The opening week of Edinburgh International Film Festival has contained a typically wide selection of films, spanning continents, classes and eras. Here we take a look at some of the films screening in the various strands of the 73rd edition of the festival in Scotland’s capital.
High Concept Rom-Coms
The first week of the festival had two high-concept romantic comedies from opposite ends of the budget spectrum. At the high profile end is Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis’ collaboration Yesterday, where Himesh Patel‘s Jack Malik finds himself in an alternate world (curiously, otherwise exactly the same) where The Beatles never existed. The script has some good comic setup and plays with its concept in quite a gentle manner. Patel channels his incredulity at the people around him in an extremely relatable manner, with people at first not really appreciating being the first to hear ‘Let It Be’, for example.
If there is any complaint with the concept of the film, or at least Curtis‘s execution of it, then The Beatles’ music is assumed to have some sort of mythic quality to it, and is not somehow inextricably linked to John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Although Ed Sheeran (playing himself) mines some laughs in suggesting ‘Hey Jude’ be retitled ‘Hey Dude’, it is less actively ridiculous when you consider that the entire history and meaning of the song – as an ode to comfort John Lennon’s son Julian when Lennon left his marriage for Yoko Ono – has also been erased. Additionally, a central romance between Patel‘s Jack and Lily James, as his onetime manager and love interest Ellie, is poorly developed. The obstacles placed in their way seem forced and, as a result, it feels like a tacked on addition. The writing echoes the sad lack of use James got in Baby Driver.
These are minor complaints, however, when viewed in the context of the film whilst watching. Patel is an enjoyable musical presence, and the supporting cast are largely excellent. Kate Mackinnon, in particular, continues to rise above the mediocre material she somehow finds herself in. In retrospect, the film will feel flimsy but, in the moment, is a witty toe-tapper.
On a lower budget, but if anything far more observant within its chosen concept, is British comedy Love Type D. Director and writer Sasha Collington posits the discovery of a ‘dumpee’ gene being discovered by scientists, which feels revelatory to Frankie (Maeve Dermody) following her dumping by her boyfriend, Thomas, who doesn’t even have the gall to do it himself but instead sends his very young brother, Wilbur (Rory Stroud).
Collington‘s script has fun with the concept and, in setting up a conceit whereby Frankie must revisit all the people who have ever dumped her, turning the win-him-back trope on its head. She also blends different types of humour in – situational, unbelievable male pomposity, more conventional self-doubt from Frankie – meaning the film feels constantly fresh and inventive. The film undoubtedly stays at the frothier end of the concepts and themes, when it could take deeper turns, but Collington‘s skill in handling the material means the film is always engaging and light on its feet.
American-led dramas with varying returns
Richard Dreyfuss stars in Astronaut as an elderly widower who, in the face of ailing health and sense of purpose, enters a competition to go on the first commercial flight to space. Dreyfuss is a wise choice for the film’s fulcrum and, along with Shelagh McLeod‘s directorial choices, raises fairly middle-of-the-road script material. The film includes some commentary on the rather callous nature of how useful the elderly are regarded to be, particularly in the face of advancing commerce and technology. With a less compelling lead, Astronaut would easily fall into saccharine cliche and asininity, but Dreyfuss has sufficient gravitas to pull off the role of Angus. McLeod‘s direction could also be easily overlooked, but her shot choices around the home Angus is sent to and similar put the film’s themes forward nicely without resorting to too much obvious dialogue.
On the other hand, She’s Missing could have used some further dialogue to sketch out its opaque plot lines and narrative concerns. Set in the New Mexico desert, Lucy Fry plays Heidi, a small-town waitress who seeks out her missing best friend Jane (Eiza Gonzalez) after she disappears. Fry‘s performance is excellent, harmonising with the setting to convey life in stasis in middle-of-nowhere America, with literally and figuratively. However, a desire for ambiguity and choppy editing render the film frustrating to watch, tumbling into pointless mystery.
Liberté: A Call to Spy tells the story of women recruited to spy against the Nazis in occupied France. The lead performance from Sarah Megan Thomas (who also writes and produces) is strong, with her commanding performance getting across the hitherto overlooked skill and competence of the American Virginia Hall. Overlooked for US diplomatic service on account of her wooden leg, she is recruited along with Noor (Radhika Apte) by Vera Atkins (Stana Katic). The varied backgrounds of the three central women – Vera has a Romanian Jewish background, Noor has an Indian Muslim father, American mother and childhood periods in Russia – means the film wears its progressive heart on its sleeve. This works effectively in getting across a number of the film’s themes, and the performances largely support this, but it is the actual story pacing and construction that lets the film down. With a fairly shapeless objective – other than being really good at spying – and a single gear pacing-wise, the film generates respect for the real-life women the story is based on but little narrative engagement.
Diverging tales of privilege
The Souvenir, a critical hit on its festival run so far for director Joanna Hogg, tells the story of young filmmaker Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne), her attempts to get her film off the ground and her relationship with the older Anthony (Tom Burke). The film engages with the idea of privilege – Julie lives as a student in a fantastically appointed Knightsbridge flat – and toxic relationships but does not really take it further. Although it may well benefit from a second viewing, the film instead pursues the effect of these on artistic expression. A wonderfully made film, with superb acting and shot choices from Hogg, the backdrop to the story proves distractingly stand-offish from the characters’ day-to-day situations.
The Scots followed in the documentary Scheme Birds finding themselves in totally different circumstances in the deprived area of Jerviston in Motherwell. We spend almost all of the film with Gemma, a young woman who, as the film begins, falls out with her adoptive family over her choice of boyfriend (and later, father of her child). The film – directed by Swedish pair Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin – sets the scene extremely well in terms of the history of the area and the opportunities (or lack thereof) for Gemma and her peers, using a voiceover from Gemma. Although the documentary lays out in detail the rudderless existence of many of the young people, it also finds a visual lyricism and freedom metaphor in Gemma’s grandfather’s pigeons. The film very much goes on a journey with Gemma as a protagonist, beginning with a desire to never live anywhere else and slowly realising she maybe needs to break free. The film is not uplifting, but it is also an understanding portrait of people who are given very little without ogling at the poverty of their situation.
Period stories and period methods
Bait from Mark Jenkin is probably the most unique film screening at the festival. Hand developed from 16mm film shot without any on-location sound, the film has an initially peculiar cinematic grammar more reminiscent of bygone eras of cinema. This is contrasted strongly against a very contemporary tale of modern Cornwall, and a fishing village invaded with wealthy seasonal residents and tourists. Edward Rowe plays the central Martin, stubbornly continuing to fish by hand with nets after his brother commandeers their boat for tourist excursions and in conflict with the wealthy couple who now own his childhood home. The film will need time for viewers to finds its groove, but the contrasting period style and modern tale blend to excellent effect.
Robert The Bruce acts as a sort-of-sequel to Braveheart, with Angus Macfadyen reprising his role from Braveheart. The Scottish wars of independence have been mined for material on Scotland’s king recently in Outlaw King, but Richard Gray‘s film has a much smaller focus. We primarily follow a family, missing the family patriarch due to his death fighting for Robert. The accents of many cast members (the film was largely shot in Montana) are extremely wonky, but Macfadyen’s central performance is measured and gives some weight to the sections trying to characterise Robert the Bruce. Sadly, the more unique angle of focusing on the family and Bruce’s importance to them – and the people of 14th-century Scotland – as a symbol is less well executed, and the film finds itself caught between the two approaches.
Did you see anything at Edinburgh Film Festival? What were your highlights? Let us know in the comments below!
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