Capsule reviews for July 22

Alone Together

Amid a glut of movies about lost souls finding love in the age of COVID-19, and a glut of movies about double-booked rental houses, comes the low-key directorial debut of actress Katie Holmes — a muddled examination of human connection that’s neither insightful nor profound. Holmes also stars as a Manhattan writer who heads upstate ahead of her boyfriend (Derek Luke) during the onset of the pandemic. She arrives to find an artist (Jim Sturgess) also there for the week. As they navigate lockdown together, their feelings for one another evolve, yet the film struggles to generate the urgency or universal relevance its subject matter suggests. (Rated R, 101 minutes).

Anything’s Possible

Charting a familiar coming-of-age course through a fresh lens, the directorial debut of actor-musician Billy Porter is smart and progressive enough to sidestep its formulaic trappings. It follows Kelsa (Eva Reign), a transgender girl navigating her senior year of high school in Pittsburgh. She has big dreams but must tread carefully outside of her close-knit circle of BFFs. Her supportive new boyfriend (Abubakr Ali) seems genuine in his affections, until some unwanted viral fame threatens to tear them apart. Despite some final-act contrivances, the film boasts a charming and inclusive mix of characters in a story that tackles issues of acceptance and self-esteem without turning heavy-handed. (Rated PG-13, 96 minutes).

Art of Love

The passion is seen more than felt in this throwback romantic melodrama from director Betty Kaplan (Of Love and Shadows) that strains to be provocative but instead lacks sizzle. It centers on an eccentric yet lonely university professor (Esai Morales) in Puerto Rico who begins a torrid affair with a passionate young artist (Kunjue Li) from the island’s immigrant Chinese community. While their obsessive connection with one another is mutually therapeutic at first, their relationship is threatened by residual trauma from the past. The committed performances and rich cultural texture are squandered by the film’s lumbering pace, pedantic narration, overbearing score, and awkward animated segments. (Rated R, 113 minutes).

How to Please a Woman

You’ll find only the most basic insight into the titular question in this breezy Australian comedy that might be funnier or sexier if it dialed back some of the eye-rolling coincidences and logical gaps. When her friends give Gina (Sally Phillips) a day with a male sex worker (Alexander England) for her 50th birthday, she’s bewildered — and winds up hiring him as a house cleaner. That sparks an unlikely entrepreneurial venture for Gina that doubles as a shot at middle-aged redemption. Phillips conveys a sympathetic charm, although the screenplay by rookie director Renee Webster lacks the subtlety and surprise to match its mischievous spirit. (Not rated, 107 minutes).

My Donkey, My Lover and I

Each of the title characters in this breezy French farce is a bit of an ass, so it’s difficult to find much sympathy for their navigation of various relationship travails. Antoinette (Laura Calamy) is a Parisian schoolteacher involved in an affair with Vlad (Benjamin Lavernhe), the father of one of her students. After Vlad’s wife organizes a family hiking trip, the bumbling Antoinette decides to take her own wilderness adventure, accompanied by an obstinate donkey, in hopes they can secretly meet up. The screenplay, loosely inspired by an early Robert Louis Stevenson novel, requires a significant suspension of disbelief that’s not likely despite Calamy’s bubbly charm. (Not rated, 97 minutes).

My Old School

Even if it’s more lighthearted than hard-hitting, this quirky documentary spins a fascinating yarn about a misguided second chance at living out your dreams. It recalls a bizarre scheme at an affluent Scottish prep school in the 1990s, when 32-year-old Brian MacKinnon posed as 16-year-old Brandon Lee and enrolled for an entire year without his teachers or classmates discovering his true identity. Through animated re-enactments and interviews with those who knew him — the reclusive MacKinnon’s dialogue is lip-synced by actor Alan Cumming in an effective gimmick — the film glosses over the moral complexity in favor of nostalgic whimsy but remains an enigmatic and surprisingly poignant delight. (Not rated, 104 minutes).