Mia Madre (15)
Directed by Nanni Moretti
4/5

IN THIS slow-burning drama about the loss of a mother, Nanni Moretti returns to explore the themes of family ties and bereavement in his best work since The Son’s Room.

It centres on film director Margherita (Margherita Buy), who is shooting a film about a factory strike over planned lay-offs with famous US actor Barry Huggins (John Turturro).

He proves to be something of a handful and, while struggling to manage him and his ego, she also has to contend with her adolescent daughter and her ailing mother who’s been taken to hospital with heart problems.

Buy is superb as the fiery director in the middle of an existential crisis and in denial that her mother Ada (Giulia Lazzarini), a former teacher, is dying.

Her brother Giovanni, played by Moretti himself, is on a break from work due to ill health and looks after Ada while Margherita splits her time between film set and hospital.

Turturro, an Italian speaker, is impressive as he provides the lighter moments in this understated but beautifully crafted and heartfelt work which delves into family guilt as well as loss.

Moretti, who may be exorcising his own demons over the death of his mother — also a former teacher — delivers a warm, perceptive and wonderfully enjoyable drama.

Review by Maria Duarte

Solace (15)
Directed by Afonso Poyart
3/5

IRONICALLY, given his Hannibal Lecter track record, Anthony Hopkins stars as a psychic helping the FBI in its hunt for a serial killer in this slick and stylish supernatural crime thriller which isn’t as run of the mill as it first appears.

Hopkins plays the reclusive Dr John Clancy, who’s initially reluctant to assist veteran FBI special agent Joe Merriweather (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) solve a series of bizarre murders.

But he changes his mind once he sees violent and disturbing images of Joe’s special agent partner Katherine Cowles (Abbie Cornish).

Hopkins is in top form in a role that showcases his innate skill and charisma, while Morgan gives another solid and gripping performance.

Visually challenging, Brazil’s Afonso Poyart’s first English-speaking feature is a compelling race-against-time crime thriller which features a fascinating serial killer with a twisted ethical core.

It’s a film which, just as you thought you had it all figured out, throws you yet another curve ball.

Review by Maria Duarte

Narcopolis (15)
Directed by Justin Trefgarne
3/5

JUSTIN TREFGARNE makes a promising debut as the writer and director of this offbeat blend of science fiction and police thriller.

It’s set in a 2024 London where the manufacture and use of all recreational drugs has become legal.

Unsurprisingly, but making matters all the more disturbingly convincing, big business now controls and exploits the hugely profitable drug trade with the police on hand to mop up “illegal” dealers.

The plot revolves around policeman and recovering addict Frank Grieves (Elliot Cowan) who, investigating a mysterious death, finds his life and those of his family in peril when he realises that a major licensed drug-dealing company is responsible for a new experimental — and lethal — narcotic.

There are times Trefgarne doesn’t seem entirely in control of his storytelling, with the sudden insertion of scenes lacking credible narrative motive.

That said, Narcopolis is well cast, competently acted and consistently intriguing. Its creation of a genuinely scary dystopian future London run by drug manufacturers is only all too credible.

Review by Alan Frank

Miss You Already (12A)
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
3/5

WITH a packet of tissues awaiting me on my cinema seat, I was under no illusion that I was in for an almighty weepfest in this drama about two best friends whose world is devastated by cancer.

Polar opposites Milly (Toni Collette) and Jess (Drew Barrymore) have been inseparable since childhood, sharing everything from clothes to boyfriends.

When Milly, a successful PR executive and mother of two, is diagnosed with breast cancer Jess discovers that she is finally pregnant.

But, feeling guilty, she keeps it to herself to focus on helping Milly.

Catherine Hardwicke’s film is surprisingly funny, while being brutally candid about breast cancer.

It doesn’t shy away from showing the emotional and physical effects of chemo and having a mastectomy, whose scars Jess dubs “Franken-tits.”

Collette gives another tour-de-force performance as the vain and vivacious former wild child Milly, while Barrymore makes the ideal supportive best friend.

But Dominic Cooper and Paddy Considine are somewhat wasted as the men in their lives as they play second fiddle to their female friendship.

The ending was as expected and, equally as predictable, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Review by Maria Duarte

McFarland (PG)
Directed by Niki Caro
3/5

THIS “based on a true story” about a grouchy high school athletics coach who trains dirt-poor Mexican youngsters in small-town California to victory in a major cross-country running championship is genuinely heartwarming. It also, perhaps surprisingly, rings emotionally true, due to the right meld of all the key elements.

The screenplay makes powerful points about the small-town setting, where exploited youngsters rise in the small hours to spend a gruelling time crop picking.

The characters are genuinely credible and that’s down to New Zealander Niki (Whale Rider) Caro’s direction. She not only makes potent use of locations but ensures that the film’s protagonists have the ring of truth.

And high praise also goes to Kevin Costner’s movingly authentic portrait of coach Jim White, whose lack of self-control loses him prime high school jobs and leaves him and his family stranded in a small town.

Review by Alan Frank

Life (15)
Directed by Anton Corbijn
3/5

GIVE Robert Patterson his due.

Despite punching above his weight, he keeps sinking his teeth into ever-more fascinating roles in his endeavour to leave the Twilight saga well and truly behind him.

Here he plays Dennis Stock, the real-life freelance photographer commissioned to shoot pictures of James Dean (Dane DeHaan) for Life magazine in 1955 just as the actor was on the cusp of fame.

The film is inspired by the true story of the friendship that sprung up between the two young men as they crossed the US for the photo shoot.

Patterson puts his heart and soul into his interpretation of Stock, who worked his butt off to get the reluctant Dean to play ball.

Although DeHaan looks more like a young Leonardo DiCaprio at times he convincingly conveys the intensity and moodiness of Dean and his reluctance at being turned into an overnight star by the studio — something that Patterson knows only too well. But it is virtually impossible to convey the former’s charisma.

Anton Corbijn, a photographer himself, captures the look and mood of the changing 1950s to perfection but the film lacks passion and energy.

The Life photos during the end credits of the real James Dean are fascinating and show the promise of what could have been in a life cut short too soon.

Review by Maria Duarte