The UK's biggest film extravaganza – the London Film Festival 2010 – is about to kick off. Screenjabber's top writers give their thoughts on what to see this year ...
Anne Wollenberg
The London Film Festival is one of my highlights of the year for a number of reasons. It’s a film festival open to the public. It’s a chance to catch a stack of upcoming film releases, from those I missed by not going to Cannes to a host of quirky, independent movies. And there are all sorts of wonderful surprises – like going to an evening screening of American: The Bill Hicks Story only to find members of Bill’s family were there too. First, there are the more obvious attractions. Never Let Me Go, based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel with a cast that includes Carey Mulligan and Sally Hawkins (both among my favourite Brit actresses), opens the festival on October 13. And while I never understood the need to remake the fantastic Swedish film Let The Right One In, I’m willing to give Let Me In a chance – if only because it stars the always-wonderful Chloe Moretz. Then there’s Mike Leigh’s Another Year, widely acclaimed for its take on family, friendship, ageing and discontentment.
I’m also intrigued by Everything Must Go, an interpretation of a Raymond Carver story starring Will Ferrell. People keep saying it’s a change of tone for Ferrell – evidently forgetting his outstanding performance in Stranger Than Fiction, which was a world away from the likes of Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby. I suppose the fact people feel the need to sell a serious role from Ferrell as a new direction suggests he’s still perceived as someone who just does lowbrow comedy. In Everything Must Go, he plays a middle-aged alcohol whose life is tumbling down around him. And if Stranger Than Fiction is any indication, it ought to be superb. There are some wondrous casting combinations at LFF this year. Take Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, who play young parents in Blue Valentine; Eva Green and Matt Smith (yes, as in The Doctor) in Womb, “a love story with a sci-fi twist”; and Natalie Portman and Vincent Cassel both appear in ballet thriller (new niche genre?) Black Swan.
I’m also dying to see The Kids Are Alright, the Julianne Moore and Annette Benning comedy drama we’ve been hearing about for a while now; Leap Year, a gritty Mexican film about a freelance journalist; “slacker sci-fi” Mars; Norwegian film Home For Christmas; and Joy, a Dutch film about a girl who was abandoned as a baby. My one gripe about this year’s LFF is that there’s no way it’s humanly possible for one person to see even half the amazing films showing. Maybe Matt Smith could lend me his TARDIS?
Justin Bateman
The LFF 2010 is my first film festival and as I have press accreditation I have to confess I'm a little bit excited about the whole thing. The prospect of seeing up to four films a day for two weeks is, frankly, slightly overwhelming but I'm confident I'll cope. Beginning at the end, the closing night gala screening of Danny Boyle's 127 Hours looks like it's going to be a riveting watch. Based on the true story of climber Aron Ralston, it tracks the time he spent with his arm trapped under a boulder and the extreme measures he took to escape.
Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan starring Natalie Portman is sure to be interesting - everything he's directed so far has been - while on a lighter note The Kids Are Alright with Annette Bening and Julianne Moore looks like fun. I'm also keen to catch Everything Must Go starring Will Ferrell as I found his last foray into "serious" acting (Stranger Than Fiction) a lot more satisfying than many of his comedies. As a huge fan of Swedish vampire love story Let The Right One In, I'm intrigued if not entirely confident that the Hollywood remake Let Me In will live up to the atmospheric brilliance of the original. I've heard good things about Submarine, a British film directed by The IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade and I also like the look of Italian film Le Quattro Volte, a quasi-documentary about a small village which features anarchic goats. And how could anyone resist a description like that?
Doug Cooper
What am I looking forward to at this year's London Film Festival? Good question. I can't say I'm too inspired by any of the movies on offer to be honest though there are doubtless some interesting films in the mix. I'm very squeamish, so I'll probably avoid Danny Boyle's 127 Hours as I don't fancy seeing James Franco hacking his own arm off. Colin Firth keeps getting better with age however so costume drama The King's Speech might be worth seeing. I've always been fascinated with the soap opera that has been New Labour so the documentary Mandelson: The Real PM? is one I'd like to catch.
Joanna Hogg is a director to watch. Her first film Unrelated took its time but was rewarding in the end so I'll be curious to see what her new one, Archipelago, is like. Gorgeous Frieda Pinto didn't really get to stretch herself in Slumdog Millionaire so let's see if she displays full acting chops in Julian Schnabel's Miral. I do love a good miniseries and the five-and-a-half hour Carlos could fit the bill, telling the life of the famed terrorist. Everything Must Go, with Will Ferrell in a rare dramatic role, looks intriguing while Blue Valentine, dissecting a couple's troubled marriage, could be very powerful. I interviewed Villa Amalia director Benoit Jacquot for Screenjabber earlier this year - his movies are serious but he's a very funny and indiscreet guy in person - so will take a look at his new film, Deep In The Woods (Au Fond Des Bois), a "psychologically intense" drama set in 19th century France. Kristin Scott Thomas is in another French film playing at the festival, the thriller In Your Hands (Contre Toi) which could be good. There has to be at least one sexy film showing and that might be Happy Few, about two Paris couples who become sexually entangled. I'll finish off with a late addition, Somwhere, Sofia Coppola's new film. Please God, it can't be any worse than Marie Antoinette.