A quiet small and captivating film about three women in Brokeback mountain country – Montana. Three stories loosely sit together in this bleak terrain with the mountain backdrop. Laura (Laura Dern)
is a lawyer trying to help a man (Jared Harris) who has lost his case for accident compensation.
Dern is weary and compelling as the only source of help and love the man has. Then Michelle Williams plays a mother who is the motor in a family building a new house, negotiating with an elderly man for local sandstone.
The third story is the most compelling with Kristin Stewart playing a rookie lawyer giving a night school class
which is gatecrashed by a local farmhand who becomes infatuated with her. Lily Gladstone is quite magical in this role.
The stories all peter out in some way but this is a sign of real life and Kelly Reichardt portrays the small moments in life, the disappointments and failed expectations
very beautifully in this wild landscape. Not film of the year but a very solid indy. Absorbing in its minimalism.
★★★★
Got neither and as this movie ground on in an increasingly pedestrian manner, I just wondered what the point was. Perhaps it shows up that Agatha Christie’s novel is starting to fade in time or that Kenneth Branagh, director and lead star
, just didn’t make the most of this opportunity.
and not exploiting the rest of the cast, most of whom have very little to do.
By the time the train was derailed and the murder mystery set up I was ready for bed or to be buried in a blizzard. Johnny Depp
, Michelle Pfeiffer and Willem Dafoe
are perhaps the most interesting in this damp squib.
Paterson is seen going about his daily routine, driving the bus, having his daily beer at a local bar,
writing poems and being with his loving and creative wife Laura, who is a bit of an adorable nutcase, She is played by Iranian Golshifteh Farahani.
The dramas here are relatively minor, human and identifiable and Jim Jarmusch films with a keen eye for small details.
Nonetheless, he also maintains a sense of drama and mystery about life. Adam Driver
is superb as Paterson and conveys many feelings with barely a shift in his look. The use of real poems make Jarmusch’s script even more lyrical and appealing. And then we have Nellie as Marvin, the bulldog, 
another canine star. All in all a lovely independent style film shining light on our lives.
From the Ancient One (effective Tilda Swinton)
and Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) 
he begins to train up in the old arts that see him learn how to handle energy and eventually defend the world against the evil Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen). 
Visibly the action scenes are a treat
but the plot starts to fizzle midway through. Benedict Cumberbatch is convincing as Strange
but the fact that the film becomes so predictable detracts a bit from the overall effect.
in part to make amends with his father, Usher, who now runs a big charity for poor Jews
and who involves him in his activities from the start but who remains elusive and only meets up with his son at the very end. Usher is a real life character. While there is a love interest in the movie via orthodox Jew Eva (Julieta Zylberberg),
the real interest here is to see the busy neighbourhood and the activities and rituals of the locals, meals at the synagogue, a ritual bath session. And also the way that Ariel, despite being distanced from his father, starts to assume some of the other’s responsibilities.
So, slow moving with myriad small plot lines largely managed by Usher, this is a nice look at a different community and a fair film.
passionfilm 