By Ashley Clark
Crosstown traffic, long engagements, and unorthodox conflict resolution. It’s just another compelling week of new releases at South London’s best cinema.
Sidling into the Ritzy this week is David Cronenberg’s languid adaptation of Don DeLillo’s odd, elliptical novel Cosmopolis, starring R-Patz (totally right for the role) as a jaded, limo-bound 28-year-old millionaire named Eric Packer who just wants a haircut. It’s as esoteric, compelling and obliquely satirical as my weekly film round-ups here. Tell all your Twilight-loving friends to come along, then stand outside when it finishes and film their confusion with your iPhones. Then ask them what they thought of a stellar supporting cast which includes the likes of Paul Giamatti, Juliette Binoche and Samantha Morton.
The latest offering from the Judd Apatow comedy stable comes to London this week in the form of the The Five Year Engagement. It stars Jason Segel and Emily Blunt as a couple whose relationship is pushed to breaking point during their prolonged betrothal. It’s sweet and intermittently amusing but – like its subject matter – notably overlong (do you see what I’ve done there?) That said, Blunt shines to the extent that you can see her becoming a massive star, and Segel is as affable as ever.
Also opening this week is Where Do We Go Now?, director Nadine Labaki’s follow-up to 2007’s Caramel. In answer to Nadine’s question, I don’t know, because I haven’t seen it. What I can tell you is that it’s about a group of Lebanese women who attempt to ease religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in their village via such methods as hiring a troupe of sexy Ukranian dancers to distract the men. Hmmm.
In terms of rep cinema, you absolutely must come along on Friday or Saturday night to watch the late showing of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s barking mad Chilean cult classic El Topo. Now 42 years old, it’s about a man who confronts a bunch of warrior masters on a transformative desert journey he begins with his 6 year old son in tow. It’s so deeply weird that you’ll need to go and sit down in KFC afterwards and have a long, hard think about things. Popcorn chicken, please.
Films continuing their runs this week include Jaws (which I think is a maybe documentary about the guy from James Bond but I’m not sure ummm), Plan B’s double hard pizza with toppings of blood, crack and grit iLL MANORS, fun Olympics cash-in Fast Girls (about girls what can run), Ken Loach’s The Angels’ Share (whisky), and – still – Bobdoc Marley (irie).
All films showing at the Ritzy Cinema, Brixton Oval. Book tickets here.
Ashley Clark runs the film blog Permanent Plastic Helmet. You can follow it on Twitter @PPlasticHelmet and/or him @_ash_clark.
