Capsule reviews for Sept. 11

A Brilliant Young Mind

The formulaic parts don’t always add up in this crowd-pleasing British drama about a teenage math prodigy (Asa Butterfield) dealing with severe social awkwardness that keeps him at a distance from both his single mother (Sally Hawkins) and his teacher (Rafe Spall). He comes out of his shell during a trip to the International Math Olympiad, where he meets a Chinese girl (Jo Yang) who understands him. Inspired by his own documentary, director Morgan Matthews makes a promising narrative debut that’s well-acted but tugs too eagerly at the heartstrings and relies too heavily on manipulative melodrama that tends to trivialize its protagonist’s plight. (Not rated, 111 minutes).

Goodnight Mommy

This taut and well-acted Austrian thriller has enough creepy twists to lend credibility to its outrageous premise. It takes to dark extremes the universal bond between parent and child with its story of a popular television personality (Susanne Wuest) recovering from facial reconstruction surgery after an accident. However, her precocious twin sons grow suspicious that she’s not really their mother underneath all the bandages, leading to some sadistic psychological mind games as they search for the truth. While it might lack consistent tension, the atmospheric film has plenty of unsettling moments and builds to an effectively bleak and disturbing finale while subverting genre expectations. (Rated R, 99 minutes).

Meet the Patels

It might sound like a dorky home video, but this lighthearted documentary provides a variety of amusing cultural and relationship insights. Filmmaker Geeta Patel follows her brother Ravi, an actor torn between his American girlfriend and the wishes of his Indian parents who want to help arrange a more traditional marriage to a girl of Indian heritage. The whirlwind dating odyssey that follows helps both Ravi and his parents discover common ground with regard to finding love without sacrificing cultural values. Even if some of it feels manufactured instead of authentic, with more visual gimmicks than necessary, the uneven result is both funny and touching. (Rated PG, 87 minutes).

90 Minutes in Heaven

Earnest proselytizing trumps narrative integrity in this true-life drama about Don Piper (Hayden Christensen), a Baptist minister who survives a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler on a rainy Texas highway in 1989, claiming he traveled to heaven and back in the process. His slow and agonizing recovery challenges his belief system, as well as that of his schoolteacher wife (Kate Bosworth) and three young children. The screenplay by director Michael Polish (Northfork), adapted from Piper’s book, offers a mildly intriguing exploration of the healing power of faith, although the titular experience is buried in favor of a repetitive, heavy-handed barrage of bedside hospital prayers. (Rated PG, 121 minutes).

Wolf Totem

The four-legged creatures are more compelling than their two-legged counterparts in this visually stunning 3D adventure from director Jean-Jacques Annaud (Seven Years in Tibet). It follows two Chinese college students staying with nomadic tribesman in a remote section of Mongolia, where they learn various traditions and survival techniques that have been passed down through the generations. Among them is to respect but fear the pack of vicious wolves that lives in the nearby mountains. The allegorical screenplay explores the primal relationship between man and beast, although it doesn’t have the substance to match the often breathtaking imagery of the vivid animal attacks and harsh yet beautiful terrain. (Rated PG-13, 121 minutes).