Capsule reviews for Oct. 22
Catherine Keener and Charlie Heaton star in NO FUTURE. (Photo: Gravitas Ventures)
Becoming Cousteau
Unlike its subject, this documentary about famed underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau doesn’t dive deep enough. Yet it’s still a compelling if straightforward recap of his life and career. The film traces his upbringing in France, lifelong passion for marine biology, adventures aboard his Calypso boat, pioneering achievements in videography, personal tragedies, and his later advocacy for conservation and climate-change awareness. Benefiting from a wealth of unseen archival footage, director Liz Garbus (Lost Girls) assembles an even-handed portrait of a man who changed our relationship with the seas, both above and beneath the surface. It should help to perpetuate the legacy of Cousteau, whose lessons still resonate. (Rated PG-13, 93 minutes).
Broadcast Signal Intrusion
The surface concept is more compelling than the underlying mystery in this low-key thriller with a major dose of nerdy nostalgia. In the 1980s, video archivist James (Harry Shum Jr.) becomes curious, then obsessed with multiple disturbing clips that he attributes to signal hacking. Launching his own investigation, James links the intrusions to brutal crimes, and then becomes a target when it’s clear he knows too much. Shum (All My Life) offers a sympathetic portrayal as our window into this dark world. However, despite the amusing immersion into analog technology, the low-budget film becomes muddled and convoluted when it should be at its most suspenseful. (Not rated, 104 minutes).
De Gaulle
Considering the turbulent historical period it depicts, this tedious biopic about former French leader Charles de Gaulle fails to sufficiently heighten the stakes. Emphasizing hagiography over genuine insight, the film chronicles de Gaulle (Lambert Wilson) during his days as a military general during World War II. As the Nazis close in on Paris, he must perform the roles of a diplomat, a battlefield strategist, a freedom fighter, and a father as his family is forced to flee during the chaos. Wilson (Beyond Suspicion) commands the screen in an otherwise dry and didactic treatment of a pivotal figure who deserves a more well-rounded cinematic portrait. (Not rated, 108 minutes).
The Estate
Trying to balance a sexy satire about greed and entitlement with a bloody thriller about betrayal and revenge, this campy concoction winds up more off-putting than endearing. It takes on a soap-opera vibe while following a gold-digging wife (Eliza Coupe) and her narcissistic stepson (Chris Baker) who hatch a plan to murder the family patriarch (Eric Roberts) and inherit his millions. When the plan goes sideways, both mother and son remain attached to their alluring hitman (Greg Finley) whose motives remain cloudy. Baker’s screenplay never finds the right tonal balance, while the film strains to make its characters sympathetic building to a tacked-on climactic twist. (Rated R, 85 minutes).
No Future
Navigating tricky emotional territory with sensitivity and grace, this downbeat character study compensates for its sluggish pace by conveying a powerfully cathartic resonance. Will (Charlie Heaton) is a recovering addict who learns a childhood friend has died from an overdose. So he returns to his hometown overwhelmed with guilt, and reconnecting with his friend’s mourning mother (Catherine Keener) to process their feelings. As their relationship evolves in unexpected ways, the film finds a niche as a multilayered exploration of trauma, dependency, and redemption. As the quietly perceptive screenplay by directors Andrew Irvine and Mark Smoot (The Love Inside) weaves together these themes, the performances ring true. (Not rated, 89 minutes).
Warning
Ambition surpasses execution in this disjointed science-fiction drama offering a muddled cautionary tale about blind faith, class structure, and technological overreach. Apparently set in the near future, it intertwines various stories about reliance on gadgetry as a substitute for human connection, including an astronaut (Thomas Jane) on a doomed spacewalk, a single woman (Alice Eve) with an affirmational electronic assistant named God, and a wealthy man (Alex Pettyfer) whose family has purchased immortality. Such mildly provocative ideas are sidetracked by a lack of character depth and an episodic approach. The film also squanders its talented ensemble cast including Annabelle Wallis, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Rupert Everett. (Rated R, 86 minutes).