My weekly movie reviews. You can also read these on letterboxd.
This week focuses on three films from 2024 as I catch up on this year’s releases.
THE PROMISED LAND (2024)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
THE PROMISED LAND is the only great movie I’ve seen so far this year. It reminds me of 80s French cinema such as JEAN DE FLORETTE and RETURN OF MARTIN GUERRE, a rich and moving narrative backed by flawless performances and a handsome production.
No doubt some of the credit must go to the source material it is based on. Arcel’s work here would have just been “another movie” in the 80s or 90s but a well-told story is a rarity these days. His frontier drama plays like an epic Western set in Denmark, employing familiar genre themes of land ownership and competing moral codes. In fact, THE PROMISED LAND is the best Western I’ve seen this year. Kevin Costner could learn a thing or two from this well-constructed script and it would be a perfect film school study to line this up beside the disjointed HORIZON. Instead, all the pieces fit in THE PROMISED LAND while it still manages to surprise. It moves in narrative directions that American films are too scared to go. These bold, disturbing choices depict the characters as true humans, the humans we most often are rather than the ones we want ourselves to be.
Like those French films I mentioned before, this is a movie I will be thinking about for years.
Watched on Hulu.
WOMAN OF THE HOUR (2024)
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
A surprising choice for her directorial debut, Anna Kendrick avoids playing into comedy for this grim, often disturbing serial killer story.
Her work, in front of and behind the camera, is impressive. She maintains a tense tone from the first scene till the very end, making WOMAN OF THE HOUR an unpleasant viewing experience (in a good way). A few times it felt like Kendrick was veering towards having a “message” about men but thankfully her film rides a fine line of showing the ways men have mistreated women without becoming dogmatic. I admire her for not follow current trends.
I also admire Daniel Zovatto’s performance as he pulls off being creepy while also showing us how this killer could have charmed so many women into a vulnerable position. Like Kendrick’s film, Zovatto doesn’t overplay the situation and in a landscape of movies that almost always overdo everything, WOMAN OF THE HOUR’s straight-forward, single-minded execution is notable. Kendrick’s first film is one of the best I’ve seen this year and I’m excited to see what she directs next.
Watched on Netflix.
IN THE LAND OF SAINTS AND SINNERS (2024)
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
The prospect of a more grounded, thoughtful Liam Neeson action vehicle is enticing. That was the promise of IN THE LAND OF SAINTS AND SINNERS, a film that attempts to have more drama and less action for the man who has become this era’s Charles Bronson with his non-stop output of “special set of skills” movies. Sadly, SAINTS does not deliver.
As always, Liam does good work but the script isn’t smart or touching enough to make this anymore than a forgettable, mildly involving thriller. The supporting parts, from the mom bartender to her little girl to the small town cop (a wasted Ciaran Hinds) to gardening neighbor, are not rich with character, lacking distinction and subtext. The one exception is the villian, a rare female baddie played with brilliance and force by Kerry Condon. It’s her performance that gives the film an unpredictable edge in what is otherwise a routine, often dull crime story.
Watched on Amazon
