Two Step

By: Christopher Cross

There’s something home-like about Alex Johnson’s debut film, Two Step. Set in rural Texas, the film seems to savour its quiet setting. Shots of crows on power lines, sunsets over fields of green, and a run-down gas station linger in the background, amounting to a film that is distinctly Texan. The visual cues remain constant, but Two Step attempts to build two character arcs separated by a clear shift in genre.

The film opens when James (Skyy Moore), a college dropout, inherits thousands of dollars after the death of his grandmother, but I wasn’t really happy for him. He simply had something fortunate happen to him, while not necessarily deserving it. When Webb (James Hebert) cons an old man out of thousands of dollars, and then loses that money to his ex-girlfriend who he had abused, I was pleased by his misfortune. Both characters came off as dislikable to me; it wasn’t polarizing when their two lives violently intersected — it was actually more of a relief than anything.

However, my feelings towards the characters changed when the film became a taut but predictable thriller. Webb becomes an extremely interesting character that you begin to sympathize with early into the major genre shift.

Meanwhile, James is put into a circumstance which very subtly unravels his past and makes him more likable. By the end of Two Step, I sympathized with both characters, and I especially enjoyed Hebert’s portrayal of Webb. The film’s structure is ultimately satisfying, even if the thriller elements come off as fairly contrived. Johnson’s debut film definitely lays the groundwork for what is sure to be a very promising filmography.

Phoenix

By: Christopher Cross

There is no shortage of World War II films, so it generally takes a unique premise to inspire a viewing. Phoenix relies on one unique hook throughout the entire film in order to maintain viewer interest: Nelly (Nina Hoss) returns to her husband, Johannes (Ronald Zehrfeld), after her time in a concentration camp and surgery to mend her facial disfigurement, only to find that he no longer recognizes her.

However, she resembles his wife who he believes to be dead, so he invites her into a plan to impersonate his wife to get her inheritance. Why would Nelly agree to do such a thing? And does Johannes truly not recognize his own wife? Does he simply not love her anymore? These are all questions that will linger in the back of your head as you watch these characters slowly develop over the course of the film.

It is the characters who make the film interesting, but unfortunately, much of the film is spent meandering to its explosive, yet muted conclusion. Fortunately, the performances by both Zehrfeld and especially Hoss are incredible. They manage to sustain the film long enough to get to the finale, and though the journey may take too long, the destination is well worth the wait.

Men, Women & Children

By: Josh Cabrita

Men, Women & Children, is the most accessible and best film I saw at VIFF this year. Everything about the movie and the way I experienced it was unforgettable, including the grand venue, The Centre for Performing Arts, where the joyous laughter and anxious gasps of the audience echoed, amplifying the humour and poignancy of the movie.

This film follows an ensemble of characters as they fail to properly interact with each other and consequently seek a virtual escape in different forms of media. A husband involved in a loveless marriage seeks out escorts online, his wife has an affair through an online website, and their son is addicted to internet pornography. This is only one of the families Reitman dissects; each story relates to the others, and every character comes across as believable with remarkable depth, given the brief amount of screen time.

This film is masterfully written and directed by Jason Reitman — the genius behind greats such as Juno and Up in the Air. His film encapsulates our times by examining the effects of social media, texting, and the internet on the psyches of everyone in society.