Capsule reviews for Oct. 10
Rose Byrne stars in IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU. (Photo: A24)
Fairyland
Strong performances and heartfelt intergenerational dynamics propel this otherwise predictable coming-of-age melodrama set in San Francisco during the heart of the AIDS crisis. It centers on Steve (Scoot McNairy), a widowed bisexual writer who moves to a 1970s hippie commune in California with his impressionable young daughter, Alysia (Nessa Dougherty). A decade later, those experiences shape Alysia (Emilia Clarke) differently as a teenager and college student, especially when Steve becomes terminally ill. The screenplay by rookie director Andrew Durham too eagerly transitions into a cathartic tearjerker, although it’s more effective as a bittersweet ode to its setting, when freedom and acceptance clashed with sociopolitical volatility. (Rated R, 116 minutes).
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
A fully committed portrayal by Rose Byrne (Insidious) galvanizes this haunting character study about maternal anxieties, mental illness, and paranoid fantasies. Byrne plays a neurotic middle-aged mother whose life begins to spiral when troubling circumstances overlap. Her young daughter suffers from an unknown medical condition, there’s a large hole in her ceiling, the relationships with her therapist (Conan O’Brien) and neighbor (ASAP Rocky) become volatile, and she loses her grip on reality. Despite some heavy-handed tendencies, the incisive screenplay by director Mary Bronstein (Yeast) is both deeply unsettling and darkly humorous. The film withholds details about its protagonist’s affliction in clever rather than manipulative ways. (Rated R, 113 minutes).
John Candy: I Like Me
Functioning as a celebration of the life and career of actor John Candy more than 30 years after his untimely death, this breezy retrospective is a fun star-studded tribute even if doesn’t provide much new insight. It uses interviews and archival footage to revisit Candy’s Canadian upbringing, his start in sketch comedy, and his transition to feature films, where he became a versatile comedic superstar in the late 1980s and early 1990s despite health issues. The straightforward film from director Colin Hanks sincerely captures the essence of a generous star who always looked out for others while unfortunately neglecting to take care of himself. (Rated PG-13, 113 minutes).
Magellan
Hardly a linear biopic of the titular Portuguese explorer, this deliberately paced yet well-acted drama from Filipino director Lav Diaz (Norte, the End of History) is a visually striking portrait of mythology, colonialism, and spirituality set against a backdrop of 16th century sociopolitical turmoil. The film tracks Magellan (Gael Garcia Bernal) over almost two decades, including his marriage to wife Beatriz (Angela Azevedo) and his arduous attempt to circumnavigate the globe amid ongoing Spanish military conflicts. Favoring his usual long takes and fractured narrative approach, Diaz contrasts some lovely imagery with a meditative historical interpretation that freshly examines Magellan’s legacy within a vivid and immersive context. (Not rated, 160 minutes).
Maintenance Required
More contrived than endearing, this millennial romantic comedy offers only the slightest variation on well-worn genre tropes. Charlie (Madelaine Petsch) runs an all-female mechanic shop in Oakland that’s struggling to stay afloat after a corporate franchise opens across the street. As Charlie confides in a fellow gearhead she met online but has never seen, she winds up falling for him (Jacob Scipio), unaware that her trusted confidant is really her professional enemy. The movie fixates on those mistaken-identity antics while never digging beneath the surface of its small-business or empowerment themes. Meanwhile, the actors help offset the predictability of a script that needs a major tuneup. (Rated PG-13, 102 minutes).
Mr. K
While it features an inventive sense of weirdness, this offbeat character study doesn’t supplement its charming peculiarities with sufficient narrative substance. It chronicles the misadventures of the titular traveling magician (Crispin Glover) whose business is struggling as he checks into a remote hotel, then can’t find his way out as the walls literally begin to close in around him. While fellow guests aren’t bothered or don’t notice, Mr. K becomes desperate as his life spirals into a surreal nightmare. The film benefits from striking visuals. Yet while Glover effectively leverages his eccentricities, like his character, the film seems unable to decipher its muddled Kafkaesque mystery. (Not rated, 94 minutes).
The Oval Portrait
While its visual flourishes and music cues demonstrate a heartfelt appreciation for a bygone era in horror films, this slow-burning contemporary reimagining of an Edgar Allan Poe short story eventually makes such efforts feel self-indulgent and gimmicky. It follows a handful of characters who are drawn to the titular painting in an antique shop, which then haunts them after they have contact with it. The film suffers from labored direction, uneven performances — including characters with random accents, perhaps intended as comic relief — and an unfocused screenplay that fails to recapture the melancholy essence of the source material. Worse yet, it’s neither suspenseful nor scary. (Not rated, 106 minutes).
Urchin
An unflinching examination of life on the socioeconomic margins, the gritty directorial debut of actor Harris Dickinson (Babygirl) provocatively examines homelessness and mental illness with clear-eyed compassion. Homeless on the streets of London and trying to escape his cycle of addiction and self-destructive behavior, Mike (Frank Dillane) is on the verge of putting his life back together. But every time secures a job or charms a woman, a violent or demeaning outburst seems to send him back to square one. Bolstered by a freewheeling performance by Dillane (Astral), Dickinson’s tightly wound screenplay doesn’t pass judgment nor offer an easy path to sympathy or catharsis. (Not rated, 99 minutes).
Vicious
A dynamic portrayal by Dakota Fanning elevates this creepy yet muddled psychological thriller that fails to generate sustained tension from an intriguing concept. Fanning plays Polly, a troubled single woman with a traumatic past visited by a mysterious stranger (Kathryn Hunter) who leaves a cursed box and a sinister warning. As she searches for answers, Polly’s evening alone turns into surreal a nightmare of hallucinations and self-torture. After a terrific start that sets a haunting tone, the screenplay by director Bryan Bertino (The Strangers) struggles to pay off a potentially intriguing probe of paranoia and mental illness. It relies more on jump scares than visceral terror. (Rated R, 103 minutes).