The History of Sound ★★★☆☆
Directed by Oliver Hermanus. Starring Paul Mescal, Josh O’Connor, Chris Cooper, Peter Mark Kendall, Molly Price, Raphael Sbarge, Hadley Robinson.12A cert, gen release, 128 min
Mescal and O’Connor, the former curled inwards, the latter initially more open, play musicologists who bond romantically while making recordings of American folk songs between the two world wars. The film has a grainy sense of place and time. Both actors are on top form. But this is ultimately a too-polite film that, after early sparks, ends up kicking its heels distractedly for the closing 40 minutes. It seems destined, as Hamnet surges, to be classed as “the other Paul Mescal film” of the new year. Nice to look at. Nice to listen too. Easily forgotten. Full review DC
Mercy ★★☆☆☆
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Starring Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Annabelle Wallis, Kylie Rogers, Kali Reis. 12A cert, gen release, 100 min
Pratt stars as the hilariously named Detective Chris Raven, accused of murdering his wife but unable to avail of a traditional defence. Throughout most of the film he is strapped into a chair that faces a screen much occupied by Ferguson as a malign virtual judge. The film-makers have picked a good time to satirise US justice and the rise of AI, but there are no insights on screen that you won’t expect from speed-watching the trailer. We do get one or two action sequences of note, but few will keep the already bored awake. Full review DC
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No Other Choice ★★★☆☆
Directed by Park Chan-wook. Starring Lee Byung-hun, Son Yejin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min. 15A cert, limited release, 139 min
A sacked executive turns murderous in Park’s take on Donald E Westlake’s sharp satirical novel The Ax. The great Korean director generates a grotesque symphony of mishaps, leaning hard into slapstick. One murder attempt spirals into mud-slipping farce, snakebites and panicked improvisation; others are chillingly swift. The tonal imbalance never quite settles. The action is murky. A savage satire about downsizing, AI encroachment and the psychic violence of work, it ought to feel like a knife to the ribs in an era of random mass lay-offs, alienation and corporate euphemism. Stylish. Good-looking. But a tad uneasy. Full review TB
H Is for Hawk ★★★☆☆
Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe. Starring Claire Foy, Brendan Gleeson, Denise Gough, Sam Spruell, Emma Cunniffe, Josh Dylan, Arty Froushan, Lindsay Duncan. 12A cert, gen release, 115 min
A woman connects with a Goshawk following the death of her father. H is for half-awake. Lowthorpe adapts Helen Macdonald’s bestselling memoir with sensitivity, patience and an exasperating stillness. Following on from last year’s The Thing with Feathers, the second unlikely screen adaptation of an avian- themed study of grief features plenty of Irish talent: Emma Donoghue adapts Macdonald’s bestseller, while Brendan Gleeson and Denise Gough play pivotal roles. What follows is a study of grief stifled, displaced and occasionally stuffed in a woman-sized cardboard box. At its best in the scenes involving woman and bird. Full review TB
