York film preview: The Whale, Puss in Boots and Saint Omer

From Charlize Theron in Monster to Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour, a startling physical transformation has often proved a successful way for an actor to win the hearts and minds of Oscar voters.

It’s not hard to see why so many stars are keen to pile on the pounds and/or the prosthetics – audiences are enticed by the you-won’t-believe-it’s-the-same-person marketing, and the thesp gets a credibility boost for being prepared to sublimate their vanity in the service of The Art.

This year’s latex-enabled bid for glory comes in the somewhat unlikely form of erstwhile The Mummy swashbuckler Brendan Fraser, donning a body suit to play a morbidly obese recluse in The Whale.

Elsewhere, Puss in Boots sallies back on to the big screen for one more adventure – but is he getting too old for this sh…er, for his litter tray?

New releases

The Whale

Five years on from the mind-melting mayhem of his last film mother!, director Darren Aronofsky switches things up with this portrait of a morbidly obese man trying to find redemption.

Brendan Fraser makes a striking, prosthetic-aided return to the big screen here as reclusive English teacher Charlie, whose failing health prompts him to attempt to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter Ellie (Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink), whom he hasn’t seen since he left her mother for a new partner several years previously.

If many reviews have felt that the film fails to transcend its theatrical origins (it’s adapted by Samuel D. Hunter from his own 2012 stage play), there’s been plenty of praise for Fraser’s Oscar-nominated turn in the main role, with many critics feeling that it could spearhead a major comeback for the Mummy star.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

A decade-plus belated sequel to a spin-off from a flagging main franchise – you’d be forgiven for going into this one with lowered expectations, but enthusiastic early reviews suggest that, like its irrepressible hero, this long-delayed return to the Shrekverse has actually landed firmly on its feet.

As the title suggests, there’s an unexpected existential element underpinning all the swashbuckling here, as Puss in Boots (voiced once more by Antonio Banderas) discovers he’s cashed in on all but one of his nine lives.

In hopes of getting a top-up, the charismatic feline adventurer embarks on an epic quest for the mythical Wishing Star – a mission that brings him into conflict with thuggish Cockney street gang Goldilocks and the Three Bears (one of whom is, inevitably, voiced by Ray Winstone)…

Saint Omer

It may have missed out on an Oscar nod, but rave reviews suggest that this French legal drama contains two lead performances that are the equal of any of this year’s awards hopefuls.

Set in the northern French town of the same name, the film sees celebrated novelist and expectant mother Rama (Kayije Kagame) become obsessed with the trial of Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), a young woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter.

The first fictional feature from acclaimed documentary maker Alice Diop (and based on a real-life court case by which she herself had been captivated), it’s received huge praise for what Variety calls its ‘quietly momentous’ approach to the traditionally melodramatic courtroom drama genre.

Knock at the Cabin

Is M. Night Shyamalan engaged in a one-man war on the travel and tourism industry?

Following 2021’s Old (“Don’t go to the beach or your body might hit Skip Intro on the ageing process”), the prolific director’s latest sees a family’s remote cabin getaway take an alarmingly apocalyptic turn.

The plot sees Eric (Jonathan Groff, aka Frozen’s Kristoff), Andrew (Ben Aldridge, Pennyworth) and their young daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) have their idyllic holiday rudely interrupted by four armed strangers, led by the quietly spoken Leonard (Dave Bautista).

Hopes that it might be nothing more awkward than an airbnb double-booking are swiftly dashed when Leonard calmly informs them that the end of the world is nigh – and the only way to prevent it is for the family to sacrifice one of their own…

Other screenings

For all the controversy surrounding Andrea Riseborough’s surprise inclusion in the Best Actress Oscar nominations last week, most critics seem to agree that her performance itself is more than worthy of awards recognition.

You can decide for yourself this week as the film in question, small-town indie drama To Leslie, shows at Everyman on Thurs 9th – Riseborough plays an alcoholic single mum, in dire straits years after squandering a big lottery win, who gets a chance to turn things around when a kind-hearted motel manager offers her a job.

It’s one of several films back on the big screen this week in the light of their Oscar nods – you can also catch documentary Fire of Love, charting the incredible exploits of husband and wife volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft (City Screen, Fri 3rd – Sun 5th), and the little film that could, German war drama All Quiet on the Western Front (Everyman, Fri 3rd, Thurs 9th), which has emerged as a surprise frontrunner at both the Oscars and the BAFTAs.

Talking of which, it’s fair to say that few would have bet on the scatalogically-inclined yet big-hearted indie sci-fi oddity Everything Everywhere All At Once becoming quite such a powerful awards magnet on its initial release last year, but it certainly makes a refreshing change from more traditionally ‘worthy’ fare – if you’ve yet to experience its multiversal madness, head down to Everyman on Tues 7th.

And before we move on from all this Oscar talk, I think it’s fair to say that, as so often in life, Larry David has the definitive take on this year’s contenders. Prett-ay, prett-ay good…

With LGBT+ History Month underway, Vue have a preview screening of British drama Blue Jean on Weds 8th, ahead of its release next week – this 80s-set tale of a school teacher’s struggle to hide her sexuality is slightly sniffily described by the Guardian as ‘feel(ing) something like Russell T Davies with some Prisoner Cell Block H thrown in’ – personally, I’d slap that front and centre on the promo poster.

Meanwhile, Sun 5th sees City Screen kick off their new season celebrating Weimar cinema – the hugely influential body of German films of the 1920s and 30s famed for their striking monochrome visuals – with horror landmark The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which sees an insane fairground hypnotist manipulate a somnambulist into committing a series of murders.

Slightly cheerier throwbacks are to be found at Vue, where their comedy season continues with a couple of corkers in the form of 80s odd couple road movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles (Sun 5th, Thurs 9th), and Cartman and co’s big screen outing South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Fri 3rd, Sat 4th Tues 7th) – a film which truly has you feeling sympathy for the devil.

As we head towards Valentine’s Day, Vue also have a couple of screenings of the Audrey Hepburn classic Roman Holiday (Sun 5th, Mon 6th), while Everyman are showing When Harry Met Sally… in their regular Throwback strand on Sun 5th – each ticket includes a complimentary drink and a hot dog or pizza, meaning you can quite legitimately say “I’ll have what she’s having” when you order.

The purest love of all, of course, might just be that of a teenager for their pop idol, as BTS fans would doubtless attest – the K-Pop juggernauts’ new concert doc BTS: Yet To Come has a couple of encore screenings at Cineworld and Vue on Fri 3rd and Sat 4th.

And finally, recent Disney adventure Strange World is once again your budget family favourite pick at Vue (tickets £2.49) and Cineworld (£2.50) this week (Sat 4th/Sun 5th);  Cineworld are also offering Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (£2.50, Sat 4th/Sun 5th), while City Screen are going with latter-day Studio Ghibli tale When Marnie Was There (Sat 4th, £3.30) – whetting our appetites for Ghibli mastermind Hayao Miyazaki’s eagerly-awaited return with new film How Do You Live? later this year.

Community cinema

Anyone who saw Corsage in the cinema recently may well have detected some of the DNA of this month’s South Bank Community Cinema choice in its portrait of a bored female monarch engaged in thoroughly un-regal behaviour.

Boasting an Oscar-winning turn from Olivia Colman, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ stylish black comedy gave period drama a much-needed shot in the arm on its release in 2019.

Just the thing to chase away the February blues, the film features equally terrific turns from Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz as the two women vying for the attention of Colman’s melancholy, unpredictable monarch in the early 18th century.

The film shows at Clements Hall, South Bank on Fri 3rd at 8pm (doors 7:30pm) — tickets are £4 (cash only), and SBCC advise that it’s best to book in advance by e-mailing [email protected].