Capsule reviews for Feb. 20

All the Wilderness

This low-budget coming-of-age drama is more about mood than plot as it chronicles James (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a withdrawn and socially awkward Portland teenager whose emotional troubles stem largely from his father’s tragic death. After targeting his mother (Virginia Madsen) and his therapist (Danny DeVito) with his morbid manifestations of grief, James finds some comfort in episodes of late-night rebellion with a sensitive girl (Isabelle Fuhrman) and a streetwise musician (Evan Ross). Smit-McPhee (The Road) offers a nicely understated performance, and the gritty visuals are effectively atmospheric, yet the screenplay by rookie director Michael Johnson is too slight and formulaic to have much of an impact. (Not rated, 76 minutes).

Digging Up the Marrow

A clever and subversive premise gives a boost to some otherwise formulaic material, as filmmaker Adam Green (Hatchet) plays himself in a fake documentary in which he ostensibly responds to an eccentric fan (Ray Wise) claiming to have proof that actual monsters exist in the woods near his home. So Green tries to find out the truth for himself. The film works best as a self-deprecating comedy of sorts, showing that at least Green has a good sense of humor about his schlocky reputation. Yet the concept feels strained at feature length as it never establishes consistent tension or generates any meaningful suspension of disbelief. (Not rated, 88 minutes).

The Duff

You won’t find much insight into teenage social circles — not that you were looking for it anyway — in this predictable comedy in the Mean Girls vein in which the title is a acronym for Designated Ugly Fat Friend. That’s the label given to Bianca (Mae Whitman), a nerdy tomboy whose blue-collar appearance contrasts with that of her loyal best friends, which causes her to enlist a neighbor (Robbie Arnell) to help overhaul her image. There are a few laughs along the way, but the half-hearted message about inner beauty and self-esteem becomes muddled in a film that winds up as shallow as many of its characters. (Rated PG-13, 101 minutes).

Timbuktu

Rarely has the clash between Islamic traditions and contemporary realities been illustrated with such stark authenticity as in this riveting character-driven drama from Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako (Bamako). It follows a few characters near the titular city in Mali, most notably a peaceful shepherd whose life is left in the hands of ruthless jihadists and whose family is thrown into disarray after a tragedy involving a fisherman. Some of the resulting barbaric violence is unsettling without turning exploitative. Although rough around the edges, it’s a sharply observed yet sensitively rendered examination of patriarchal society and religious extremism that doesn’t resort to heavy-handed political posturing. (Rated PG-13, 97 minutes).

Wild Tales

With energy to spare, this six-part anthology from Argentina has plenty of fun even when it’s not making a lot of sense. The mostly comedic stories vary in tone and subject matter while dealing generally with issues of ordinary people whose lives veer out of control because of erratic behavior by themselves or those around them. So it’s like six movies in one, and the offbeat screenplay by director Damian Szifron is uneven and episodic by nature. Yet there’s plenty of visual inventiveness along the way, and moments that are both funny and twisted along with a healthy dose of violence for genre aficionados. (Rated R, 122 minutes).