The Sightseers
Ben Wheatley - Starring: Alive Lowe, Steve Oram,

Director Ben Wheatley is one of the most interesting filmmakers to come out of England in the past decade. His 2009 debut Down Terrace was an alarming blend of kitchen sink drama and gangster violence. Think The Sopranos set on Coronation Street. Then came the brilliant Kill List, a film that slowly morphed from suburban drama to uneasy buddy movie before taking a frightening turn into Wicker Man territory.
Now comes The Sightseers, a black comedy a great subtlety and poise, both funny and disturbing and managing to get you to actually care about its weird central characters.
The set-up is simplicity itself: apparently bumbling Chris decides to take his girlfriend Tina on a camping holiday of Britain. And that's exactly what they do. Unfortunately for the couple the various people they encounter along the way, whether at caravan parks or tourist spots, are a bit irritating. Very irritating in some cases. And the pair themselves have certain issues. Deaths ensue. Coincidentally, this premise has similarities to God Bless America (reviewed below), but in a very English way.
There is so much that is good about this film. The deadpan humour (among the 'tourist attractions” they visit are a tram village and a pencil museum), the perfect performances, the (mostly) understated murders, but the best things are Chris and Tina themselves, played by the duo who wrote the screenplay. They are wonderful creations. You just wouldn't want to meet them.

Bobcat Goldthwait wasn't a comedian I had any time for. But as a director he's now made two of the most transgressive black comedies of recent years. World's Greatest Dad (starring Robin Williams!) was jaw-droppingly subversive. Just as well virtually nobody saw it. Now God Bless America blasts its way onto DVD, a wild rant at the dismal state of America and its popular culture. In it terminally ill Frank and perky sixteen-year-old Roxy embark on a gun-loving road trip, killing what they think of as the stupidest, cruellest and most repellent members of society. An hilarious and savage indictment of modern society.

After a bunch of support roles, most recently as the 'cute scientist serving little function” in Iron Man 3, Rebecca Hall takes the lead in Lay The Favourite, based on Beth Raymer's memoir of a small-town stripper finding luck and love in Las Vegas. She's following her dream – to become a cocktail waitress! - a quest that leads her to Bruce Willis' sports gambler. Despite her ditzy demeanour, Beth turns out to have quite the head for numbers. Director Stephen Frears keeps things light and leisurely; Katherine Zeta-Jones, Joshua Jackson and Vince Vaughan provide good support. It makes for an amiable ride, a nice girl's laid-back adventures in the gambling trade.

Charlotte Rampling and Gabriel Byrne star in I, Anna: he's a police detective, she's Anna, a bit of a mystery, both are single and lonely. When their paths cross briefly at a crime scene Byrne becomes mildly obsessed and follows her until he can engineer a meeting. They hit it off, but Anna has secrets. This is classy English drama, a subtle pair of character studies with a slow-burning thriller lurking in the background. The pace is fairly slow, giving the quiet desperation of Rampling's performance plenty of space. Nicely done; not cheerful.

Black & White & Sex is an independent Australian feature with a distinctly uncinematic premise: a woman being interviewed. In real time. Oh, and it's - as the title would suggest – in black and white (either for budgetry, artistic or symbolic reasons). The woman is a sex worker called Angie, being interviewed about sex by a film's anonymous director. The film cuts between eight actresses portraying Angie, presumably to suggest different personality sides or to flag the 'everywoman” nature of the profession. It looks good, is an acting showcase and intelligently raises a wide range of moral issues. It'd make a great play.