SPENCER Dir: Pablo Larrain (15, 111 mins)
What do you mean you don’t think The Crown and Diana: The Musical on Netflix told the full story? Well luckily, there’s this snapshot of the turbulent life of Diana Spencer and the family Windsor to add to the royal soap opera. The doe-eyed tragic princess is here played by a disarmingly good Kristen Stewart as we enter a dreamlike story. A ‘fable from a true tragedy,’ Spencer follows Diana through a woeful Christmas with the in- laws in the early 90s as her marriage with Prince Charles is about to implode.
Pablo Larrain, director of the equally esoteric Jackie, along with writer Stephen Knight plays fast and loose with history, indulging in a nightmarish family closing in on Diana like a pack of hounds. Her grasp on reality wavers as Timothy Spall’s military man watches her like a hawk, leading to a need to break away and even seeing the ghost of Anne Boleyn. Stewart shines amidst the soon-to-be-controversial melodrama.
Out Fri 5 Nov
KING RICHARD Dir: Reinaldo Marcus Green (12A, 138 mins)
Will Smith plays tennis coach Richard Williams, father to Venus and Serena, whose dogged persistence in trying to get his daughters a space in an apparently closed tennis world both helps and hinders them. It’s a biopic that hits all the sports movie grace notes: triumph against adversity (the Williams family were not rich) and friction between father, daughters, played by Saniyya Sidney (Venus) and Demi Singleton (Serena) and wife Brandi, played by Aunjanue Ellis.
Will Smith stops running around and shooting things after the subpar Gemini Man and Suicide Squad, returning to his dramatic roots in a battle for recognition and diversity with the best – although very divisive – parental intentions. Plenty of court action and family drama, packed to the brim with a stirring score and inspirational speeches, this should be better than Wimbledon... the film, not the actual tennis fortnight.
Out Fri 19 Nov
GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE Dir: Jason Reitman (12A, 120 mins)
After the female-centric reboot of the Ghostbusters failed to ignite too many proton packs, the supernatural franchise bearers, including original director Ivan Reitman and son Jason, decided to go back to basics. Or rather, go seemingly a bit Stranger Things. This new iteration utilises the Ghostbusters of old, with the main cast – Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson, with the sad exception of the late Harold Ramis – all returning in some shape or form to facilitate a story about the next generation of spook handlers.
Taking place in a rural town where broke single mother Carrie Coon and her two kids (Finn Wolfhard and outsider McKenna Grace) are looking to start afresh after inheriting their grandfather, Egon Spengler’s house. And what’s this in the garage? The Ecto-mobile! The kids, it seems, are destined to Ghostbust, with Paul Rudd and mini Staypuft marshmallow men along for the ride. Let’s hope it can blend scares with comedy and make bustin’ feel good once more.
Out Thurs 18 Nov
CRY MACHO Dir: Clint Eastwood (12A, 104 mins)
At 91 years old, Clint Eastwood is still directing and starring in movies with gravelly aplomb. His latest drama sees him playing washed-up rodeo star Mike Milo, and imparting his masculine knowledge on a young man, Rafael (Eduardo Minett), as he brings him home to his father and Eastwood’s ex-boss (Dwight Yoakam). The trip involves getting from Mexico to Texas in an urban coming-of-age western, where yes, Eastwood still believably punches people in the face.
Long in gestation, Cry Macho is based on a novel by N. Richard Nash, and was nearly a vehicle for Arnold Schwarzennegger. Expect geriatric wisdom bestowed on hotheaded men and a potential swansong for Eastwood, although he shows no sign of slowing down. A no-fuss if familiar relationship drama, filled with nostalgia and starring one of the last old-school Hollywood legends, Cry Macho may indeed make you cry.
Out Fri 12 Nov
C’MON C’MON Dir: Mike Mills (15, 108 mins)
A monochrome road trip drama bolstered by a wonderful, warm hearted performance from a post- Joker Joaquin Phoenix, this looks set to touch and enthral. Written and directed by Mike Mills, who gave us the equally perceptive and hopeful dramas Beginners and 20th Century Women, C’mon C’mon centres around Phoenix’s relationship with his nephew, played by newcomer Woody Norman. He’s a radio DJ who has empathy with kids, interviewing them about their hopes and fears, but remains estranged from his sister (Transparent’s Gaby Hoffman) following a series of family traumas. When his sister has to help her estranged husband, Phoenix volunteers to look after his nephew with life-affirming results.
Wrapped up in Mill’s astute emotional intelligence, the pair bounce and spark off each other, giving them more than they could have hoped. Winning performances in a well-drawn but non-simplistic family tableaux will make C’mon C’mon crucial viewing.
Out Fri 19 Nov
BULL Dir: Paul Andrew Williams (18, 88 mins)
A nasty, gory revenge thriller firing on all cylinders from writer/director Paul Andrew Williams, who gave us the superior low-budget London To Brighton and The Cottage. Neil Maskell stars as the titular Bull, a scarily psychopathic wielder of knives and an enforcer out for vengeance – a mode Maskell has channelled to chilling effect in Channel 4 series Utopia and Kill List. A fractured timeline gradually pieces together to reveal the roots of his bloodymindedness – family becoming a major theme – along with tense stabbings on fairground rides that have hideous and uncomfortable consequences.
Looking at violence and the numbness of an eye for an eye through an unflinching gritty lense, this revenge thriller is miles away from Taken. A remorseless, stomach-churning watch with a superb character actor at its centre, Bull won’t be for everyone, but will mark another bleak, visceral milestone in British crime thrillers from Williams.
Out Fri 5 Nov
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