One film many were anxious to see at Cannes was Jane Campion’s Bright Star, the director’s first feature length film since 2003’s In the Cut, a film I almost wish I had never seen. However, her Oscar nominated film The Piano makes sure we will keep an eye on all of her upcoming projects and it would seem Bright Star is a film shining “bright” enough to conjure up comparisons.
Allan Hunter at Screen Daily says in his opening, “Sixteen years after The Piano, Jane Campion has found renewed artistic inspiration in a tragic romance to match the haunting intensity of that Palme D’Or winning feature.”
I can’t help but wonder, will Abbie Cornish follow in the footsteps of Anna Paquin who won a Best Actress in a Supporting Role Oscar for her performance in The Piano? Hunter continues his praise of the film with praise for Cornish saying, “She captures all the youthful impetuosity of the English Fanny [Brawne] and portrays her as a young woman trying to maintain control of a life torn apart by all the fresh emotions and new sensations that she is experiencing. It is a performance that should win her awards season consideration and emphatically underlines why she is one of the most highly regarded performers of her generation.”
Joan Dupont at The New York Times continues praise of Cornish calling her performance the “bright star” in a film that left “few dry eyes” in the house.
Jeff Wells was luke warm on the film but took notice of its qualities while calling it “basically a Masterpiece Theatre thing that my mother will love. I’m not putting it down on its own terms. I felt nothing but admiration for the various elements.” However, the Oscar chances are obviously there as his last paragraph reads:
A journalist friend told me an hour ago that Bright Star will be Oscar nominated in seven or eight categories because it delivers that particular brand of period romance fulfillment that people of a certain persuasion line up for when movies of this sort play the Royal in West Los Angeles and the Lincoln Plaza in Manhattan.
Sounds like Bright Star is a film to be taken seriously, and if you would like more information about the behind-the-scenes work on the film there is a production diary at the official site. However, Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock not only appears to not be of Oscar caliber, it also isn’t winning over Cannes critics.
First we have Todd McCarthy at Variety says “[Taking Woodstock] serves up intermittent pleasures but is too raggedy and laid-back for its own good, its images evaporating nearly as soon as they hit the screen.” Jeff Wells agrees adding, “It too often feels ragged and unsure of itself, and doesn’t coalesce in a way that feels truly solid or self-knowing. At best it’s a decent try, an in-and-outer. Spit it out — it’s a letdown.”
Eric Kohn at indieWire calls it a “messy historical fiction plays like a two hour ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch, and not a very good one, either.” Meanwhile, Allan Hunter at Screen Daily writes, “Enjoyable in places and merely humdrum in others, Taking Woodstock ultimately feels like a minor Ang Lee digression in between more memorable works.”
So, let’s shelve that one for award season, but I am still interested in seeing it. After all, Anne Thompson liked it quite a bit.
Finally, a couple of side notes before I go.
I think we will hear from Star Trek again, if only in the sound categories. Also, from the sounds of it the French film Un prophète (A Prophet) has debuted to kind words. The film, directed by Jacques Audiard, according to Jonathan Romney at Screen Daily, “The film should have the same international appeal as last year’s Cannes crime hit Gomorrah. Its unapologetically testosterone-laden tenor will give the film a resonance way beyond the international art-house constituency that embraced Audiard’s last film, The Beat That My Heart Skipped.”
Justin Chang at Variety calls the film “a tough, absorbingly intricate account of a young French-Arab thug’s improbable education behind bars” before adding “A Prophet is solid, sinewy pulp fiction with strong arthouse prospects.” Perhaps a strong Foreign Language contender…
And the last note comes in video form. If you haven’t watched the trailer for Rob Marshall’s Nine — first off, shame on you — then I offer it directly below for your enjoyment.
