Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Gerard Depardieu
Director: Guillaume Nicloux
91 mins
The narrative of ‘Valley of Love’ in itself is both intriguing and (intentionally) frustrating. The film takes place entirely in California’s Death Valley, to which Isabelle and Gérard have been summoned by their son, Michael. Six months earlier, Michael had committed suicide, but both parents have subsequently received a recent letter from him that refers to his death in the past tense. The letters also instruct them to follow a strict itinerary laid out for them by him in Death Valley, consisting of seven specific locations at specific times. In the letters Michael has claimed that he will briefly reappear to them at one of the seven. Isabelle believes this wholeheartedly, while non-spiritualist Gérard thinks it’s utter nonsense, and keeps insisting that he has to leave before the rendezvous in order to keep a crucial doctor’s appointment. Nonetheless, he has arrived, a few days early, and the long-divorced couple spend some time hanging around their hotel and driving around the parched landscape, moaning about the intense heat, arguing and reminiscing and occasionally being vaguely recognised by starstruck tourists.
This expert meandering is beautifully performed by two of France’s greatest actors. One woman asks Gérard where he was born; when he replies “Châteauroux”—where Depardieu himself was born - and she asks if that’s near Greece. He politely nods. The film affords us a cinematic delight in Huppert and Depardieu’s joint company – and Huppert gets the opportunity to play everything from comic exasperation to soul-shattering anguish, inhabiting each sudden shift in temperament with ease. Working opposite Huppert seems to relax Depardieu, and he’s never been more at ease with his physical enormity. Valley Of Love just lets two fine actors connect, amusingly teasing us with our knowledge of their real-life histories, with a nifty metaphysical mystery element added to that rapport.
Cast: Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges
Director: David Mackenzie
102 mins
Hell or High Water is an outstandingly uncompromising drama strengthened by both the writing and excellent performances from an ever-improving Chris Pine and the always reliable crusty curmudgeon Jeff Bridges. Also well worth mentioning is Ben Foster as Tanner, the out of control renegade brother of Toby (Pine). Better still is the quite superb writing, intricately layered by Taylor Sheridan and the tight, taut and skilful direction of David Mackenzie. The film follows the brothers as they rob a chain of banks. They don’t exactly make a spectacle of their crimes – but a suspicion emerges that there may well be some kind of odd strategy at work in their series of heists. Gradually the larger plan becomes clear and before long you realise you’re enjoying one of the year’s best films. Mackenzie’s work has all the elements in there - tucked inside a very compact story set in the dusty West Texas terrain. Hell or High Water is a modern day Western, yet it operates on rather small principles. It’s refreshing, watching the stakes when they’re at believable levels, yet it doesn’t take away from the intensity or importance of the situation. Normally, robbery-based films involve taking on millions of pounds, euros or dollars or shoot-outs with piles of casualties, yet Hell or High Water manages to capture that same excitement in a mostly empty part of Texas, which includes just a couple of gun sessions that result in comparatively fewer deaths. Focussing on the lives of simple men trying to achieve simple goals, Mackenzie captures the dead heat of the modern Wild West in a way that feels lived in and overly travelled, yet still mysterious.
Taylor Sheridan’s writing complements Mackenzie’s direction with a script full of spectacularly simple but brilliant asides and lines. The film’s intentions are rather simple and laid out in a way that unravels at a perfect pace. The film wisely focuses not just on the two brothers, played with Southern drawls by Pine and Foster, but also on the opposite side of the law, which is anchored down by a laconic but expertly drawn performance from Jeff Bridges. Ben Foster's Tanner is the film’s wild card - he has been in and out of prison and revels in causing trouble, but despite this he is a family man who will do anything for those he loves. Chris Pine‘s Toby is the moral compass of the film, balancing on the fine line between good and evil. Desperation and revenge come into play, which makes way for the film’s larger story about justice and doing what is right. However, what makes Hell or High Water one of the best films of the year is David Mackenzie's ability to pull it all together into a great drama, constructed with steady direction, solid writing and powerful performances.
