Shultz (Christopher Waltz) is a bounty hunter who buys a slave, Django (Jamie Foxx), to help him hunt down three wanted men. They form a partnership, continuing to hunt down scumbags and racist bastards before setting off to rescue Django’s beloved Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). This brings them up against a formidable foe in the shape of Calvin Candie (Leonardo Di Caprio) who owns the Candyland plantation and indulges in the sport of ‘nigger wrestling’. Sheer brilliance – except for the part where Tarantino thinks that he can act.
Silver Linings Playback (M)
Directed by David Russell
Against medical advice, Delores (Jacki Weaver) discharges her son Pat (Bradley Cooper) from a psychiatric facility and takes him home to Philadelphia. Caring for the bipolar Pat who refuses to take his medication proves to be very difficult. Still infatuated by his estranged wife who has a restraining order out on him, Pat erupts into irrational bouts of violence, waking the neighbours and getting visits from the police. While Delores cooks all day long and his father, Pat Senior (Robert De Niro), tries in his own misguided way to spend time with Pat, it is the promiscuous Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who holds the key to Pat’s recovery. All the characters are dysfunctional and stark raving crazy, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Lives can be lived, romance can blossom and the silver lining can be found by celebrating the craziness. This romantic comedy about imperfect people is a real treat.
Lincoln (M)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Daniel Day Lewis is the 16th president of the not-so United States of America. In Abraham Lincoln’s final tumultous months in office, the free North and the slave South are at war with each other. As the body-count of the young sons of the nation rises, Lincoln decides to experiment with democracy to end the war through passing a 13th amendment to the constitution to abolish slavery. This dramatized history lesson is a detailed study of the characters involved and the conversations that were held. Daniel Day Lewis holds everything together with his weary but powerful presence while Tommy Lee Jones shows how heights of sarcasm can be achieved with an excellent command of the English language as the abolitionist Thadeus Stevens. While there are small insights into Lincoln’s family life, the film centres on the good old manipulation, corruption and bribery that gives the democratic process a much needed push.
Smashed (MA)
Directed by James Ponsoldt
Billed as being about the joyous highs and desperate lows of being an addict, Smashed is more about the pleasant highs and more desperate lows of recovering from the grips of alcoholism. Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is a young primary school teacher who still manages to party all night and have beer for breakfast but she needs Dutch courage (in the form of a mix of vodka and whiskey) to face her class of year ones. Everyone she knows, including her mother (Octavia Spencer) and husband Charlie (Aaron Paul), drinks so she doesn’t see there are any problems. But when the embarrassing and downright stupid things begin to add up, Kate seeks the help of a colleague to become sober … and that’s when her life really becomes really messed up. Smashed is a worthwhile journey into the dangers of sobriety and screens at Somerville until 10 February and Joondalup 12-17 February.
