Capsule reviews for Nov. 13

Bitter Christmas

Although its nonlinear story is unnecessarily convoluted, this latest twisty melodrama from Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar is an overall witty look at creative process, artistic inspiration, dual identity, and the pressures of fame. A marketing executive (Barbara Lennie) dealing with health episodes and grief in 2004 becomes the unlikely subject for a struggling present-day screenwriter (Leonardo Sbaraglia). As their paths cross, the lines between fantasy and reality for both start to blur. Almodovar explores familiar self-reflexive themes through a fresh set of characters. Without adding up to much in the end, there’s some playful narrative misdirection and tart dialogue, highlighted by a first-rate climactic reckoning. (Rated R, 111 minutes).

Bruton

A committed portrayal by Theo Rossi (Emily the Criminal) elevates this gritty true-life prison drama that brings hard-earned sympathy to an otherwise familiar probe of crime and punishment. In the 2000s, Rossi plays Bryan, a small-time Florida drug dealer and family man incarcerated after a tragic accident. Driven by the chance to reunite with his wife (Aya Cash) and daughter, Bryan struggles to navigate his own reckless impulses and the state’s detention system. The screenplay by director Vincent Grashaw (Gangland) is formulaic and too eager to overlook Bryan’s transgressions while paving his path to redemption. However, the film finds depth in its quieter, character-driven moments. (Not rated, 108 minutes).

Ghost Soldier

While its premise touches on timely anxieties surrounding land displacement and environmental concerns, this derivative vigilante thriller from director William Eubank (Underwater) suffers from thinly sketched characters and heavy-handed political messaging. It centers on a retired Green Beret engineer (Jim Caviezel) defending his rural Wyoming neighbors against greedy developers targeting local water rights. Caviezel’s understated portrayal lacks the charisma of a convincing action hero, while the screenplay turns corporate exploitation into a random assortment of convenient enemies rather than examining its real-world consequences. What’s left is a jingoistic 1980s throwback that undermines some gritty if sanitized confrontation scenes with muddled storytelling that lacks consistent suspense. (Rated PG-13, 90 minutes).

Victorian Psycho

If only they had background checks in the 1850s, it might have spared us this gleefully ultraviolent comedic thriller from director Zachary Wigon (Sanctuary) in which style overwhelms substance. Winifred (Maika Monroe) is a governess whose arrival at a remote manor coincides with erratic behavior and disappearances among staff and residents. As she’s confronted by her tragic past, she loses her grip on reality while spiraling toward an eventual bloodbath. The film’s striking visuals aren’t matched by a screenplay that lacks tonal consistency. It juggles elements of socioeconomic class satire, campy genre lampoon, and empowered ghost story among characters lacking any sympathy or common sense. (Rated R, 102 minutes).