Capsule reviews for Feb. 28

Blood on Her Name

A single mother attempts to escape the cycle of crime and violence that defines her family legacy in this deliberately paced thriller layered with working-class socioeconomic strife. As the film opens, Leigh (Bethany Anne Lind) has reluctantly taken over the family auto-repair business when she’s forced to deal with a dead body. As details are gradually revealed, we learn about Leigh’s volatile relationship with her sheriff father (Will Patton), who becomes ensnared in the subsequent revenge plot. Lind’s resilient heroine earns sympathy while confronting a series of complex ethical dilemmas, and the intriguing character dynamics help to maintain tension when the narrative momentum lags. (Not rated, 83 minutes).

Disappearance at Clifton Hill

Earning more points for style than substance, this atmospheric Canadian noir lacks enough tension to sufficiently pay off its titular mystery. It centers on Abby (Tuppence Middleton), who returns to her hometown of Niagara Falls to settle her late mother’s estate with her estranged sister (Hannah Gross). However, the trip also brings back unpleasant memories for Abby when she begins obsessing over a kidnapping she might have witnessed as a child. Bolstered by Middleton’s committed portrayal, the character-driven thriller offers a slow-burning glimpse into guilt and redemption. A scene-stealing cameo by iconic filmmaker David Cronenberg is nice, too. Yet it’s ultimately more muddled than provocative. (Not rated, 100 minutes).

Greed

It takes plenty of swings at some broad satirical targets, but this anti-capitalist mockumentary from prolific British director Michael Winterbottom (The Trip) is too unfocused and heavy-handed to land many of its sociopolitical punches. Steve Coogan stars as an obnoxious billionaire entrepreneur planning a lavish 60th birthday party on a Greek island to salvage his public image after a hearing in which lawmakers exposed his history of failed financial dealings and shady corporate tactics. Frequent collaborators Winterbottom and Coogan provide some scattered big laughs, although beneath the film’s surface, the jabs at global celebrity, unbridled extravagance, and inequality aren’t especially insightful — even if they’re true. (Rated R, 104 minutes).

Guns Akimbo

It wants you to believe it’s a relevant satire of the worst tendencies of gamers and online trolls, but this obnoxious and relentlessly off-putting action flick is simply a mean-spirited and self-indulgent exercise in ultraviolent mayhem. Our ostensible hero is Miles (Daniel Radcliffe), a slacker with a cynical distaste for underground games like Skizm, in which real-life combatants fight for survival and clicks. However, after he’s abducted and wakes up with guns bolted to both of his hands, he’s forced into battling a ruthless assassin (Samara Weaving). Despite clumsy attempts to add subtext amid its overwrought dystopian urban landscape, the exhausting film misses an obvious target. (Rated R, 95 minutes).

The Jesus Rolls

John Turturro reprises his role from The Big Lebowski with mixed results in this uneven spinoff, which also is a remake of the 1974 French comedy Going Places. This story is unconnected to the Coen Brothers classic except for Turturro playing Jesus, the bowling phenom who is released from prison into the custody of his best friend (Bobby Cannavale). Together they indulge in petty crimes and pick up women, including a nymphomaniac hairdresser (Audrey Tautou). There are some scattered big laughs amid their ensuing adventures, although Turturro’s scattershot script reinforces Jesus’ appeal in smaller doses. The cast includes Susan Sarandon, Sonia Braga, and Jon Hamm. (Rated R, 85 minutes).

Saint Frances

The title character is adorable beyond belief, but beneath the cute surface of this perceptive drama is a progressive and heartfelt celebration of the challenges of contemporary motherhood. It follows a server (Kelly O’Sullivan) whose biological clock is ticking when she desperately takes a job as a nanny for a lesbian couple’s precocious 6-year-old daughter (Ramona Edith Williams). Meanwhile, her own maternal instincts are tested after having an abortion following an accidental pregnancy. O’Sullivan’s screenplay wraps up its dilemmas too neatly in the end, but her characters resonate with authenticity. So do the performances, which help to balance the quirky humor with the darker drama. (Not rated, 101 minutes).

Sorry We Missed You

At 83, veteran director Ken Loach is still fighting for the British working class, and this indictment of the gig economy is among his most provocative and relevant films. It’s a gritty domestic drama about Ricky (Kris Hitchen), who takes a job as a contracted delivery driver to help make ends meet for his wife (Debbie Honeywood) and two kids. But when the demands become too great, the arrangement takes a toll on Ricky and threatens to tear apart his family. Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty inject a forceful sociopolitical subtext into this humane blue-collar saga without turning heavy-handed. It also resonates across the pond. (Not rated, 101 minutes).

Wendy

The latest coming-of-age saga from director Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild) again probes childhood innocence and socioeconomic strife. It’s an ambitious contemporary retelling of Peter Pan set in a blue-collar bayou town, where the precocious title character (Devin France) escapes with her rambunctious friends to a tropical island, where she befriends Peter (Yashua Mack), a boy whose reckless nature masks his persistent fear of growing old. Gritty and evocative, the resulting adventure captures the playful and imaginative spirit of its characters, who are forced to mature before their time. However, Zeitlin’s strained efforts to bridge fantasy and reality remain largely muddled and elusive. (Rated PG-13, 112 minutes).

The Whistlers

More noteworthy for its stylistic flourishes than its narrative intricacies, this offbeat crime thriller from Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu (Police, Adjective) is amusing throughout. Cristi (Vlad Ivanov) is an ethically challenged Bucharest police detective apparently assigned to a kidnapping case that instead reveals his loyalty to gangsters and particularly an alluring woman (Catrinel Marlon) who can help him profit from a money laundering scheme. Because they’re under heavy surveillance, however, Cristi must learn to communicate through an ancient whistling language. Porumboiu’s nonlinear, multilingual screenplay is perhaps too convoluted and manipulative, but it’s also clever in playfully blending deadpan comedy with intriguing twists amid its exotic locales. (Not rated, 97 minutes).