Capsule reviews for Oct. 29

Heart of Champions

The generic title isn’t the only formulaic element of this earnest underdog drama from director Michael Mailer (Blind) that seeks to extol the virtues of competitive rowing. It’s set on an affluent college campus where a military veteran (Michael Shannon) is hired to reverse the fortunes of the crew program. His no-nonsense methods and eccentric workout regimens aim to build teamwork and trust within his talented but dysfunctional squad that must overcome past demons, personal tragedies, and ulterior motives to return to championship form. The sequences on the water are exciting, although outside the boat, the film relies on melodramatic contrivances rather than character depth. (Rated PG-13, 119 minutes).

A Mouthful of Air

Despite some honest intentions, this downbeat drama about postpartum depression lacks the conviction to achieve its cathartic intentions. It follows Julie (Amanda Seyfried), a children’s author and young mother whose chronic insecurities and past demons prompt thoughts of suicide. She’s got a supportive husband (Finn Wittrock), mother (Amy Irving), and psychiatrist (Paul Giamatti), but as she prepares for a second child, she can’t escape her spiral of anxiety and paranoia. Seyfried’s committed portrayal yields some powerful moments. Yet rookie director Amy Koppelman, who also adapted the screenplay from her own novel, struggles to emotionally maximize the connections between Julie’s professional work and her personal pain. (Rated R, 104 minutes).

Only the Animals

Although its Rashomon conceit sometimes feels forced, this offbeat French thriller from director Dominik Moll (Lemming) builds plenty of intrigue and suspense as an old-fashioned whodunit. At its center is the disappearance of a woman (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) in a mountain blizzard whose fate remains a mystery to investigators. That’s why they call upon five potential suspects, including an insurance agent (Laura Calamy) and her husband (Denis Menochet) to provide details and speculate. The resulting chronological and tonal shifts toss around some red herrings in addition to twisty clues, spinning a well-acted if uneven tale of guilt and deceit that nevertheless eventually pays off. (Not rated, 117 minutes).

Snakehead

Heartfelt ambition gives way to heavy-handed execution in this gritty crime thriller that tries to find a different angle to the immigrant struggle. It centers on Tse (Shuya Chang), a Chinese ex-convict who arrives in New York’s Chinatown ostensibly to find her daughter after losing custody. But first she must pay a massive debt for smuggling her into the United States, which draws Tse into a world of gangsters and human traffickers alongside an unassuming crime boss (Jade Wu). Her resilience generates a rooting interest, although the real-world relevance of Tse’s journey is compromised by homogenized cliches in the screenplay by director Evan Jackson Leong (Linsanity). (Not rated, 89 minutes).

The Souvenir Part II

Even if it lacks the overall freshness of its predecessor, at least this follow-up to the quietly perceptive 2019 character study about the romantic travails of a troubled young woman feels like an organic continuation of her story. If anything, Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) is explored with even more depth and emotional complexity in this installment, grieving the death of her boyfriend and tryting to find catharsis by returning to film school. That decision presents more challenges in this latest semiautobiographical coming-of-age saga from British director Joanna Hogg, who relies more on mood than dialogue to tell a powerful story of self-discovery and artistic inspiration. (Rated R, 107 minutes).

13 Minutes

The depiction of a once-in-a-lifetime twister destroying a small Oklahoma town is harrowing, but it also represents just a fraction of the running time in this meteorological melodrama. The remainder is focused on intertwining stories of intolerance, and discovering whether the local racists, bigots, and xenophobes can find any common ground with the immigrant day laborers, gay teenagers, and unwed mothers. Such shallow redneck stereotypes in the screenplay by rookie director Lindsay Gossling undermine the intended message of healing and humanity in the face of tragedy. It won’t exactly blow you away. The ensemble cast includes Trace Adkins, Anne Heche, Amy Smart, and Peter Facinelli. (Rated PG-13, 108 minutes).