haroldschris Reviews

Stage Beauty (2004)

Welcome back, Claire Danes

[9 August 2004]

This won't be to everyone's tastes - many of the people at the screening I went to were vitriolic afterwards - but I thought it was superb. It's a fantastic yarn, the look and atmosphere are great (not authentic, but great) but the main reason I liked it, frankly, was that I fell in love with Claire Danes. Technically, she has improved beyond all recognition (and she was good to start with), and now has both subtlety and enormous range. But much more importantly, she's an inferno of emotions, and, better still, you just have to look at her face to experience those emotions with her. I hope we see more of her, now that she's finished college, but I doubt she'll ever top this. Crudup, who at first seemed miscast, ends up looking doing a great job, which may be because he's a better actor than I gave him credit for, or because Danes sucks him into her world. Either way, the movie benefits. A word of praise, too, for the always-excellent Hugh Bonneville. Like I say, this film won't be for everyone (you need a great ability to suspend disbelief, for starters), but for Danes fans - and there'll be a great many new ones after this - it's a treat.

In America (2002)

poisonously smug

[2/10 · 24 August 2003]

The guy who said this was "sugar-coated family values tosh" was being too kind. The film is pointless, self-indulgent and unbearably self-pitying. It's nothing less than a disgrace to Sheridan, a man who once had important things to say and a compelling way of saying them.

Anita & Me (2002)

Hilarious, moving, brilliant.

[8/10 · 17 November 2002]

The story of a young Asian girl growing up in Britain, Anita and Me will be bracketed with Bend It Like Beckham but is far superior. It's as brilliantly-scripted as About A Boy or Bridget Jones, without any of the advantages that those movies had in terms of budget, glamour and style. Particularly surprising and welcome was the fact that the film didn't feel obliged to smooth out the rough edges, for example by making Anita worthy of Meena's worship. It's this surprising integrity that makes an ostensibly lightweight film into something more substantial. It works on every level and is highly recommended.