Capsule reviews for Aug. 21
Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, and Noah Toth star in IT ENDS. (Photo: Neon)
The Deb
An amusing mix of old-fashioned rural charm and sassy Gen Z defiance, this Australian coming-of-age musical marks an assured directorial debut for actress Rebel Wilson. Sydney teenager Maeve (Charlotte MacInnes) is an uninhibited wannabe influencer sent to live for the summer in the drought-stricken Outback with socially awkward cousin Taylah (Natalie Abbott) and her family. Amid the culture clash, Taylah anticipates the town’s annual debutante ball while Maeve is disruptive and condescending — unaware how unpopular she really is. Both humorous and heartwarming, the film’s cliched narrative is enhanced by spirited songs and choreography. The result is silly yet sincere, even if doesn’t break any new ground. (Not rated, 121 minutes).
Franz
Audaciously crafting a Kafkaesque biopic of Czech writer Franz Kafka, this sprawling drama from acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland (Green Border) captures the spirit of its aloof subject, even if its fragmented nature inhibits a deeper emotional connection. The film offers a nonlinear portrait that jumps between episodes in the early 1900s life of Kafka (Idan Weiss), from his volatile Jewish upbringing to his relationships that always took a backseat to his love for writing, to discovering his surreal voice. Uneven by nature, it offers compelling and balanced insight into Kafka’s artistic inspiration and creative process, while newcomer Weiss digs inside his troubled yet brilliant head. (Not rated, 127 minutes).
How to Divorce During the War
Exploring an intriguing parallel between marital turbulence and sociopolitical conflict, this sharply observed Lithuanian drama finds balance and restraint in focusing on the emotional struggles of its characters amid a volatile real-life backdrop. It’s set in 2022, when business executive Marija (Zygimante Elena Jakstaite) wants to divorce her husband (Marius Repsys). But that becomes more complicated when Russia announces a full-scale invasion of Ukraine the very next day. The impending war across the border coincides with an influx of refugees and Marija’s own midlife crisis. Bolstered by strong performances, the deliberately paced screenplay by director Andrius Blazevicius offers a subtle contemporary probe of intimacy, contentment, and resilience. (Not rated, 108 minutes).
Insidious: Out of the Further
The venerable supernatural horror franchise had already run its course prior to this superfluous sixth installment from director Jacob Chase (Come Play), which fails to expand the mythology in any meaningful new direction. It tracks a mother (Amelia Eve) who returns to her childhood home carrying an extraordinary ability to cross into the purgatorial realm known as The Further, except she can bring what lives there back to the real world, acting as an unwitting vessel for demonic activity. Alongside some stylish visual flourishes, the screenplay relies on familiar genre mechanics while struggling to sustain genuine suspense between its isolated jolts. It’s more tedious than terrifying. (Rated PG-13, 106 minutes).
It Ends
Some clever turns fuel the nightmarish road to nowhere in this unsettling dystopian thriller that subverts genre tropes and eschews jump scares in favor of deeper psychological terror. The setup is familiar, as four friends take a late-night drive through the country and somehow miss a turn. Then they are mysteriously confronted by angry people from the woods. So they keep driving and never run out of gas, searching for answers. The thin premise in the screenplay by rookie director Alex Ullom is stretched with existential bickering and brooding. But while the resulting ambiguity might be frustrating, it’s also what gives the film its propulsive tension. (Rated R, 89 minutes).