Capsule reviews for March 1

Climax

French provocateur Gaspar Noe (Enter the Void) returns with another polarizing head-scratcher to celebrate the hypnotic power of techno dance and tracking shots. It’s set during an all-night party thrown by a dance troupe at the end of an especially intense rehearsal. Once they learn the sangria is spiked, however, inhibitions are dropped and things become really creepy. Along the way, Noe incorporates plenty of his usual gimmickry, and the whole exercise feels shallow and pretentious with regard to emotional depth. However, the film’s dexterity with long takes is quite remarkable, allowing the camera to linger on the gyrating bodies in a way that becomes entrancing. (Rated R, 96 minutes).

Giant Little Ones

Heartfelt without turning heavy-handed, this exploration of teenage sexuality generally sidesteps coming-of-age clichés. It chronicles Franky (Josh Wiggins) and Ballas (Darren Mann), who are best friends and standout swimmers before an incident involving alcohol and latent desires tears them apart. That leads to Franky becoming ostracized at his suburban high school, and brings secrets involving his single mother (Maria Bello) and estranged father (Kyle MacLachlan) to the forefront. Benefiting from committed performances, the screenplay by Canadian director Keith Behrman resembles an edgier and less watered-down version of Love, Simon. It conveys authenticity about contemporary sexual confusion while refusing to wallow in generic adolescent angst. (Rated R, 93 minutes).

The Hole in the Ground

The holes in the plot are more problematic for this low-budget horror flick from Ireland, which generates moderate suspense from its creepy atmosphere more than its familiar themes of children in peril and accompanying parental anxiety. It follows a single mother (Seana Kerslake) trying to start over when she moves her young son (James Quinn Markey) to a new house near the woods. But when the youngster starts behaving strangely, and later aggressively, she might be too late to diagnose his affliction to change things. Rookie director Lee Cronin stages some effective frights amid the familiar genre elements, although it never establishes a deeper emotional connection. (Rated R, 89 minutes).

Mapplethorpe

The audacity and provocation that characterizes the art of Robert Mapplethorpe is largely missing from this straightforward biopic marking the narrative debut of director Ondi Timoner (We Live in Public). It features a committed performance by Matt Smith (“Doctor Who”) in the title role, as the New York photographer whose groundbreaking homoerotic works were polarizing for art aficionados and gallery owners. As it charts his relationships and influences behind the scenes, the film hits the highlights but rarely digs beneath the surface. It offers more speculative hints and genuine insight regarding Mapplethorpe’s artistic process, his lingering emotional struggles, his controversial legacy, or his tragic death. (Not rated, 102 minutes).

Saint Judy

A spirited portrayal by Michelle Monaghan galvanizes this otherwise mediocre true-life drama in the Erin Brockovich vein. She plays Judy Wood, a beleaguered single mother and Los Angeles immigration attorney crusading amid an unfair system on behalf of her clients, such as a schoolteacher (Leem Lubany) seeking asylum after fleeing persecution in her home country of Afghanistan. As directed by Sean Hanish (Return to Zero), such topical subject matter is given urgency without turning politically heavy-handed. The resulting crowd-pleaser suffers from melodramatic embellishments and is too eager to inspire through courtroom histrionics, but at least it shines a worthwhile spotlight on a deserving subject. (Rated PG-13, 106 minutes).

Touch Me Not

Blurring the lines between reality and fiction, this bizarre and uneven analysis of human sexuality from Romania isn’t for all tastes, yet deserves credit for audacity, if nothing else. It’s comprised of loosely connected scenes set in a highly sterilized environment, where characters — both actors and non-actors, apparently — explore their connections with their own bodies and others. The provocative film generally fails to match its physical intimacy on an emotional level, perhaps because the sensibilities of average moviegoers will be challenged to get past the voyeuristic aspects of what they’re watching. However, like its vulnerable on-screen subjects, there’s a beauty behind the film’s flaws. (Not rated, 125 minutes).

Transit

It works better as a low-key thriller than a romantic melodrama, but this adaptation of an Anna Seghers novel from German director Christian Petzold (Phoenix) is audacious in its structure and consistently compelling in its execution. The story is set essentially in present day, except that Georg (Franz Rogowski) is fleeing Nazi occupation when he lands in Marseilles, carrying the papers of a deceased Communist author he tries to impersonate. Then a local woman (Paula Beer) causes him to rethink his plans. There’s a lot to unpack in terms of chronology and subtext, yet the performances primarily keep the film from turning muddled or pretentious. (Not rated, 101 minutes).

The Wedding Guest

The volatile sociopolitical backdrop is more intriguing than the characters who inhabit this muddled thriller from versatile director Michael Winterbottom (A Mighty Heart). It chronicles a British-Muslim man (Dav Patel) sent to India to kidnap a woman (Radhika Apte) forced into an arranged marriage. But once he accomplishes the task and tries to collect his money, the plan goes haywire, forcing both of them to flee to Pakistan. The film is appropriately gritty and evocative, and explores gender politics in the region with moderate insight. It’s less successful as a mystery, however, since after the best twist is unveiled halfway through, the narrative momentum lags. (Rated R, 94 minutes).

Woman at War

Adeptly balancing comedy and social commentary, this quirky Icelandic saga is bolstered by Halldora Geirhardsdottir’s sparkling dual performance. She plays a mild-mannered choir director who lives a secret life as an environmental activist, committing acts of civil disobedience that shut down the country’s power grid and leave her on the run from authorities. As she releases a manifesto railing against industrialism, it complicates a reconciliation with her twin sister and the impending adoption of a Ukrainian girl. While the eccentricities sometimes overshadow the storytelling — the odd musical interludes are an example — director Benedikt Erlingsson (Of Horses and Men) turns disparate genre elements into a breezy crowd-pleaser. (Not rated, 100 minutes).