By Anne Brodie
Misericordia (“compassion or empathy”) is an unsettling, unobvious thriller, a quiet but gale force knockout that may leave viewers gasping. Alain Guiraudie’s adaptation of the novel Stranger By The Lake, the French, Spanish and Portuguese co-pro is extraordinary – clever, sneaky and perplexing. Its intricate psychological portrait of a close-knit, claustrophobic village is frequently dark, visually; you begin to wonder if you can believe what you’re seeing, casting doubt on your instincts and interpretations. Jérémie (Félix Kysyl) returns to the village where he worked as a baker’s assistant to attend the funeral of his former boss and stay with Martine (Catherine Frot), his widow. Tongues start wagging that he is sleeping with her, while he recuperates from a bad breakup and looks for gay encounters. Martine’s son, bully Vincent (Jean-Baptiste Durand) repeatedly stalks and beats him and shows up in his bedroom while he sleeps; one night, Jérémie hides in his car but Vincent is hiding in the back and beats him. Jérémie has nowhere to go, and Martine won;t let him go. He spends time in the forest encountering villagers in search of peace and mushrooms and hopes for cover. But Vincent appears and Jérémie kills him; kill or be killed. The local priest (Jacques Develay), a forest walker, knows he did it but assures him he won’t say anything, telling him to square it with his conscience. On two occasions, Jérémie overhears villagers talking about him in disrespectful terms. Who can he trust? This brainteaser of an experience is realistically uncertain, reveals folks’ second nature, deception and darkness, even in the good guys. Misericordia is an intellectual delight in its depiction of human nature unbound. In theatres.
Steve Coogan’s customary woebegone, bitter and uncaring persona is well in place in The Penguin Lessons but hey ho! His character Tom, an English teacher in an Argentinian private school for rich boys is about to have his eyes and heart opened. He has reason to be bitter. He’s in mourning and sad while the headmaster (Jonathan Pryce) accuses him of teaching “antagonistic poetry” and they’re in the midst of a revolution; generals have taken control fighting guerillas. Being exclusive and English, the school is considered elitist, while people are being kidnapped off the streets. And school house staff may be planning a coup; bombs go off within view and sound. Tom meets a woman and they rescue an abandoned penguin, covered in oil and unable to function. He takes him to school, name him and suddenly our bitter hero’s life opens up. If anyone can crack Coogan’s vibe it’s this penguin – incidentally, a fine actor – who puts a spell on all he meets. Inspired by a true story! It’s warm but it’s also a powerful portrait of a man in crisis who finally reaches outside himself and his pain for the good of another living thing. It’s no overnight miracle, but a realistic, natural journey breaking down the shell of a hopelessness and anger. And with Pete comes a widening social circle. House staff, friends and the mean headmaster come to his rooms and emerge feeling better. In theatres.
An arresting entry, Village Keeper from Karen Chapman follows its TIFF success in theatres today. Actor dancer Olunike Adeliyi as Beverly-Jean, an anxious widow and mother of two who lives in Grandma’s Scarborough community housing project apartment they’ve had for decades. Beverly-Jean’s terrified of the violence there but can’t leave. Beverly-Jean manages her fear by yelling at the kids to be safe. They don’t listen. She obsessively cleans blood in the complex; there is always blood. Little by little we learn of her experiences in an abusive marriage and her concerns about her young son who acts out in violence at school. Grandma (Maxine Simpson) takes a softer, more optimistic approach with the kids, keeps smiling and encourages them. The film’s delicacy is intriguing, its subtlety is telling and it offers a myriad of sensations and stirred memories that we absorb immediately. A gem of a film, not to be missed.
Naomi Jaye’s psychological drama Darkest Miriam is an intriguing oddity. Britt Lower stars as Toronto librarian Miriam Gordon who seems numbed by the pain of the recent passing of her father. When people ask, she denies he’s dead. Her branch is close to Edwards Gardens and its vibrant plant life which contrasts with her sad, diminished existence. She goes about her workaday chores, leading children’s play groups, and cataloguing books and one day discovers a set of false teeth on a shelf and then a threatening note, the first of many. She keeps watch on library regulars, Fainting Man, Sue, the female patron who walks on diagonal, Irene, Suitcase Man, Beautiful Man, Piano Girl and Mom, Desperate Man, etc. It’s a low-key life, but outside is full of promise. Sitting on a bench by the Gardens, she meets a Slovenian man named Janko (Tom Mercier) and there’s a mutual attraction. He takes her to his apartment to see his morbid paintings; she doesn’t have much of a reaction. She reads him a macabre story about a little girl murdered by her by parents so he dubs her Darkest Miriam. She breaks his heart telling him he won’t have children; he says its is “like a curse” as they walking with eyes closed. But she’s telling him what she “sees”. Rigoletto, the opera’s themes and music run through the film and in the threatening notes. Jaye’s efforts pay off with a memorable, floating grip on the characters and their worlds – she has little use for fakery. Canadian Film Fest now, in theatres on the 28th.
Nicole Kidman follows the controversial Baby Girl with the controversial, risky and frankly freaky Holland streaming now on Prime Video. She’s Nancy Vandergroot, a teacher, wife and mother of Harry (Jude Hill) living in her beloved, idealised Holland, Michigan full of tulips and Middle Americans. Her deeply ingrained striving for perfection is evident in everything she does, from “organising” family as meticulously as she organises her kitchen, that is to within in inch of their lives. Perhaps that’s why her husband Fred (Matthew Macfadyen), an eye doctor, goes away most weekends for business trips. “So many contact lenses” he groans. That’s Nancy’s prime vulnerability. She becomes convinced he’s not at conferences, and rings hotels to find him without success. But life at school is suddenly sweeter thanks to her flirtation with shop teacher Dave (Gael García Bernal) and their occasional guilty kisses. Meanwhile she finds underwear jewelry and a roll of Polaroid film and since they don’t have such a camera, believes Fred must be recording his infidelities. She forces Dave into a plan to find the Polaroids; he goes along hoping it will end in her divorce and they can be together. He makes an eye appointment at her husbands place of work, excuses himself to the men’s room and unlocks the window two flights up. They’ll break in later to find the photos. She’s certain they’re there because they aren’t in their home she’s ransacked. They find pictures of a house and a business owned by The Bologna Queen, a mini of which is in Dave’s trainset village. Then the nightmares come for her – horrific, violent, sordid affairs. Dave asks her to run away with him but she must stay for Holland’s annual Tulip Time Festival, another of her obsessions. But first she goes to the family cottage to find Dave. This story culminates in one heck of a kick in the pants. It’s turgid, florid, sarcastic, cartoonish, and plenty of fun. Kidman sees to be enjoying every strange second. No deathless prose or naturalistic acting or whathaveyou. Holland, despite the tulips and clog dancing is loathesome fun. I mean watching Kidman crawl in and out of a second-floor window is worth the price of admission.
AppleTV+’s new comedy series The Studio finds Seth Rogen’s Matt Remick just named Big Shot at Continental Studios in Hollywood. It’s what he’s always wanted; he humiliated himself with the Head Honcho by begging for the post. He got it and bam! He is unprepared for the level of stress it brings him, although I don’t know why not; he’s been there long enough. Turns out, making movies is a demanding mistress, battles everywhere, colliding artistic visions, ages old struggles between art and commerce, strong personalities and spoiled stars. Remick wants to make art movies, looking to the masters but HH wants movies based on well known commercial brands, starting with Kool-Aid. Martin Scorsese appears in a cameo pushing his idea for Kool-Aid, not a silly, cartoon, oh, no, he wants to do the Jonestown Massacre – cult leader Jones’ followers willingly drank poisoned Kool-Aid (I’ve said Kool-Aid three times now and will accept any swag from you). Scorsese actually makes a strong case for it, but is rebuffed by Matt’s boss. Oh no, he wants a dancing pitcher of Kool-Aid (four). Matt’s mentor Patty (Catherine O’Hara, Rogen’s fellow Canadian) is fired and he takes her place but she continues to guide him and advises him to accept the pitcher pitch. She says stay away from film sets, its not good to have executives hanging around. He immediately goes to set because he’s a “fan” and ruins the day’s shoot. Third Canadian cast member Sarah Polley plays herself as director. By the end of his time-wasting, accident-prone, awkward presence, and blocking the driveway, she’s hollering at him. And then there’s the Ron Howard incident. I’ll let you watch Remick’s extraordinarily awkward and misguided interference over 10 eppies and enjoy that this edgy comic slapstick isn’t your life! There’s a lot of shouting. And it’s fabulous. Streaming now.
Netflix‘ sexy, expletive-heavy comedy series Survival Of The Thickest stars Michelle Buteau as Mavis, a fashion stylist at a crossroads in life. She catches her seemingly perfect beau Jacque (Taylor Selé) en flagrante, pauses for thirty seconds, and moves out. Platonic bestie Khalil (Tone Bell) is by her side and helps her find a crummy NYC apartment then takes her out to celebrate being free of That Man. However, things are looking up on the professional front. A pull-it-out-of-your-hat move saves a photo shoot and lands her a move up the ladder from assistant stylist to Stylist and dresser to spoiled star Natasha (Garcelle Beauvais) who doubts her, but is won over by Mavis’ talent; she dresses her in spectacular fashion for an event and her dog’s wedding. Jacques shows up to shoot them and worm his way back into her heart but no dice. It’s time for Mavis to play around a bit and boy does she and her circle play around! But no one comes up to snuff. Buteau’s charm and warm engaging manner maker this sing. Silly stuff but it’s a joy to watch her work. Full of good intentions and smart, we hope the best comes her way, whatever that may be. Seasons 1 and 2 streaming now.
Hulu Disney+ new sitcom Mid-Century Modern, is set in Palm Springs, of course, the home of MCM, in as three middle aged gay men Bunny (Nathan Lane), Jerry (Matt Bomer) and Arthur (Nathan Lee Graham) make a choice that will change their lives. Bunny lives in Palm Springs with his acid tongued mother (the late Linda Lavin) and they host Jerry and Arthur who’ve come to town for the funeral of a longtime mutual friend. That’s when they decide to spend their “golden years” together to stave off loneliness. This is the closest we get to an 80’s TV sitcom in 2025 – it features that old fashioned canned laughter, short sentences, dense humour and even the number of characters living in a single home. James Burrows who directed all the top series way back then, directs MCM, hence those old, warm, familiar feelings. But you’d never see the likes of Mid-Century Modern in the 80’s. That’s because its all about gay men and their love lives, witticisms, clever rebukes of one another’s love and life choices and comradeship. In the 8os there might be a gay character thrown in somewhere but an entire cast?! Nope. Not to mention all the characters are middle-aged or older, there are no smart-alec kids running around. This is truly revolutionary for an 80’s inspired sitcom. The storylines are standard sitcom single episodes – Jerry’s desperate to attend a Donny Osmond concert in town, “he made me gay”, two of the three admit they slept together years before, the funny side of COVID… Streaming now.