We Live In Time

Official Australian release date: 16/1/25. Viewed: 27/1/25.
Director: John Crowley
Actors: Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield, Grace Delaney, Lee Braithwaite
Genre: Drama / Romance
Rating: M

‘We Live In Time’ is a very simple love story, but told in an engaging way that keeps you on your toes. We follow Almut (Pugh), a chef, and Tobias (Garfield), an IT guy for Weetabix, and their relationship – but the film doesn’t start when they first meet and, thankfully, doesn’t spend much time on the will-they-won’t-they. We then bounce around a few times and you have to figure out where in the timeline they’re at.

It's effectively just the 2 of them for most of the film, with some other supporting characters, including daughter Ella (Delaney) and Al’s sous chef Jade (Braithwaite). When they do get to the “how they met” part, it’s quite funny. There’s also a few quite intense scenes, with Pugh not afraid to get naked. While there’s some funny moments, it’s not really a rom-com, as Al gets an illness, providing the motivation and eponymous “time” that frame their actions.

Good to see it all filmed in and around London. Doesn’t overstay it’s welcome at 105min, it’s an assured film showcasing two actors at the peak of their powers, with Pugh particularly on a roll the past few years. Their chemistry is great and they bring all the emotions, which you also feel!

Overall: Touching romantic Pugh/Garfield masterclass

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars  

 

A Complete Unknown

Official Australian release date: 23/1/25. Viewed: 26/1/25.
Director: James Mangold
Actors: Timothee Chalamet, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning
Genre: Drama / Biopic
Rating: M
 

‘A Complete Unknown’ is not the first Bob Dylan biopic, but does a good job of just focusing on his early years as a recording/performing artist when he gets to New York, from 1961–1965. Dylan is portrayed excellently by Chalamet and you sometimes forget it’s not a documentary! We follow his first relationships, with Joan Baez (Barbaro) and Sylvie (Fanning), and arguably as importantly, how he meets his folk music heroes Woody Guthrie (McNairy) and Pete Seeger (Norton).

Director Mangold (of ‘Logan’ fame) knows what he’s doing, having also directed ‘Walk The Line’. In this film, Johnny Cash is played by Boyd Holbrook and a few great cameos. While not focusing solely on having the audience listen to Dylan songs, we do get to hear/see a few of them from this period, which is impressive if it’s actually Chalamet (& Barbaro) doing their own singing! All the actors are good, especially Norton with his prosthetic nose, and also a notable effort from Grossman (Fogler).

There’s obviously some artistic licences/liberties taken, and Dylan is left feeling as enigmatic as ever. Plenty of funny moments, and some great set design make it look exactly like 1960s New York. As good as, if not better than, ‘I’m Not There’, mostly thanks to the great acting and singing performances.

Overall: Well-made biopic of a legend

Gav's Rating: 4 stars  

The Brutalist

Official Australian release date: 23/1/25. Viewed: 19/1/25.
Director: Brady Corbet
Actors: Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Joe Alwyn
Genre: Drama
Rating: MA

‘The Brutalist’ is both a simple film and a very complex film. On one hand, it’s about a man, Laszlo Toth (Brody) immigrating from Hungary to the USA after WWII and trying to get his wife, Erzsebet (Jones) to join him in Pennsylvania where he’s designing a building. But then, at 3.5 hours, it’s also an examination of everything happening in post-war-America – racism, homelessness, drugs, religion, power and wealth inequality. It really covers a lot of ground for the perspective on the Toths – even more impressive seeing how long it take Erzsebet/Elizabeth to appear in the film!

There’s a now-novel 15min intermission, after 100min, which is good – time for a frozen Coke! – and makes the whole film feel faster somehow. While not immediately obvious, the film does turn to be about brutalist architecture when Laszlo is taken under the wing of millionaire Harrison (Pearce) and his son Harry (Alwyn) and commissioned to make his vision of an auditorium/chapel/gym come true. Even though the place Laszlo is supposedly creating his building is near Philadelphia, it’s actually filmed on location in Budapest (where the Toths have come from). Also good to see the real-life marble quarry in Italy.

It's worth noting the Laszlo’s story isn’t based on a true story, but are a conglomeration of other 1940s/1950s architects. It’s impressive that the drawings/models/designs/sets are original and not copies of real-life buildings. The film looks great, the score is good, and while some scenes may be too long (particularly a few very confronting scenes!) it otherwise moves along relatively briskly, with no subtitled years to tell us where we’re at. All the actors are captivating and their dialogue and (often questionable) decisions propel the film, with Brody and Jones both great and Pearce superb. At it’s core, the film asks – who’s actually the titular brutalist?

Overall: Won’t be surprised if this wins the Oscar

Gav's Rating: 4 stars  

Wolf Man

Official Australian release date: 16/1/25. Viewed: 18/1/25.
Director: Leigh Whannell
Actors: Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Matilda Firth, Sam Jaeger
Genre: Horror
Rating: MA

‘Wolf Man’ is Whannell’s follow-up to 2020’s ‘The Invisible Man’ and is another remake of one of the original horror films, 1941’s ‘The Wolf Man’. We’re introduced to Blake and his father Grady (Jaeger), living in the remote Oregon wilderness (actually filmed on New Zealand’s north island, hence the beauty!) where there’s stories of an “animal-borne disease”… We then skip forward 30 years to see adult Blake (Abbott), his wife Charlotte (Garner) and their daughter Ginger (Firth), who then travel back to Oregon.

The film does well to focus primarily on these 3 main characters, with few others given screentime – only a couple of establishing scenes in the city, before they’re in the woods. Once they are, things happen quickly – much like the film, which is only 100min. There’s not heaps of jump scares, but really good use of prosthetics and practical effects (i.e. limited CGI) for the transformation, which borrows a bit from ‘An American Werewolf in London’.

There is still plenty of gross/squirmy moments, some of which are new to the werewolf story. It’s good to only have 4 characters to follow and it effectively all unfolds on one night. It’s held together by the connection of the 3 family members as they try to navigate the attack. Very dark (literally) in parts, giving more effect to his heightened senses. By no means a redefining of the werewolf character, but not a waste of time either.

Overall: taught non-CGI werewolf thriller

Gav's Rating: 3 stars  

Nosferatu

Official Australian release date: 1/1/25. Viewed: 2/1/25.
Director: Robert Eggers
Actors: Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgard, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Genre: Horror / Drama
Rating: M

‘Nosferatu’ is Eggers’ 4^th film and continues his examination of the darker side of humanity. I haven’t seen the original Nosferatu (from 1922) since high school, but I believe this is not a direct remake, but more a retelling, set in 1830s Germany, but filmed in Romania/Czechia. We follow newly-weds Ellen (Depp) and Thomas (Hoult) as they deal with Count Orlok/Nosferatu (Skarsgard) occupying their dreams/nightmares.

When Thomas is sent to Transylvania to close a house sale, Ellen moves in with friends Friedrich (Taylor-Johnson) and Anna (Corrin), where she relapses into having “fits”, so doctors Sievers (Ineson) and Franz (Dafoe) are called and get on the case. It’s not overly gory, but there’s definitely some blood, violence and a few gross moments. The final 45min or so are quite hectic and the ending is somewhat predictable but also well-executed. Doesn’t feel like the film goes for 130min.

Every actor is great, with Dafoe having fun, Depp showing all the torment on her face, and Skarsgard literally unrecognisable. As per the original, the use of shadows, black/white and colour, in concert with the score, is really-well done and means there’s always something to capture your attention. While possibly not the best ever vampire film, it’s enjoyable and fun to watch.

Overall: Fun and mesmerising vampire retelling

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars