STN April 2020 write up.

​By Adam Ray Palmer
 
*This is a monthly newspaper column
 
Last month, Cineroom hit the heights of Scotland (Glasgow Film Festival to be exact) and so I thought I’d share with you two mini reviews of the best films I saw there. Following those, I’ll cover a movie that, as time of writing, will be released later in the year if Coronavirus hasn’t gotten to it! Anyway, let’s talk about a couple of independent movies first, hopefully they’ll go viral…

Escape from Pretoria
The first movie I reviewed was Francis Annan’s apartheid thriller, Escape From Pretoria. Starring Daniel Radcliffe and Daniel Webber; the movie is a 100-minute slow burn.
If you’re expecting an in-depth political drama based in a prison, this isn’t the one for you.
 
How I would explain it is a cross between The Great Escape and Ocean’s Eleven. It’s like a breakout movie against the clock. What’s impressive is when the getaway ensues, we go through the highs and lows with them, and as the final act plays out, you feel like you’re the fourth prisoner alongside them. It’s tense, gripping and a decent runner up in my festival rankings.
In cinemas & on demand now

Eternal Beauty
Craig Roberts, actor-turned-writer-turned director, arrived at the 2020 Glasgow Film Festival with his second feature-film from behind the camera. In an honest and refreshing approach, the movies tackles a few tough social subjects with an array of talent on the bill including the irreplaceable Sally Hawkins, David Thewlis, Alice Lowe and Billie Piper. Hawkins plays Jane, a fragile lady who falls into a state of despair over her schizophrenia. But along her journey to find happiness, she encounters new sources of love and life with surprising results.
 
Eternal Beauty is poignant, a thought-provoker and littered with incredible performances, notably Hawkins and Thewlis. The most important piece of dialogue that puts a smile upon your face is a quip by Jane back to a photographer when he says he is “normal” in response to her having schizophrenia. She immediately, without a thought, retorts “boring”. What a final word – my film of the festival.
In cinemas: Later this year (2020)

Antlers
This movie will not be for everyone, let me say that straight away. It’ll go down as a ‘horror-thriller’ but don’t let that put you off. Firstly, the crew behind this is exceptional. Scott Cooper is in the director’s chair having shot-called Crazy Heart and Black Mass in the past, and the producers are probably a dream duo. Guillermo del Toro (Pans Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) and David S. Goyer (writer of The Dark Knight) are on hand to steer the ship.
 
Oh, and the narrative? That’s decent too! In an isolated Oregon town, a middle-school teacher and her sheriff brother become embroiled with her enigmatic student whose dark secrets lead to terrifying encounters with a legendary ancestral creature who came before them. Sounds riveting right? Anything with a creature and del Toro together, you’re in for a treat. Chuck in Jesse Plemons in the lead role and we are now desperate COVID-19 doesn’t halt this flick. Go see it!
In cinemas: Later this year (2020)

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