LITTLE WOMEN (PG)
135 minutes/ 4 stars
There have been several movie adaptations of the classic Louisa May Alcott novel. The latest brings a jolt of energy to a story set in 19th-century Massachusetts, making it spring to life in a way that sets the standard for period drama.
The story opens with the March sisters and their mother “Marmee” (Laura Dern) already living, as the phrase goes, in genteel poverty – the women are not exactly starving nor are they ready to give up their housekeeper.
Yet they cannot afford to pass up any chance of improving their lot, whether it be by cosying up to wealthier relatives or by marriage.
Much credit for this work’s vibrancy goes to director and screenwriter Greta Gerwig. She makes every line and scene count.
Saoirse Ronan’s Best Actress Oscar nomination is richly deserved, as is this film’s entry into the Best Picture list, but where is Gerwig’s Best Director nomination? Her work here is superior to that of, say, Todd Phillips (Joker) or Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood), both of whom are nominated directors, so her snubbing once again proves that Hollywood is a clique.
WAVES (M18)
135 minutes
This drama about an African-American family coping with the pressure to achieve has won awards from the Hollywood Critics Association and National Board Of Review, among others, winning praise for its acting, sound, editing and the direction by Trey Edward Shults. Sterling K. Brown is a father who has set lofty goals for his children, unaware that the pressure he exerts on them will bring about tragic consequences.
WHERE: The Projector, 05-00 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road MRT: Nicoll Highway WHEN: From Thursday, various times ADMISSION: $13.50 INFO:
MINDS FILM FESTIVAL 2020
Opening film The Peanut Butter Falcon (PG13, 97 minutes, 3.5 stars) is a rambling, ramshackle comedy-drama that, like the makeshift boat at the centre of the film, should not float but does so anyway.
The story turns its minuses into pluses because it never gives in to irony.
Every moment feels authentic, even if some of them rely on broad Southern stereotypes.
Zack Gottsagen, an actor with Down Syndrome, is Zak, a young man obsessed with escaping the retirement home in which he has been housed so that he can train at the Florida wrestling school of his idol. Slipping through the gates, he meets Tyler, a fisherman with a troubled past, played by Shia LaBeouf. Hot on their trail is Eleanor (Dakota Johnson), Zak’s guardian.
The pair run, swim, paddle and sail their way through the swampy heat of the American South, having adventures which change the course of all their lives.
This is a work that comes with the usual lesson about what the handicapped can teach the able-bodied about following one’s dreams, but film-makers Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz breathe new life into that old theme by never buffing away the improvised rawness.
Its odd beats and eccentric set-ups play out in full. Not all of it works, but the production makes a convincing and entertaining argument for including actors with intellectual disabilities.
WHERE: Shaw Theatres Lido, 5th/6th floor Shaw House, 350 Orchard Road MRT: Orchard WHEN: Till Sunday, various times ADMISSION: $10 from the Shaw Theatres box office or go to INFO:
