Capsule reviews for May 17

All Creatures Here Below

It’s rough around the edges, but this richly textured low-budget drama is a quietly powerful look at life on the margins. It follows a husband (David Dastmalchian) and wife (Karen Gillan) living in poverty, whose every move is driven by desperation. An impulsive crime meant to bring fulfillment instead forces them on the run, where they must confront their past with potentially tragic consequences. Dastmalchian’s character-driven screenplay withholds key details without turning manipulative, and his performance elicits hard-earned sympathy for a character who always seems to have the deck stacked against him. Plus, the film honestly captures the moral complexity stemming from the couple’s ill-conceived choices. (Not rated, 91 minutes).

Aniara

An ambitious concept launches this atmospheric science-fiction saga into orbit, before a lumbering script strands it in the cosmos. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where people are fleeing Earth for Mars. When the titular vessel is thrown off course, its inhabitants face dwindling hopes of ever reaching their destination. They desperately cling to memories thanks to a virtual reality capsule that only delays the inevitable. Swedish filmmakers Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja unspool some provocative ideas about the vastness of the universe, yet by not sufficiently developing their human characters, moviegoers aren’t given much incentive to ultimately care about their fate. (Rated R, 106 minutes).

Photograph

The vibrant hustle and bustle of contemporary Mumbai provides an evocative backdrop for this otherwise modest romance in which fate intervenes in the lives of two strangers. Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is a struggling street photographer whose personal life is even messier, thanks to a grandmother who insists he get married. So he convinces one of his customers (Sanya Malhotra), with relationship issues of her own, to pose as his fiancée. You can guess where it’s going from there, although the tender and heartfelt screenplay by director Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox) provides a few pleasant surprises amid the contrivances. Plus, the performances convey a quirky charm. (Rated PG-13, 108 minutes).

The Professor

Johnny Depp finds some emotional depth amid the eccentricities, but this muddled character study about a dying man’s final days can’t match his efforts. He plays Richard, an English professor who learns he has six months to live. But rather than getting his affairs in order, he begins drinking and smoking heavily, behaving erratically, and railing against the system — in the process confusing his students, his unfaithful wife (Rosemarie DeWitt), and his loyal colleague (Danny Huston). The uneven screenplay by director Wayne Roberts struggles to modulate its disparate tones, especially during a preachy final act, and the film’s failure to remain grounded limits its intended poignancy. (Rated R, 91 minutes).

Slaughterhouse Rulez

Perhaps it deserves kudos for ambition, yet the execution is lacking in this scatterbrained British genre mashup that squanders a top-notch cast. It starts as a coming-of-age satire set at a posh boarding school, where a timid newcomer (Finn Cole) immediately senses something is amiss through clues dropped by his roommate (Asa Butterfield), a neurotic teacher (Simon Pegg), and the sadistic headmaster (Michael Sheen). Then there’s a fracking site in the nearby woods unleashing bloodthirsty mutant creatures. There are moments of inspired lunacy along the way, although as the whole thing devolves into a gory mess, it’s never funny nor scary enough to remain compelling. (Rated R, 104 minutes).

The Souvenir

Although the deliberate pace can be frustrating, this haunting character-driven drama from British auteur Joanna Hogg (Exhibition) is emotionally powerful. Plus, it benefits from an audacious debut performance by Honor Swinton Byrne (daughter of Tilda) as Julie, a film school student in 1980s London who, with questionable motives, begins a turbulent whirlwind romance with an aristocratic freeloader (Tom Burke) that threatens her ambitions. Hogg’s nonlinear screenplay is carefully modulated and richly textured, balancing sympathy and disdain for Julie’s predicament. Byrne’s deeply felt portrayal likewise refuses to pass judgment in a stylish film that’s both unsettling and fascinating in its intimate exploration of impulsive young love. (Rated R, 119 minutes).

A Violent Separation

Two siblings must choose between loyalty to family and commitment to justice in this muddled melodrama from sibling directors Kevin and Michael Goetz (Scenic Route). Norman (Brenton Thwaites) is a small-town sheriff’s deputy whose ethics are tested by a tragic accident involving his quick-tempered older brother (Ben Robson), who just happens to be dating the sister of Norman’s girlfriend (Alycia Debnam-Carey). More secrets are revealed as the investigation escalates, although little of it is suspenseful, especially since viewers know what happened already. While the pace subsequently slows to a crawl, we’re left to sympathize with the moral dilemma facing characters unworthy of our emotional investment. (Rated R, 106 minutes).

Walking on Water

While not quite as miraculous as its title suggests, this insightful documentary is compelling regardless of your prior knowledge of the eccentric octogenarian artist known as Christo. It chronicles his efforts in 2016 to launch a massive public installation in Italy known as the Floating Piers, which he conceived with his late wife years earlier. Christo’s fumbles with technology and bureaucracy are amusing, but the film comes to life as the project comes to fruition, with its enormous popularity becoming both a blessing and a curse. Bulgarian filmmaker Andrey Paounov takes a strictly observational approach that yields rewards for Christo’s fans and newcomers alike. (Not rated, 105 minutes).

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

More concerned with eccentricities and atmospherics than building genuine tension, this uneven adaptation of the novel by Shirley Jackson winds up dreary and dull. In the 1960s, teenager Mary Catherine (Taissa Farmiga) lives in a rural mansion with her agoraphobic older sister, Constance (Alexandra Daddario) and disabled uncle (Crispin Glover). She’s ostracized by the locals, who blame her for the poisoning death of her parents. Then a cousin (Sebastian Stan) arrives to drive a wedge between the siblings. Despite some haunting imagery, the film is only a mildly unsettling mix between a campy horror exercise and a character-driven domestic drama about fractured families and gender politics. (Not rated, 90 minutes).