When Thewlis is on, he's on siphens the entire world into his feelings. He is a true great. He manages to evoke so much. In this way it is an odd cousin to Naked, or a kind of encore. It does not reach those heights--how could it--but there is an unusual power when he worked with an auteur, that has an analytic intensity in common with his Leigh film. He is the reason the film is good. Any time it cuts away, I lose interest. Egoyan, as a fan of his great 90s works, I think digital cinematography takes the mystery and intensity out, and they could have found a whole other angle to plot this. But that 90s work was SO good, I will give Egoyan a pass wherever he goes. Also his wife never ages. She is his lucky charm because she just takes his worlds into another universe every single time.
Review of Guest of Honour
