Frantz (12A)
Three stars
Dir: François Ozon
With: Pierre Niney, Paula Beer
Runtime: 114 minutes
GERMANY, not long after the First World War’s end. Anna (Paula Beer) is mourning the loss of her fiance, Frantz; his parents, their son. Given the continuing bad blood between nations, no-one welcomes the arrival of a young Frenchman in the village. Who is he and what connection does he have with Frantz? Director François Ozon (In the House, Potiche) is a Glasgow Film Festival favourite, and this is a typically sensitive, handsomely shot piece (in mono and colour) about grief and the long, painful road through it. Strains credibility towards the end, but the performances, by Beer especially, are first class.
GFT, May 12-18; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, May 12-25
Miss Sloane (15)
Two stars
Dir: John Madden
With: Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong
Runtime: 132 minutes
HAD high hopes for this one, being the tale of a Washington lobbyist (played by the marvellous Jessica Chastain) who is under attack from a Senate committee. It is also directed by John Madden, of Shakespeare in Love and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel fame. If that is not enough to seal the deal, there’s Mark Strong playing the head of a firm that hires Miss Sloane to back a gun control bill. Alas, the script turns out to be more melodramatic TV movie than Michael Clayton, and life at a lobby firm, all that sitting around conference tables, does not make for thrilling cinematic viewing.
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