The movie that brings the Harvey Weinstein case to the screen comes out this week to introduce us to a journalistic thriller strongly reminiscent of both Spielberg’s The Post and Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight. The protagonists here are Megan Toy (Carey Mulligan) and Jody Kantor (Zoe Kazan), New York Times investigative journalists who begin investigating (unofficial) allegations of sexual harassment against a movie mogul. Through exhaustive research on both sides of the Atlantic, they finally came up with the famous report that sparked the #MeToo movement around the world. Maria Schroeder from the hit TV series Unorthodox takes the lead here, while in the script we meet the name of Rebecca Linkiewicz (Ida) in an otherwise neat film designed to keep viewers interested. Of course, this is facilitated by the very good acting of Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan, who manage to create interesting characters, along with the main plot, without falling into exaggeration. As a rule, Schroeder’s film avoids unnecessary drama, allowing its very plot to “speak” and excite the viewer, although this may deprive it of some narrative climaxes. On the other hand, here we analytically see not only the details of the Weinstein case, but also the informal system on which such abusive behavior is based.

Inspired by the episodic yellow vest protests, Catherine Corsini’s film takes place almost entirely inside a Parisian hospital. After violent clashes with the police, several wounded are taken to the emergency room. However, many incidents are already happening there, when desperate doctors and nurses, who themselves complain about their barbaric work regime, are trying to bring order to the chaos and save lives.

The French film presents the borderline state of public health and society as a whole through the meeting of various disparate characters.

A “bourgeois” artist (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) with her partner, a truck driver, a respected nurse, and several other people who (initially) clash but also develop bonds of solidarity as the difficult vigil progresses. Familiarly chaotic imagery for those who have also visited Greek public hospitals, in a political film, by the way, which nevertheless has enough humor and rhythm, despite some sketchy observations.

The (always) current issue of femicide is explored in this detective thriller by Dominic Moll, which also attempts to provide an interesting commentary on the police approach to these cases. Clara, a young lady, is brutally murdered one night while returning home. The case is taken on by the young and ambitious head of the forensic department, Johan Vivet, who plunges headlong into the case, having an experienced colleague nearby. However, as the interrogations go on and the number of suspects multiplies, a desperate realization comes to the policeman: almost all of them could have killed Clara.

As we have said, the most visible element here has to do with the police officers themselves. In the vast majority of men, it is difficult for them to approach the motives and reasoning of the criminal and, therefore, to solve the case. As is usually the case in such cases, the situation will get out of control, and the infighting between them will bring even more confusion. All this in an atmospheric package, not aesthetically exciting, but with enough coherence to comfortably hold the viewer’s interest until the very end.

A rather typical thriller takes on interesting ramifications due to its particular (Irish) character. Angela, Shar’s mother, mysteriously disappears in broad daylight. When she inexplicably returns the next night, both Sar and her grandmother realize that something is very wrong; the normally catatonic Angela now acts frighteningly, as if possessed by a dark force. With Halloween approaching, Sar will have to uncover family secrets and myths in order to save his mother.

Devotion: heroes of the ethers ★★
WAR (2022)
Directed by: J. D. Dillard
Cast: Jonathan Majors, Glenn Powell.

Based on the true story of the friendship and bravery of two American pilots from the Korean War, J.D. Dillard’s war film puts us on… the airwaves. Young optimistic pilot Tom Hudner meets Jesse Brown in a combat-ready US Navy unit. The latter is the only African American in the group and is treated with suspicion, if not hostility, by the others. However, a genuine friendship gradually develops between the two men, which will be tested in the midst of the war that will soon break out. Impressive aerial combat scenes with classic helicopters of the era, but nothing more, from a movie that doesn’t escape most of the genre’s clichés, especially outside of the cockpit.