NY Film Festival starts today (reviews of David Cronenberg's Hollywood satire 'Maps to the Stars' and more)
by PSquared
Well fall is here, and movie-lovers know what time it is — when the heavy hitter slate of films start to roll out. Many of the most anticipated will be shown at the More exciting than all of these films is the fact that tonight begins the 52nd NY Film Festival which starts today (9/26) at Lincoln Center. Always an exciting and vibrant festival which is loaded with great films this year both large and small. For our first part of coverage, I’ll give you the skinny on the films that have been shown to the press up to now. Many of the biggest films we have yet to see, so reviews of those will come later. Reminder as well, while most of the films are sold out, there are always stand by tickets day of and always people selling extras outside. You can get in!
Let’s start with the films I absolutely loved. My favorite film so far and one of the best I’ve seen this year is ’71. (Saturday, Sep. 27 @ Alice Tully Hall, 6 PM.) British TV director Yann Demange, helms his first feature and it’s a doozy. A thriller set in 1971 Belfast, it stars Jack O’ Connell, fresh from a starring role in the very good prison drama Starred Up. Here he plays a young British soldier who gets separated from his unit in hostile territory on some pretty mean streets. From there, he has to navigate his way out being chased by the IRA as well as secret thugs from his own side with an agenda all their own. No side is clean in this battle. With a perfect mix of tension and relief, Demange makes all the right directorial choices. The timing in some of the set pieces are so perfect, it’s hard to believe this is his first feature. I noted a bunch of audible gasps during the screening and when you can get that from a jaded room of critics, well you are doing something right. Simply put, it is sensational.
We’ll have more NYFF coverage to come. The trailer for ’71, and capsule reviews of more films playing (including Richard Gere in Time Out of Mind, David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars and more) below…
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’71 | Trailer
