Capsule reviews for March 27

A Girl Like Her

Sometimes the heartfelt power of the message can help to compensate for some narrative rough patches. Such is the case with this drama that tries to put a fresh spin on the topic of teenage bullying by telling parallel stories of both a suburban high-school social queen named Avery (Hunter King) and of Jessica (Lexi Ainsworth), the target of her scorn who winds up comatose following a suicide attempt. Sometimes the material feels too sanitized and exaggerated, yet the screenplay by director Amy Weber isn’t quick to place blame and doesn’t settle for easy solutions. The young actors likewise bring depth to the provocative subject matter. (Rated PG-13, 93 minutes).

Man From Reno

This cosmopolitan noir thriller sometimes raises more questions than it has answers, just like its characters, but remains a compelling and well acted murder mystery. It takes place outside San Francisco, where a Tokyo author (Ayako Fujitani) has fled to escape the limelight. But she attracts unwelcome attention from a small-town sheriff (Pepe Serna) after a strange man (Kazuki Kitamura) visits her hotel room, then disappears and leaves behind some strange items. The character-driven, deliberately paced script is given some visual flair by director Dave Boyle (Daylight Savings), who gradually ratchets up the tension even if some of the twists feel more mechanical than authentic. (Not rated, 111 minutes).

The Riot Club

For all the cynicism and ethical outrage conveyed by this audacious British satire from director Lone Scherfig (An Education) about the dangers of unabated wealth and privilege, there’s not much depth below the nihilistic surface. It takes place mostly in one night, when a secret society of Oxford students gather at a restaurant for a night of snobbish depravity, only to have their latest initiate (Max Irons) develop a moral compass that could ruin them all. This adaptation of a London stage play spends more than an hour depicting the extremes of bad behavior before settling for a safe and conventional resolution that rings false. (Rated R, 107 minutes).

The Salt of the Earth

The breathtaking imagery is just part of the appeal of this absorbing documentary from director Wim Wenders (Pina) that follows venerable Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado in his massive global quest to capture landscapes that depict both the world’s beauty and its gradual destruction. The film traces the life and career of Salgado and his family, including son Juliano, who serves as a co-director. But despite that obvious reverence, it’s most insightful in the presentation of its subject’s iconic pictures and how it shapes his philosophy and artistic approach. The result is a compelling glimpse into humanity as seen through the most even-handed of lenses. (Rated PG-13, 109 minutes).

Welcome to New York

Regardless of how much of its true-life story is embellished, this examination of the sexual-assault scandal involving disgraced French banker Dominique Strauss-Kahn from director Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant) is a powerful and unflinching teardown of the criminal justice system amid the influence of wealth and political power. More than just an average procedural, Gerard Depardieu stars as the renamed Devereaux, a prominent politician and international financier who is arrested following a sexual encounter with a hotel housekeeper in Manhattan. Thus begins his effort to be exonerated and — perhaps more importantly — to salvage his reputation without regard to justice or his moral compass. It’s choppy but unsettling. (Rated R, 108 minutes).