April 06, 2023

WIFF’S WEEKEND WATCH LIST — 4/6

Check out our recommendations of what to watch this weekend.

IF YOU want to be impressed

all the beauty and the bloodshed

Vincent Georgie: A 2022 Oscar nominee, this visceral and always captivating documentary will leave you with much to talk about after the film. You will not leave indifferent, that’s for certain.

Synopsis: Rare footage and intimate interviews provide insight into the life and work of renowned photographer and activist Nan Goldin.

Available on iTunes, Crave and YouTube.

if you want an all-star cast

see how they run

Vincent Georgie: This under-seen gem of a caper assembles everyone from Saoirse Ronan, to Sam Rockwell to Adrien Brody. It’s amusing to see the large ensemble having this much fun in this period romp.

Synopsis: In 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When a world-weary inspector and an eager rookie constable take on the case, they find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid world of underground theatre, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.

Available on iTunes, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Crave and YouTube.

if you have mischief on your mind

needful things

Vincent Georgie: Based on Stephen King’s famed novel, this cinematic adaptation has all the dark deeds, calculated chaos and ensuing mischief you would anticipate if the Devil himself moved to your small town to open up a shop. Entertaining with a well-cast Max von Sydow in the lead.

Synopsis: When a creepy older man named Leland Gaunt moves to a small town in Maine and sets up an antique shop, bad things soon follow. Gaunt has the remarkable ability to sell people exactly what they want most, but his ideal purchases come at a price that involves more than just money. Through Gaunt’s manipulation, the citizens of the town gradually turn on one another, resulting in violence that Sheriff Alan Pangborn struggles to contain.

Available on iTunes and YouTube.

DOUBLE FEATURE

#Gwynnocent

Considering Oscar-Winner Gwyneth Paltrow’s courtroom travails and ultimate victory, let us look back on two of her films that are befitting of the occasion. The first film wonders about how life might be different given a different split-second decision, and the second film gives us a romance that blooms out of mutual grief.

sliding doors

When Helen, a London ad executive, is fired from her job and rushes out to catch a train, two scenarios take place. In one, she gets on the train and comes home to find her boyfriend, Gerry, in bed with another woman. In the second, she misses the train and arrives after the woman has left. In the first scenario, Helen dumps Gerry, finds a new man and gradually improves her life. In the second, she becomes suspicious of Gerry’s fidelity and grows miserable.

Available on Plex.

bounce

An advertising executive falls in love with a young widow but fails to tell her that he was partly responsible for her husband’s death. Having sold an airline ticket to a stranger, the successful businessman later learns that the flight crashed, killing the man to whom he sold his seat. A year later, he finds the man’s widow, and the pair form a loving relationship, but his guilt proves too much to bear.