Capsule reviews for Nov. 7

All That We Love

Although it’s rough around the edges, this heartfelt drama from director Yen Tan (Pit Stop) examines grief, loneliness, reconciliation, and healing with sincerity and affection. Having recently lost her beloved dog, middle-aged Emma (Margaret Cho) tries to cope with changes involving her best friend (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), her marketing co-worker (Missi Pyle), her daughter (Alice Lee) about to leave for Australia, and the ex-husband (Kenneth Choi) who left her years ago but has recently reached out wanting to reconnect. Reluctantly, Emma learns to embrace new opportunities for companionship and fulfillment. The uneven film adeptly juggles humor and pathos while probing contemporary relationships with bittersweet honesty. (Not rated, 90 minutes).

Belen

Both enlightening and infuriating, this true-life Argentinian legal thriller is conventional in structure, yet navigates some tricky thematic territory with clear-eyed compassion. It’s set in 2014, after a young woman (Camilla Plaate) is admitted to the hospital with abdominal pain, and winds up falsely accused of an illegal abortion after a fetus is found in the lavatory. After she’s imprisoned, a lawyer (Dolores Fonzi, who also directed) crusades for justice on her behalf, despite bureaucratic red tape, institutional corruption, and threats to her own safety. The heartfelt intentions offset the final-act cliches, and the film benefits from its all-female perspective on both sides of the camera. (Rated R, 107 minutes).

I Wish You All the Best

While its message of acceptance and identity is worthwhile, this earnest coming-of-age drama lacks the narrative courage to make it more emotionally impactful. After he comes out as nonbinary, Ben (Corey Fogelmanis) is ostracized by his conservative parents, finding support instead from an estranged sister (Alexandra Daddario) and her husband (Cole Sprouse). As a new school, Ben bonds with a teacher (Lena Dunham) and a student (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) who shares an outsider status. The screenplay by rookie director Tommy Dorfman amounts to a mildly heartwarming journey of self-discovery. But while trying to fit in rather than stand out, the film feels like a missed opportunity. (Rated R, 92 minutes).

Long Shadows

Despite sharing the heartfelt intentions of its protagonist, this dusty Western morality tale feels like a better fit for the small screen. It follows Marcus (Blaine Maye), a timid and naive orphan carrying emotional wounds from his parents’ tragic death. Trying to start over, he rescues a young woman (Sarah Cortez) from a brothel and meets an outlaw (Dermot Mulroney) who prompts Marcus to confront his past. It’s an admirable character-driven effort. Yet as it lumbers toward a predictable outcome, the directorial debut of actor William Shockley is hampered by wooden dialogue, uneven performances, an overbearing score, and an excessively deliberate pace that magnifies those issues. (Rated R, 104 minutes).

Peter Hujar’s Day

This feature-length conversation might resemble more of a staged acting workshop than a cinematic production, but the two-handed drama from director Ira Sachs (Passages) offers thematic depth while showcasing two actors in top form. Its true-life origins involve re-creating a 1974 chat inside a New York apartment between Hujar (Ben Whishaw) — a queer East Village portrait photographer struggling to find commercial success in his career — and writer Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall), whose premise involved asking Hujar to describe his yesterday. The result yields famous name drops while also lamenting the financial realities of the city’s underground art scene. The film winds up slight yet affecting. (Not rated, 76 minutes).

Sentimental Value

Intriguing character dynamics offset the tonal inconsistencies in this richly textured drama from Norwegian director Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World), a perceptive probe of relationships and family legacies. An enigmatic filmmaker (Stellan Skarsgard) offers the lead role in his comeback film to his estranged daughter (Renate Reinsve) as an opportunity to reconnect. When she declines, the part instead goes to a Hollywood starlet (Elle Fanning), which subtly changes the connection between generations in unexpected ways. Bolstered by its strong cast, the film balances its edgier satire with a more heartfelt and emotionally honest look at memories, lingering hostility, and catharsis through creativity. (Rated R, 132 minutes).