Capsule reviews for Feb. 6

Ballet 422

This breezy documentary goes backstage with the prestigious New York City Ballet for two months leading up to the premiere of a new production from Justin Peck, a 25-year-old dancer making his debut as a choreographer. The film, directed by veteran cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes, provides insight into the creative process during various stages of rehearsals and shows how all aspects of a production come together, from dancers to musicians to lighting technicians to costume designers. It’s pretty straightforward stuff, and while you can admire the work ethic, it might have been more dramatic if its subject wasn’t so even-keeled and things flowed so smoothly. (Rated PG, 74 minutes).

Love, Rosie

From the beginning, it’s obvious how this British romantic comedy will turn out, and getting there isn’t funny or charming enough to generate much emotional investment. Rosie (Lily Collins) has always harbored a secret attraction to her childhood best friend (Sam Claflin). But their bond is tested and their lives drift apart as they get older, as he goes to college overseas and she must stay behind for family reasons. The stars achieve a decent chemistry and there are some scattered effective moments, yet the film’s abundance of sentimentality and contrivances overshadows any realistic insight into the loyalty and regret that defines their relationship. (Rated R, 102 minutes).

1971

It might seem like a history lesson, but this compelling documentary has plenty of contemporary relevance. It chronicles a small group of grassroots war protesters who broke into a satellite FBI office in suburban Philadelphia allegedly to steal draft files. They were never caught — and have never publicly admitted involvement until now, according to the film — but they wound up uncovering an illegal surveillance program that launched a landmark congressional investigation into FBI overreach. Structured like a suspenseful heist thriller, rookie director Johanna Hamilton mixes interviews, archival footage and reenactments, paying tribute to an elaborate act of civil disobedience that predated computer hacking and phone tapping. (Not rated, 79 minutes).

One Small Hitch

More obnoxious than endearing, this low-budget romantic comedy follows Josh (Shane McRae), who’s traveling to Chicago for a family wedding when he finds out his father (Daniel J. Travanti) is terminally ill. In an attempt to grant him a dying wish, he fakes an engagement to insecure childhood friend Molly (Aubrey Dollar), but the scheme gets out of hand among their respective dysfunctional families, leading to plenty of bickering and awkwardness for both the couple and their relatives. From there, the approach is broad and the story is predictable as the contrivances far outnumber the laughs. As a result, the underlying sweetness never seems convincing. (Not rated, 105 minutes).

The Voices

The title characters get the most amusing lines in this twisted horror comedy from Iranian director Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis). The film follows a friendly small-town factory worker (Ryan Reynolds) whose childhood trauma has left him with bouts of schizophrenia that cause him to hold conversations with his dog, his cat and the disembodied head of a date (Gemma Arterton) that he accidentally stabbed to death. That doesn’t bode well for his romance with a colleague (Anna Kendrick). Reynolds is appealing enough, and Satrapi employs some clever visual and musical touches. Yet the tone is wildly uneven and the concept ultimately feels strained at feature length. (Rated R, 103 minutes).