Capsule reviews for Oct. 14

Aquarius

Sonia Braga’s wonderful portrayal of an aging Brazilian matriarch drives this deliberately paced character study from director Kleber Mendonca Filho. Braga plays a widow whose aging apartment building along the beach in Recife, Brazil, has been purchased by developers, except she has no plans to leave. So she reflects back on her music career and her family with mixed emotions about the bittersweet end of an era. Rich in both internal and external details, it’s an intimate examination of the classic struggle between tradition and progress, and one woman’s stubborn struggle to cope. The result meanders without much narrative momentum, but achieves a cumulative emotional power. (Not rated, 142 minutes).

Christine

Even if you know the tragic true-life ending, there’s still plenty of intrigue in this chronicle of the weeks leading up to the on-air suicide of Christine Chubbuck (Rebecca Hall), a newswoman at a Florida television station in 1974. The film takes a straightforward approach, examining her contentious relationships with the station anchor (Michael C. Hall) and station manager (Tracy Letts), as well as gender politics and her own insecurities as potential causes for her downward spiral. Bolstered by Rebecca Hall’s excellent performance and evocative period re-creation from director Antonio Campos (Simon Killer), it’s a compelling character-driven glimpse into the media culture of the time. (Rated R, 119 minutes).

Jack Goes Home

Your dysfunctional family is nothing compared to the skeletons in the closet (or the attic, as it were) of the suburban clan in this twisted thriller, in which the title character (Rory Culkin) is a slacker whose beloved father is killed in a car accident, causing him to return home to comfort his troubled mother (Lin Shaye). Then secrets from the past are revealed with nightmarish consequences. Although director Thomas Dekker generates some suspense and manages some creepy imagery, and he develops the characters beyond typical genre clichés. But his screenplay loses coherence about halfway through and falls apart with a series of clumsy revelations. (Rated R, 104 minutes).

A Man Called Ove

Generous doses of deadpan Scandinavian humor are sprinkled throughout this Swedish saga of a cantankerous widower (Rolf Lassgard) who’s become suicidal following his wife’s death, the loss of his job, and his increasingly misanthropic worldview. But an encounter with his nosy new suburban neighbors provides an avenue to get his life back on track. The screenplay by director Hannes Holm occasionally detours into heavy-handed sentimentality, yet the title character remains charming underneath his irascible exterior. The result is a lighthearted look at aging and grief, bolstered by Lassgard’s amusing performance, which brings laughs and tears in equal doses and generates sympathy without too much cheap manipulation. (Rated PG-13, 116 minutes).

The River Thief

An almost textbook example of derailing a fine premise, this low-budget faith-based thriller follows the title character (Joel Courtney), a teenage con artist with a history of petty crimes. He finds a path to redemption at a small-town diner, where he tries to rob a young waitress (Raleigh Cain) and her grandfather (Tommy Cash), whose kindness makes him remorseful. As he chases the girl, however, he can’t outrun his troubled past. While the characters and setting generally hold some intrigue, and Courtney (Super 8) flashes some charisma, the script by rookie director N.D. Wilson spirals into a woefully formulaic revenge movie in its second half. (Not rated, 87 minutes).