Dear friend,
I’ve realised I’ve been writing these weekly recaps of my film consumption for a little longer than two years, and it was only a matter of time before I reached the third recorded viewing of a movie.
So, to avoid boring any of you readers that might still be there (hi Brandon!), I’ve decided to come up with a new rule. In the vein of FilmSpotting’s pantheon, I’m not going to talk about films that I have already discussed three times, unless there is a special reason to do it, such as a big change in my appreciation. I haven’t settled on a specific terminology for these films (after all, if I watched them repeatedly, I must like them quite a lot), but the one to inaugurate this special vault is Oddity.
Oddity, written and directed by Damian McCarthy, Ireland, 2024 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
I needed some comfort watching, and I found it in this film, as carefully crafted as the cursed curios in Darcy’s (Carolyn Bracken) shop. It’s almost perfect in the way the characters’ actions are motivated, and you can’t help siding with Darcy, despite how scary she can be at moments.
Caveat, written and directed by Damian McCarthy, Ireland/United Kingdom, 2020 - ⭐⭐⭐ (down from ⭐⭐⭐½)
After Oddity, I thought I might give McCarthy’s first film another chance. But according to Letterboxd, I liked it more the first time around.
It’s at the same time similar and opposite to the later film: it also takes place, mostly, in a single location - but in a house as repugnant as the one in Oddity one is beautiful (and, not unexpectedly, it is actually the same building), it features some kind of battle between a man and a woman - but look me in the eyes and tell me any of their actions make sense -, and of course there is a murder, and a cursed object.
What really brings this film down is the prolonged section where the lead character (Jonathan French) drags himself around the house in pain. Maybe I’m being too critical, because overall it’s quite darkly funny, but I really wanted it to end a bit earlier.
Chevalier, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, co-written with Efthimis Filippou, Greece, 2015 - ⭐⭐½
Another entry in the Greek Weird Wave exploration: if last week’s The Capsule put on the scene seven women in a single place, and established a clear hierarchy among them, Tsangari’s second best-known film deals with six men (including Attenberg’s Vangelis Mourikis) on a ship, playing games to identify the alpha in the group, or at least to find the best of the bunch.
It’s all about ’toxic masculinity’, some times funny, other times obvious (it’s what you think).
The inevitable escalation doesn’t get as far as one could predict based on co-screenwriter Filippou’s standards: per se, this could be a nice surprise, if it didn’t make the whole experience rather bland and repetitive.
The Drama, written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, US, 2026 - ⭐⭐⭐½
A few years after Sick of Myself, the director of Dream Scenario proposes another story about a couple with peculiar dynamics. I’m conflicted about this film, and it’s difficult to explain why without spoilers. And maybe I like Zendaya’s acting too much when she’s playing a ’normal young woman’ (e.g. the Spider-Man films as opposed to Dune or Challengers).
In short: I’m not sure Borgli is the right person to tell this story, and I think I’m not the right person to ‘judge’ the drama it depicts.
As a very dark comedy, it mostly works. The film is produced by Ari Aster, and this could already give an idea. And the ending, despite it being very predictable, made me a bit emotional.
I didn’t particularly notice Alana Haim’s acting in Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest films, but she really gives a strong performance here.
Nice to see Archive 81’s Mamoudou Athie again (I forgot he was in Kinds of Kindness too). Robert Pattinson is dependable as ever and it’s always fun to see him play slightly goofy characters.
Frozen, directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, co-written with Shane Morris, US, 2013 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It took me only 13 years but I finally watched Frozen, making the most of the festive atmosphere of Easter Sunday. May I say that I expected more from Let It Go?
Anyway, after the all-too-tragic first act (not that I expected anything different), it was fun. Some, but not all, plot developments were predictable, but I suppose middle-aged men are not exactly the target audience for a Disney animation film.
I understand people’s love for Olaf - the sequence where he dreams of enjoying Summer is the best surprise of the film - although I wonder if it’s ’normal’ to have two sidekicks (in this case, Olaf and Sven) in a Disney film (I’m a bit rusty on animated classics).