Category Archives: 2024

2024

“Juror #2” a Taut, Thoughtful and Tortured Deliberators Department

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Director Clint Eastwood, career action star turned elder statesman of the thinking person’s dramatic film, returns to the scene of the crime — and punishment — in the sturdy and somber Georgia-set procedural Juror #2 (A-). Nicholas Hoult plays a novelist and expectant father serving as a juror in a prominent murder trial and finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma capable of swaying the verdict and potentially convicting or freeing the accused killer. Hoult is fantastic in the nuanced role, relatable and believable in service of a somewhat far-fetched premise. Many of the tropes of courtroom thrillers are present in the story but presented with multiple points of view as the scales of justice prove to be complex forms of measurement. Eastwood artfully and efficiently dispatches the story with wonderful performances all around, including Toni Collette as a showy district attorney, Gabriel Basso as the accused and J.K. Simmons as a wily colleague in the fraught deliberations. The movie quietly observes and subtly exposes vulnerabilities of the justice system and hearkens back to the director’s other Savannah-set feature Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It’s an excellent companion piece to some of his best and most thoughtful morality plays such as Million Dollar Baby, Sully, Unforgiven, American Sniper and The Hereafter. It is old-fashioned on the surface but resonates splendidly in modern times and is highly recommended fare for adults and thoughtful teens who want to see (along with other films like Conclave and The Brutalist) what it used to look like in Hollywood’s heyday to craft and consume a deft and deliberate drama.

2024

TSA Thriller “Carry-On” Gifts Taron Egerton a Christmas Eve Crisis of Confidence

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The square-jawed protagonist of a new Yuletide actioner is equal parts dubious and daring, and he’s definitely in danger. Director Jaume Collet-Serra’s Carry-On (B-) puts substantial decision-making on the shoulders of a humble LAX TSA agent played with aplomb by Taron Egerton, whose character is mid at adulting even as his pregnant girlfriend (Sofia Carson) shares he’s on the brink of zaddy-hood. But when an earpiece emitting the somber, sinister and sus voice of Jason Bateman comes through the conveyor belt tray with very specific instructions, it’s Nick of Time slash Die Harder vibes for our reluctant hero rizzing to the occasion to outwit terrorists commandeering a prominent plane on a Christmas Eve crash course with destiny. Meanwhile in what at first occupies a completely distinct tonal universe, Danielle Deadwyler is doing the most as the LAPD agent connecting a series of homeland homicides with the action afoot at the airport. Things get more interesting when hunty gets stunty. The film flashes some creative communications and surveillance graphics and waves some wondrous wands once the plot finally progresses into full cat and mouse-dom. It’s familiar stuff, to be sure, and it’s not quite as funny or fleet of foot as Egerton’s committed central everyman performance or American accent. It also feels Bateman’s screen time is so slight, he may as well have been contracted via Cameo for his flash of a part. Overall, expect a slightly better than average good time out of this thriller with just enough EQ in the eggnoggin to please those gathered for the holidays.

2024

Investing in Krypto: James Gunn Unleashes Inspired “Superman” Teaser Trailer

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The captivating sneak preview for the July 2025 Superman features new Man of Steel/Clark Kent played by David Corenswet (captured here by Silver Screen Capture at a movie event in Georgia, where he filmed much of the feature at Trilith Studios) as a more relatable superhero, flanked by superdog Krypto, a convenient device for shaggy, scrappy soliloquies opposite a spirit daemon. After helming his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, James Gunn has proven a master of wisecracking companions, colorful antiheroes and faithful storytelling rooted in comic book origins. There’s imagery of the defeated protagonist regaining his mojo opposite a cavalcade of domestic and galactic villains wrecking havoc. There are snippets of Smallville, the Fortress of Solitude, Metropolis, The Daily Planet and much more and shots of an intriguing ensemble ranging from Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane) to Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor). Also memorable is John Murphy’s electronic homage to the notes of the iconic John Williams anthem. Check out the teaser trailer right here.

2024

2024’s “Nosferatu” is Pretty as a Connect-the-Dots Dracula Picture

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Oh, another bite at the Dracula story! Nosferatu (B-), the remake of the 1922 German classic directed in 2024 by Robert Eggers, chronicles the obsessive 1838 story between the Transylvanian thirst trap (Bill Skarsgard) and a haunted damsel (Lily-Rose Depp) in a picturesque pageant of dread and horror across Europe. There’s lots of slow-burn mood setting and stunning Jarin Blaschke cinematography in this crafts cavalcade. Baroque production design, exquisite costuming and creative makeup effects aside, though, there’s very little added to this tale as old as time. Eggers, so incredibly innovative in most of his works, has a sixth sense for this sort of story but doesn’t fully bring his fully unhinged and twisted sensibility to this affair. What he delivers is a perfectly preserved revival and rendition but not a new definitive one. The camera loves Depp, and there are a few fun scares. It’s just a little low stakes.

2024

Southeastern Film Critics Association Top 10 Films of 2024 Include “Anora,” “The Brutalist,” “Challengers,” “Nickel Boys,” “The Substance”

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Southeastern Film Critics Association

The Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) has named Sean Baker’s Anora as best picture of the year. SEFCA’s 89 members (including this reviewer!) located across nine Southeastern states named the following to its top films of 2024.

  1. Anora
  2. The Brutalist
  3. Conclave
  4. Dune Part 2
  5. Challengers
  6. Nickel Boys
  7. Sing Sing
  8. Wicked (Part 1)
  9. The Substance
  10. A Complete Unknown

Runner-up to SEFCA’s top ten and 11th overall was the film I Saw the TV Glow.

The dark comic romcom Anora was clearly a favorite, with Sean Baker winning best original screenplay and breakout performer Mikey Madison snagging best actress for the fierce title role. The epic immigrant saga The Brutalist carried home the most awards including Brady Corbet for best director and Adrian Brody and Guy Pearce for best actor and supporting actor, respectively.

Colman Domingo was runner-up for best actor for the uplifting prison-set drama Sing Sing, and Demi Moore runner-up for best actress for the body horror film about aging in Hollywood, The Substance. Kieran Culkin was runner-up for best supporting actor for the dark comedy A Real Pain about mismatched cousins on a trauma tourism expedition.

Best supporting actress winner is Ariana Grande as the singing and dancing “good witch” of Wicked with runner-up Zoe Saldana as a singing and dancing lawyer in the unconventional musical Emilia Perez.

This critics’ body awarded the Vatican-set Conclave best ensemble with Sing Sing as runner-up. Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold were runners-up for best original screenplay. Sean Baker was runner-up for best director for Anora.

Best adapted screenplay was Peter Straughan for Conclave with runners-up RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes for the historic drama Nickel Boys.

Best documentary was Sugarcane chronicling the disappearances of Native American children with Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story as runner-up. The Wild Robot won best animated feature with Flow as runner-up. Best foreign language film was the French production Emilia Perez with runner-up The Seed of the Sacred Fig, a political thriller from Iran.

Best cinematography was Greg Fraser for the sci-fi extravaganza Dune Part 2 with runner-up Jarin Blaschke for gothic vampire film Nosferatu. Best score went to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for the tennis threesome dramedy Challengers with runner-up Daniel Blumberg for The Brutalist.

Learn more about the SEFCA here.

2024

Weak Story, Drab Production of Bob Dylan Biopic Keeps Subject “A Complete Unknown”

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Bob Dylan is lit — literature, in fact, to those lauding this iconic poet laureate of the folk music scene. But James Mangold’s moribund biopic A Complete Unknown (C) gives scant clues about what inspires and motivates the musician and man of mystery. What we are left with in a reverential but otherwise by-the-books look at the artist as a young man in 1960s New York is a very lived-in imitation by Timothée Chalamet in terms of voice and vibe. The talented actor capably inhabits the role of the rebel but not the cause: Watershed events ranging from violent global uprising to civil rights upheaval to high-profile assassinations are simply static on TV and radio snippets, and there’s nary a connection to why the troubadour is tuning into the pulse of any of this for inspiration. A few tepid love affairs (with squandered actresses Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo and Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez), some minor conflict with festival organizers (including a sunny Ed Norton as Pete Seeger) and a petulant penchant for not playing what his crowds want to hear comprising most of the film’s run time. Oddly for the same director as Walk the Line, Mangold casts Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, a spiritual guardian of Dylan’s transition from eclectic to electric. And there’s an unnecessary framing device offering little extra clarity. Some of the movie’s music sequences contain verve, but the whole enterprise is strangely one-note save the uncanny authenticity of the central performance. The film’s seeming thesis of not giving in to expectations is thwarted by never being all that grounded in any rules in the first place. Nothing dusty or gusty is blowing in the blustery wind of this interpretation. Instead of this feckless non-origin story, consider watching Martin Scorsese’s documentary No Direction Home.

2024

The Atlanta Film Critics Circle Announces 2024 Award Winners

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Now in its eighth year, the Atlanta Film Critics Circle has announced its awards for top cinematic achievements in 2024.

The 38 voting members of the AFCC chose director Sean Baker’s Anora, the winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or, as its top film of the year. The sweet and sinister modern fairy tale, which also won Best Original Screenplay, features a breakout performance from Mikey Madison as Ani, a Brighton Beach stripper who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch. Madison is also the AFCC’s Best Lead Actress and Best Breakthrough Performer for her complex portrait of a woman equal parts fragile and bullet-proof. “I think most of the credit is due to the character of Ani and Mikey Madison’s performance. From moment one, you care so deeply about Ani and what happens to her. You want to go with her on this journey, no matter what happens,” said AFCC member Sammie Purcell, associate editor of Rough Draft Atlanta.

This year’s top films were a fascinatingly diverse mix, ranging from a clever spin on the Wizard of Oz in Wicked, to a tennis love triangle with heart-pounding matches in Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, one of two films by the Italian director this year along with Queer. In a stunning, expertly crafted opus that never loses your interest despite its three-and-a-half-hour length, Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist follows a Hungarian Jewish refugee from Germany’s concentration camps to what initially seems to be an American promised land. Corbet won Best Director for his self-assured, acclaimed epic portrait of the rigors of immigration and creativity. Adrien Brody also won the AFCC’s Best Actor Award for his doleful turn in the film as the tortured, mercurial architect contending with the maddening whims of his benefactor.

“This year, our critics seemed to gravitate to smaller budget labors of love,” said AFCC advisory board member Hannah Lodge. “Films like Anora, The Brutalist, Nickel Boys, Sing Sing, and I Saw the TV Glow remind us that cost doesn’t correlate with worth.”

Despite the diversity of films, AFCC member Spencer Perry, editor and critic at ComicBook.com, saw some common ground in the AFCC’s selections. “Something that feels distinct across all of our top 10 films is the idea of legacy. Be it Vanya’s parents in Anora, the rivalry between Patrick Zweig and Art Donaldson in Challengers, picking a new pope in Conclave, a galactic empire facing war in Dune: Part Two, or even a single robot learning to choose its own destiny in The Wild Robot, all of these films are wrestling with what someone can be or should be, either in their own eyes or in everyone else’s.”

Number three on the AFCC’s top 10 films, screenwriter RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes’s adaptation of novelist Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Nickel Boys, about two Black boys trying to survive a brutal Florida reform school, won Best Adapted Screenplay as well as Best Cinematography.

Perry was also delighted to see the atmospheric, but perhaps lesser seen coming-of-age fantasy I Saw the TV Glow make the AFCC’s top 10 list.

“Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine both deliver amazing work in a movie that is as haunting as it is personal,” said Perry of director Jane Schoenbrun’s moody feature. “I’m so thrilled that collectively we were able to recognize I Saw the TV Glow, a movie that at its core is about finding community despite your own feelings of internal isolation.” 

Member of AFCC’s advisory board Jason Evans noted how close many of the awards were this year, with Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) beating out Colman Domingo in Sing Sing by just one point. “The number of places and categories that were decided by only one or maybe two points is stunning,” said Evans, “a sign of the quality of the films and work this year,” and an indicator of “how competitive this awards season is likely to be.”

The AFCC inaugurated Best Voice Performance and Best Dog awards this year. In a near sweep, the canine star of Deadpool & Wolverine, Peggy, was the AFCC’s top dog. The British pugese, who previously captured an award as Britain’s ugliest dog, has turned her runt of the litter status into Hollywood stardom this year.

Lupita Nyong’o won the AFCC’s first ever Best Voice Performance for her work as an intelligent robot Roz in The Wild Robot, who finds an escape from loneliness in the company of the wild animals that inhabit a desert island, including a gosling with whom she forms a special bond.

“Voiceover acting is so often overlooked, but it’s such a key part of animated films. Lupita Nyong’o brought something really special to The Wild Robot. In animation, voice acting isn’t just about delivering lines — it’s about bringing the character to life,” said AFCC member and entertainment journalist Tatyana Arrington. “It’s a huge part of what makes animated films work, and I really think it deserves more recognition.”

Jesse Nussman, AFCC advisory board member, said he hopes studios are taking note of the vision driving this year’s award winners. 

“What strikes me about many of the films that took home multiple awards — Anora, Nickel Boys, The Brutalist — is their specificity. They’re the work of filmmakers who feel unburdened by marketplace demands or fears of alienating their audiences,” he said. “Hollywood, if you’re listening? We want more.”

Complete AFCC Award List

BEST FILM: 

Anora                       

TOP 10 FILMS (ranked):              

1. Anora

2. Challengers

3. Nickel Boys

4. The Brutalist

5. Conclave

6. Dune: Part Two

7. Sing Sing

8. Wicked: Part One

9. The Wild Robot

10. I Saw the TV Glow  

BEST LEAD ACTOR:

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist

BEST LEAD ACTRESS:

Mikey Madison, Anora                     

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain                  

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Ariana Grande, Wicked               

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST:

Sing Sing                                 

BEST DIRECTOR:

Brady Corbet, The Brutalist                            

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:                               

Sean Baker, Anora             

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:     

RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes, Nickel Boys  

BEST DOCUMENTARY:

Sugarcane                                     

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE:

Kneecap (Ireland)               

BEST ANIMATED FILM:

The Wild Robot   

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Nickel Boys        

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Challengers         

BEST STUNT WORK:

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga                                      

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER:

Mikey Madison, Anora                  

BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM: 

Josh Margolin, Thelma             

BEST VOICE PERFORMANCE:

Lupita Nyong’o, The Wild Robot


BEST DOG:

Peggy as Dogpool, Deadpool & Wolverine

About the AFCC

Co-founded by longtime Atlanta film critics Felicia Feaster and Michael Clark in 2017, the Atlanta Film Critics Circle is an attempt to fill a void in the local film community, and in the representation of Atlanta’s media on the national stage. The AFCC is supported by its Advisory Board and longtime critics Jason Evans, Will Leitch, Hannah Lodge, Michael McKinney, Jesse Nussman, Kyle Pinion, and Josh Sewell.

Composed of a dynamic mix of 38 Atlanta-based critics working in newspaper, magazine, and online journalism, the AFCC’s mission is to establish a national presence for a film critics group in Atlanta and to foster a vibrant film culture in Atlanta, already home to an exploding film industry production presence.

Members (critics living in and/or currently writing for global, national, regional and/or Atlanta metro area outlets) of AFCC voted on December 8 for the group’s annual awards.

2024

Find These Ten “Megalopolis” Treasures at Coppola’s All-Movie Hotel

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A few months after its global debut, the speculative sci-fi noir film Megalopolis is still reigning supreme as a cult and conversation catalyst sensation, and its writer/director Francis Ford Coppola has many reasons to return to the stomping grounds where he completed this landmark production. While filming at Georgia’s Trilith Studios, the famed filmmaker simultaneously created a living and post-production space called the All-Movie Hotel located in the hamlet of Peachtree City where worldwide visitors can now stay in purpose-built suites for filmmaking and post-production. The curated curiosities at the hospitality complex include props and promotions related to projects such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, but for those dreaming of the Roman Empire on screen in his utopian fantasy, there’s quite a bacchanal. “There’s one serious critic in this world, and that’s the test of time,” the filmmaker told an audience for a screening of the film at Atlanta’s Tara theatre. “I’ve seen [the movie] more times than you, I suspect, and I’m very satisfied with it.” Coppola continues to cheerfully engage viewers about what societies they’d envision for the future if they weren’t living in the here and now. And if you have the opportunity to stay at his heralded hotel, be sure to look for these ten treasures from Megalopolis.

Columns, spires and background props from the film’s “New Rome” greet guests at the All-Movie Hotel lobby.
Location markers and props from “New Rome” abound on hotel grounds.
Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza are among the actors who dined and drank from the plates and chalices of the All-Movie Hotel’s lavish room service place settings.
Building replicas line some of the hotel’s common areas.
You may recognize Jon Voight’s impressive statue standing guard before Peachtree City’s golf cart trails at the All-Movie Hotel.
The All-Movie Hotel has many “seals” of approval; this one is in the lobby.
A high-flying reminder of the arena sequence is perched near the hotel pool.
China patterns for in-suite catering hail Caesar.
You may even see gladiators celebrating the holidays.
Did we mention you can stay in the Francis Ford Coppola suite he personally designed while he directed the film? It was a great stay!

2024

“The Piano Lesson” Film Adaptation Doesn’t Strike Consistent Chord

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Malcolm Washington didn’t choose the easiest adaptation — nor did he make much cinematic sense of it — with his directorial debut, The Piano Lesson (C), based on the August Wilson play. Instead of simply or conventionally translating a work already imbued with storied drama, the new director experiments with form and frenzy to unearth a bevy of resonant themes, and the overstuffed result doesn’t strike a consistent chord. A family clash over the heirloom of the title pits brother and sister — he hopes to sell it, the she refuses to give it up — sets the stage for a story unleashing haunting truths about how the past is perceived and who defines a family legacy. Unfortunately abrupt tonal shifts, a decision to open up the story with ghost story and horror motifs and a veil of fussiness between flashbacks and dialogue scenes continually obscure the workmanlike skills of an impressive acting ensemble. There’s interesting craft on display in terms of cinematography and music, but the symbolism is often heavy-handed. John David Washington and Danielle Deadwyler are the standout siblings whose tense reunion is a catalyst to conflict and discussions centered on tradition and collective memory of historical trauma. Ray Fisher is also fantastic in a hard-working and stacked cast. The actors do an outstanding job even though the film’s awkward approach doesn’t always do them justice. 

2024

Whimsical, Witchy Women Spotlighted in Sensational Singing Saga “Wicked: Part I”

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The ultimate musical about dorm room essentials and etiquette signals its inspirational intentions on a wondrous dry erase storyboard when an underground campus scandal threatens to silence outspoken professors, prompting two mismatched roomies to rally together for a common cause. It’s also the prequel to The Wizard of Oz about young witches at a crossroads of magic school Shiz University, the activist roommate going green while the other mindlessly revels in her pink bubblegum popularity. This tidy trapper keeper of Broadway-adapted bliss, John M. Chu’s Wicked: Part I (A) juggles the poppies, rainbows and yellow bricks of its spellbinding origin story while celebrating its vibrant cinematic connections to Victor Fleming’s 1939 classic with lavish set pieces, buoyant production numbers and, most of all, an iconic central duo metaphorically stepping into Dorothy’s shoes. The splendid odd couple at the heart of this tuneful tale represents no easy-bake coven; rather it’s a rarefied once-in-a-lifetime collision of talent. Cynthia Erivo as outcast Elphaba and Ariana Grande as populist Glinda slay their respective roles, their Stephen Schwartz songs such as “The Wizard and I” and “Defying Gravity” and the machinations of the mid-tempo melodrama. Splitting the film adaptation into two installments gives Chu a delicate opportunity to better excavate the characters’ relationships and showcase sequences faithfully fused from Gregory Maguire’s novel and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The adaptation experiment works brilliantly and brings the story full circle. It’s only half the story, and yet there is a complete movie arc in this single act with the young ladies discovering agency and friendship to a rousing conclusion and one-year intermission. The prequel to a prequel as it were shines equally in a near-silent moment of undeniable power and resilience as it does in its most elaborate song-and-dance sequences. There is also a stunning allegory afoot for those who seek a tonic elixir antidote to grim political poison in the air, with an undeniably prescient “rise up” drumbeat piercing the artifice. Jonathan Bailey is a charming supporting character as love interest Fiyero, bringing rizz to Shiz via a standout “Dancing Through Life” number with an inventive choreographed sequence within the university’s circular rotating library. The filmmakers have clearly thought through the best and most creative ways for each and every beat to come through, emotionally and sonically. The film’s crafts from the whimsical costume designs to the elaborate production environments and soaring underscore provide wall-to-wall wonder. Most of all, this musical fantasy is a genuine triumph of casting, with Grande acing her assignment as both comically oblivious but daffily lovable and Erivo offering a slow-burn reveal and belting to the emerald heavens. If I could pass Chu a note or two, it would be that some of the CGI could be less fussy and the choreography could be more Fosse. Nearly three quarters of a century after cinematic Oz world-building began, the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch conjure some rousing revisionist history and extend the franchise in one of the year’s most enchanting experiences.


2024

Epic Film “The Brutalist” is Sprawling and Brilliant

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A classic adage proclaims the art of writing about music is akin to dancing about architecture; conversely, critiquing a movie featuring a modernist minimalist designer upending conventions is a particularly apt parallel for unpacking Brady Corbet’s ambitious 215-minute period piece The Brutalist (A). Filmed especially for 7O millimeter VistaVision large-screen formats including narrative divided into two acts and a well-placed 15-minute intermission, this is a consummate cinematic banquet and in nearly all ways an absolute masterpiece. Like the iconic building style of its title, the film’s characters captured by Lol Crawley’s creative cinematography are angular and exposed, and the movie’s lens on the historic American immigrant experience bitingly bleak. Escaping postwar Europe, fictional visionary architect Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody) emigrates to rebuild his life, his career and his marriage to Erzsebet (Felicity Jones) in the US of A. On his own in a strange new land (Pennsylvania), Laszlo encounters industrialist magnate Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) who recognizes his talent. There are twists and turns along the journey, which is consistently imagined in full. The film’s length and one-two punch structure adds to the epic nature of watching the main character’s vastness of experiences across decades. The production design by Judy Becker evokes authenticity in the story’s primary epoch of the 1940s through ’60s, and there are some stunning building and room configurations on display in the story, worthy of the titular architect. Daniel Blumberg’s urgent music adds to the intrigue and pageantry. The performances are roundly amazing with Brody in career-best mode as a complex man who is both optimistic and mercurial. This film is a grand experience, and even the loose ends from its labyrinthine plot will stimulate conversations. This will be a movie categorized with some of the great modern classics such as There Will Be Blood and The Power of the Dog.

2024

As a Movie, “Maria” Doesn’t Sing

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The least interesting thing about famed opera singer Maria Callis is finding her usually wondrous soprano voice cracking and croaking during her final days living in 1970s Paris, and yet that’s exactly what Pablo Larrain chooses to dramatize in his impressionistic biography Maria (C). Angelina Jolie plays the Greek diva-as-artist as the film chronicles the temperamental behavior of her late career and flashes back to her tepid love affair with Aristotle Onassis, played charisma-free by Haluk Bilginer. Just like an opera, this psychological drama is structured in acts and culminates in tragedy. Larrain photographs the stately Jolie like she’s fresh out of a spring magazine shoot, but the glum persona she embodies is far from inspiring, despite her devotion to the role. And the lip syncing, even with multi-track blending, just doesn’t do the trick. Few actors in the ensemble including Kodi Smit-McPhee as a journalist make much of an impression, leaving Jolie in various poses within baroque rooms to sleep or stand and model. The third in Larrain’s film trilogy of important 20th century women in levels of distress (following Jackie and Spencer), this one is a considerable let-down, mainly mired in pathos with only a few arch lines to stir the soul.