Reviews

Full marks to the BBC for attempting an ethnically diverse Agatha Christie. However, for me this programme was a failure, and I suspect the problem lies with the source material rather than the production itself (I say 'suspect', because I haven't read the original Agatha Christie). The story is set in the 1950s and concerns Luke Fitzwilliam, a young man who meets a Miss Pinkerton while travelling by train to London. She tells him she is heading to Scotland Yard to report a series of murders in the rural village where she lives. Shortly afterwards, she herself is dead, and Luke travels to her village to investigate what is going on. Essentially, then, this is a run-of-the-mill whodunnit in a rural setting, which would be fine, except it commits the cardinal sin of revealing the killer to be a barely-noticed background character. Therefore, the viewer wastes two hours speculating about a bunch of innocent people paraded in the foreground.

Axelle Carolyn's Soulmate is an atmospheric Gothic chiller that entertains but ultimately fails to deliver on its initial promise. The story begins with a very graphic suicide attempt by Audrey, a beautiful young musician who - we later learn - has survived a car crash in which her husband died. Audrey likewise survives the attempted suicide but, finding that friends and family cannot understand her feelings, she retreats to a remote country cottage in order to reassess her life.

Upon arrival Audrey is greeted by the rather over-friendly owner, Theresa, who lives just down the road with her husband Dr Zellaby. When Audrey later reports strange noises coming from a locked upstairs room at night, Theresa and Dr Zellaby appear strangely reluctant to investigate. Eventually, the ghost of the cottage's previous owner, Douglas, manifests himself to Audrey. Over successive days, Douglas and Audrey get to know each other. As they become closer Douglas begins to take an increasingly physical form. So far, so The Ghost and Mrs Muir, but where is this relationship actually going to go? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is: into soap opera territory.

There are no real scares in Soulmate, although writer-director Carolyn does a good job of creating a Gothic atmosphere in the first half. But for one thing, this seems like the kind of film that you would watch over the Christmas season, with a glass of whisky or mulled wine to hand. However, it is hard to imagine the TV programmers showing the ghastly suicide attempt that opens the film. In fact, I felt that this opening sat somewhat uneasily with the rather traditional fare that followed.

The actors all turn in solid performances and Anna Walton is very watchable as the pale, introspective Audrey. However, someone should have pointed out to her that when you play the violin your fingers should actually move over the strings.

Written and directed by Brett Ryan Bonowicz, The Perfect 46 charts the rise and fall of Jesse Darden, the creator of a website that assesses the genetic compatibility of would-be parents, and later develops into a glorified dating website. Whit Hertford's performance as Darden is one of the few things I can recommend about The Perfect 46. When Derden is on the up Hertford brings to the role a passionate intensity that is reminiscent of Steve Jobs and other wunderkind from the modern tech industry. Likewise, Hertford does a great job of conveying dark despair, with an element of obsessive-compulsive behaviour, once things start to go wrong for Darden. A turning point for Darden comes when his own product shows him to be sterile and his wife leaves him. Later, there are also company problems to be faced.

Unfortunately, The Perfect 46 violates a couple of key principles of movie-making. Firstly, rather than letting action drive the plot and letting characters' behaviours reveal their thoughts and attitudes, large swathes of the film are given to interminable explanations and ethical discussions. If I wanted to have issues relating to genetic matchmaking explained to me, I would read a book or watch a documentary; in film fiction, however, extended explanation is frankly a bore. The Perfect 46 presents us with company executives giving explanations to news programmes, with executives expounding in the boardroom, and at one point there is even a dinner party at which characters bat the issues back and forth at great length. Part of the plot involves two hooded men breaking into Darden's country retreat, where one of them then engages in even more philosophical discussion with Darden.

The second problem is the lack of any sympathetic character. Darden himself is the central figure in the film. Unfortunately, we are never given any reason to care about him. You might think that being diagnosed as sterile would give the viewer some reason to feel for Darden, but ironically he mostly behaves like a prick.

In the final scene of the film, the reason for the intruders' break-in is made clear. Frustratingly, the dialogue at this point becomes quite intense and convincing. In one sense you could say the film ended on a high point, but on the other hand this last segment also hinted at how much better the rest of the film could have been.

This extraordinary feature film debut by director Katrin Gebbe is one of the most uncompromising examinations of evil that I have ever seen. In fact, "evil" may not even be the right word to use here, because it is a word that tends to be used as an explanation in its own right, a word that pathologises individuals and prevents us from considering the social contexts within which disturbing behaviour can arise. By contrast, Nothing Bad Can Happen – whilst not providing the audience with any pat answers – places a particular set of events under a spotlight and forces us to consider some difficult questions.

The story begins with a group of Jesus Freaks, young people who blend Christianity and punk rock. Among them is Tore, whose blond locks and blue eyes imbue him with a truly angelic appearance. Whilst driving home from Tore's baptism, the Jesus Freaks encounter Benno, whose pickup truck won't start. They gather round and pray over the bonnet of his vehicle, after which the engine kicks into life. Benno asks about their group and later turns up at one of their punk gatherings, where he witnesses Tore having an epileptic seizure. He takes Tore to his family's summer dwelling, a small shack on an allotment. Tore is invited to stay with the family – consisting of Benno's partner Astrid and her two children from a previous relationship, Dennis and Sanny. As there is not enough room in the hut, Tore sleeps in a tent.

Although he is gently questioning of Tore's Christianity, suggesting that religion is for those who cannot handle responsibility for their own lives, Benno is initially charming. But little by little a darker side is revealed. At a barbecue, Benno jokingly jabs a pair of tongs towards Tore's face. During a gathering for Sanny's fifteenth birthday, Benno punches Tore, but then apologises for what he says is uncharacteristic behaviour. However, Benno's abuse then becomes even more serious.

Throughout it all, Tore shows no inclination to leave of his own accord nor to fight back (earlier in the film one of the other Jesus Freaks makes a speech about turning the other cheek). He interprets his situation as a test set by God, although later – after a spell in hospital – he feels that God has abandoned him. Should we admire Tore's religiosity or is he hopelessly naive? Are Benno, Astrid, and the children the closest thing that Tore has to a real family, or is he simply unable to take responsibility for his own life, as Benno originally suggested? But whatever we think about Tore, the treatment he receives is truly awful.

Water appears recurrently at significant moments in the film. Tore is baptised in the sea; there is a near-sexual encounter in a swimming pool; an episode of animal abuse involves water; and at one point Tom – filthy and stinking – is hosed down by Benno, only Sanny takes the hose and makes a game of it. At various points the music rumbles and gurgles, like a large object sinking into deep water.

**SIGNIFICANT SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS**

Disturbingly, Astrid goes from being a mere observer of Tore's suffering to being actively complicit in its cause. She and Benno occasionally appear surprised, appalled even, by their own behaviour, but then go on to perpetrate worse. Likewise, Dieter and Cora are occasional visitors who begin by expressing concern for Tore, but end up also participating in his suffering. I'm sure I could not have been the only audience member thinking of real-life cases such as Fred and Rosemary West (and, in fact, Nothing Bad Can Happen is based on true events in Germany). But moreover, watching ordinary people become involved in horrific events brings to mind the rise of the Nazis, not to mention more recent events such as Abu-Ghraib.

At the end of the film Tore is badly beaten and mutilated, and Benno, Astrid, Dieter and Cora wrap him in a blanket and drive him out to the country. Here, Benno drops the blood-soaked young man in a copse. Benno asks him where his God is now, to which Tore raises a hand to his chest and whispers "Here". Apparently unable to cope with this demonstration of faith, Benno kicks Tore, whose body rolls down a slope and – the opposing bookend to the baptism at the beginning – comes to a rest in water with plant matter wreathed Christ-like around his head.

Back at the allotment, Sanny and Dennis manage to escape and the final shot is of them walking hand-in-hand down the road. When the final credits appear, instead of scrolling upwards in the conventional manner, they scroll downwards leaving us with the feeling of a descent into hell.

Director Katrin Gebbe has stated that, following a showing at Cannes, the film "had boos and cheers, escapees and long standing ovations". I cannot for the life of me think why anyone would boo this movie. Certainly, the events it depicts are shocking in the extreme and Gebbe refuses to make moral judgments on behalf of the audience. Nor is there much that can be considered uplifting, unless you feel that Tore's refusal to fight back is inspirational rather than naive. But surely these aspects are characteristic of a mature work of art that refuses to patronise its audience? In any event, although this is not an easy watch (I occasionally found myself curling my fists as I squirmed in discomfort) I consider that this is one of the stand-out movies of the year so far, underpinned by a strong script, strong direction, fine music and cinematography, and with a memorable performance by Julius Feldmeier as Tore.

In Under the Skin Scarlett Johansson plays an alien (in the skin of a beautiful woman with an English accent) who drives around Scotland in a white van picking up single men, who she then takes back to a house where she traps them in a mysterious black alien dimension. The first half of the film sees her navigating the streets of Glasgow, which - seen as though through her eyes - appears to us as a strange, unfamiliar world. Periodically, she stops and asks men for directions, then offers to give them a lift. Once they are in the passenger seat she engages them in conversation. Apparently, at least some of these strangers were genuinely unsuspecting members of the public, and it is fascinating to watch their responses to Johansson's gentle flirtation (some don't respond and look away, others engage eye contact). We watch these interactions from a variety of viewpoints, thanks to hidden cameras in the van.

Once these men have been lured back to the alien's house, we see them in an extraordinary shiny black environment. They appear entranced by Johansson's alien, but as they walk towards her they sink beneath the surface of a strange gelatinous substance, where they remain trapped. Johansson herself is able to walk atop the black surface. It's an incredibly striking piece of cinematography.

In the second half of the film the action moves to the Scottish countryside. We see the alien at a windswept coast, where she watches blankly as a human tragedy unfolds in front of her. Later, a crisis of sorts occurs and the alien finds herself stranded and vulnerable. She is taken in by a helpful stranger and there is a nod here to the television watching scene from The Man Who Fell to Earth (David Bowie's character sits watching an entire bank of televisions). However, it is a very British and a very funny nod - the alien sits impassively, and uncomprehendingly, watching Tommy Cooper performing his spoon-jar jar-spoon routine. In fact, this is just one of several scenes that are actually very funny, though how well that humour will be picked up by viewers outside of British shores is hard to say (apparently, at film festivals Under the Skin has been nearly unanimously well-received by British reviewers, but less so by others).

Eventually, the alien leaves this refuge and finds herself in a forest, where she finds that she is no longer predator but prey.

If you are the kind of person who likes to have things explained to you and wants loose ends tied up, then it is fair to say that this might not be the movie for you. However, if you enjoy poetic movies in which fantastically strong visual images conjure up a variety of thoughts, then you won't find better than this. The strong cinematography is enhanced by a terrific and unsettling musical score.

This is the best film I have seen this year.

Two nurses, Jane and Cathy, go on a cycling holiday through rural France. After they have been cycling for a while Cathy wants to stop and relax, but Jane wants to press on. Jane thinks that Cathy only wants to linger in the hope of meeting a man on a scooter who she had seen at various points along their journey so far. They argue, and Jane cycles on to the next village, leaving Cathy to sunbathe at a small clearing in some woods.

Cathy wakes from a sleep, but becomes scared after she hears a sound in the bushes and discovers her bicycle has been vandalised. Meanwhile, Jane is disturbed by a squabbling couple at the café where she is resting, and cycles back to the woods to find her friend only to find she is no longer there. As time goes by we become convinced that Cathy is genuinely missing and we encounter various other individuals, all of whom seem suspicious to some degree: an ex-pat middle-aged Englishwoman, a gendarme, and the gendarme's deaf father.

Although the pacing is fairly slow the tension is ratcheted up quite efficiently. Ultimately, however, I found the ending a bit disappointing. For much of the film the man on the scooter, who claims to be a member of the Surité, is supposedly helping Jane find Cathy, but he behaves so strangely that she becomes afraid of him and runs away. Towards the end of the film Jane finds Cathy's dead body, but the man on the scooter turns out not to be the killer and comes to her rescue at a crucial moment. However, we never get any explanation for his odd behaviour earlier on.