Watching films at festivals often gives you an inaccurate view of whether the film is any good. The so-called “festival bubble” inflates knee-jerk reaction into unassailable fact. The hive of assembled journos makes its mind up quick after early morning press screening. The problem? The hive is often wrong. It’s got exhausted press for brains.
Over the past few years, a number of films have either been slated or praised at festivals, then received the opposite reaction on release. Under the Skin was booed at Venice. It became one of the most acclaimed films of the following year. Prisoners was touted as a major Oscar contender when it premiered at Toronto. It ended up with just one nomination for cinematography. All the Boys Love Mandy Lane was buzzed about as a hit new horror in Toronto. It took seven years to get a US release.
It can be a strange environment, surrounded by so many people eager to label something amazing or awful, so it’s important to remain objective and not get caught up in the hyperbole. And to never boo. Because we’re not children. Nor a Simpsons crowd. Now ... let’s find out how bad that new Sorrentino film is.
The big film
Paolo Sorrentino’s new film, Youth, made its debut this morning. Sorrentino has had mixed fortunes on the Croisette in recent years. While Il Divo and The Great Beauty both premiered to universal acclaim, his Sean Penn-starring drama This Must Be the Place was less well received. He’s gone back to the English language for his latest. It stars Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel as lifelong friends – one a composer and the other a film director – recuperating in a swanky Swiss resort. Youth also features Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, Jane Fonda and, gulp, Paloma Faith.
Critics can’t seem to decide on Youth. The film was met with a mixture of applause and boos. Peter Bradshaw was somewhere in the middle, giving it three stars and calling it “a diverting, minor work”. Check out some of the other responses below:
YOUTH: Sorrentino's GREAT BEAUTY follow-up has a few gorgeous moments, but is mostly kind of embarrassing. Jane Fonda steals it #Cannes
— olilyttelton (@olilyttelton) May 20, 2015
Michael Caine will win awards for Searchlight's Youth, Sorrentino's hugely entertaining look at art and death. Harvey Keitel might too.
— Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck) May 20, 2015
Someone needs to tell Paolo Sorrentino that when EVERY scene is the BIGGEST scene, it becomes meaningless. YOUTH is a gorgeous dud. #Cannes
— Jordan Hoffman (@jhoffman) May 20, 2015
Loved Sorrentino's Youth with Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel. My favourite at #Cannes2015 so far.
— Kate Muir (@muirkate) May 20, 2015
Catherine Shoard headed to the press conference after the screening, where Michael Caine appeared at his first Cannes since 1966. He joked: “I came to Cannes 50 years ago with a film called Alfie. Alfie won a prize, and I didn’t. So I didn’t come back.”
The official word on heels
It’s rapidly become the most talked-about story of the festival: heelgate continues to rage on. The latest in the controversy over whether or not women have been turned away from premieres for wearing flat shoes rather than high heels is an official (confusing) response from the festival’s press office:
“Regarding the dress code for the red carpet screenings, rules have not changed throughout the years (Tuxedo, formal dress for Gala screenings) and there is no specific mention about the height of the women’s heels as well as for men’s. Thus, in order to make sure that this rule is respected, the festival’s hosts and hostesses were reminded of it.”
Last night saw the premiere of Sicario, which was the first red carpet event since the story first broke. Despite a press conference earlier in the way that saw star Emily Blunt say that women “shouldn’t wear high heels”, she ended up avoiding flats and, sadly, director Denis Villeneuve’s comment that he would attend wearing heels with actors Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro didn’t come to fruition. Shame.
The shock doc
Despite not showing as part of the official festival, last night’s screening of Amy Berg’s documentary An Open Secret (for press but also potential buyers) has helped to make it one of the buzziest films of the town. It’s a shocking look at sexual abuse in Hollywood that names and shames some industry figures who took advantage of young actors. It’s had a troubled time getting to the screen, given its inflammatory content, and some cuts have been made for legal reasons but it’s finally set to get a wider audience this summer. Its release in the UK might prove troublesome however. The producers claim the organisers of the London film festival told them that British tabloid law prevented them from showing it. I’ll be speaking to the people behind the film this afternoon to find out more.
The Oscar buzz
While, because of its earlier date, Cannes is often less of an Oscar predictor than some of the later festivals, it still offers up a handful of awards contenders every year. Recent festivals have seen Foxcatcher, Leviathan, Moonrise Kingdom and Amour sustain the buzz and receive nominations and wins months after.
Forget what we said earlier, we definitely know what we’re talking about here. There is no way this year’s bunch won’t get some Oscar nominations. Absolutely ... no ... way. Here’s our extremely early predictions:
- Carol - probably the frontrunner when it comes to academy love, Cate Blanchett is the closest we can get to a lock for a best actress nod at this stage while Rooney Mara is also a strong possibility, depending on whether she is pushed as lead or supporting. Given the handsome production values, we can probably expect a long list of nominations for this one.
- Sicario - while it’s arguably more of a straight up action thriller than an Oscar film, Denis Villeneuve’s drug cartel drama is still getting some chatter. The most likely is a best supporting actor nomination for Benicio del Toro while Roger Deakins might well get a cinematography nod. Emily Blunt is also in with an outside for best actress.
- Youth - although it’s proving divisive, some believe that it will be a hit with Oscar voters and that Michael Caine could be in for a best actor nomination
- Son of Saul - universally glowing reviews for this gripping Holocaust drama should also help push it to a best foreign language nom
- Inside Out - Pixar’s latest should definitely get a nomination for best animated feature
The cinephile’s dream
One of the most anticipated documentaries of the festival, at least for the fervent film buffs, has been Kent Jones’s revealing look at François Truffaut’s interview series with Alfred Hitchcock. Jones has assembled an impressive selection of directors to take part in the doc from David Fincher to Martin Scorsese to Richard Linklater. Peter Bradshaw gave it four stars, calling it “a fascinating film”.
The “wait, what?” film
The market continues to offer up some foul surprises and this one might just be the queasiest of the festival so far, well at least from the poster. The actual plot sounds more interesting though: a sculptor finds a talking wall in his house that has the power to fulfil his wildest dreams and his worst nightmares. The trailer is surprisingly creepy.
The future
If you’ve been patiently waiting for some controversy then this festival has been rather tame (heelgate is the closest we’ve come) but Gaspar Noé’s new film, Love, which screens tonight, is a shoo-in for the most talked about of the fest, with its 3D tale of explicit sex likely to raise eyebrows and maybe other bits too. We’ll also have the latest from Disney and Pixar as John Lasseter presents its upcoming slate.
Oh, and we’ll also be doing another film show podcast – and this time we have a very special guest. Find out who it is tomorrow.
