EXBERLINER Issue 168, February 2018

WHAT’S ON — Film
Reviews
start, but Alma finds increasingly inventive ways to assert
herself. There’s a quaint chasteness to the courtship
that’s echoed in the film’s stylistic restraint, but
beneath the genteel veneer there lurks a delicious
strain of perversity and a hint of sadomasochism.
More than just a timely study of toxic masculinity and
artistic ego, this is a portrait of a young woman learning
to identify her limits and desires, and negotiate
the price and terms of submission. In other words, it’s
essentially PTA’s Fifty Shades of Grey, and every bit as
exquisitely strange and seductive as that sounds. An
absolute knockout. — Rowan Woods
Phantom Thread
D: Paul Thomas Anderson (US, 2017)
with Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps
PRO: Phantastic
HHHHH
Starts Feb 1
In this Gothic-tinged romance set in the world of
1950s high fashion, Daniel Day-Lewis plays society
couturier Reynolds Woodcock, who falls for young
waitress Alma (Vicky Krieps), and sets about moulding
her into both muse and lover. Given the difference in
age and social standing, as well as Reynolds’ controlling
nature, the power dynamic is skewed from the
CON: Threadbare
HH
Powerfully acted by Day-Lewis and Krieps, the visually
mesmerising Phantom Thread had the potential to be
an intense psycho-thriller about a “poisonous” (in every
sense of the word) relationship. But at its core lies a
clichéd power struggle between an obsessive spoiled
genius and a naïve, beautiful girl (always under the male
gaze) who confuses admiration for love. While Reynolds
isn’t nuanced enough to be memorable, Alma’s alternation
between submissive lover and strong-willed woman
driven by jealousy often feels implausible. These two
tormented souls play a banal and somewhat predictable
game. What’s worse, the man is revered as a lofty artist,
while the woman is fated to fight for his affection, with
the only weapon at her disposal coming from (where
else?) the kitchen. — Yun-hua Chen
DON’T MISS
Starts Feb 8
Starts Feb 15
Final Girls Berlin
This celebration of
women in horror (see
page 15) features a
pair of deliciously
dark British debut
features –Alice Lowe’s
serial killer comedy
Prevenge and
Deborah Haywood’s
twisted coming-ofage
tale Pin Cushion.
Feb 1-3, Ladenkino
EXBlicks: Freddy/Eddy
Director Tini Tüllmann
introduces her
inventive contemporary
spin on Jekyll
and Hyde tropes, a
slick, unashamedly
mainstream thriller
with plenty of playful
twists up its sleeve
(see page 27). Feb 12,
20:30, Lichtblick
XConfessions
Ethical porn pioneer
Erika Lust returns to
Berlin to showcase
her latest batch
of sex-positive,
female-focused
erotica. Previous
events have sold out,
so book now! Feb 18,
Babylon Kino
Wind River
All the Money in the World
Wind River
D: Taylor Sheridan (US, 2017)
with Elizabeth Olsen,
Jeremy Renner
HHHH
This compelling murder mystery
by Taylor Sheridan (writer of
Sicario and Hell or High Water)
sees a rookie FBI agent (Elizabeth
Olsen) investigate the death of
a young woman found frozen
to death in the vast snowscape
of a Wyoming American Indian
reservation. She finds help from
a local tracker (Jeremy Renner),
who guides her through the
unforgiving location. Both actors
are perfectly cast in roles
that demand a restrained but
palpable chemistry, and are
propped up by Sheridan’s desire
to root proceedings in realism.
His approach to violence, buttressed
by excellent editing and
crisp sound design, makes for
some unexpected and hardhitting
beats, while his respectful
depiction of the marginalisation
of Native Americans is to be applauded.
A chilling thriller that’s
warmly recommended. — DM
All the Money in the
World
D: Ridley Scott (US, 2017)
with Michelle Williams,
Christopher Plummer
HHH
Based on real events, Ridley Scott’s
1970s period drama sees the grandson
of the then-richest man in the world,
John Paul Getty, get kidnapped. The
victim’s mother begs her ex-fatherin-law
for help; he refuses to pay the
ransom. The film’s release has been
overshadowed by the allegations of
sexual assault against Kevin Spacey,
who had completed filming his role
as Getty. Even if Spacey’s last-minute
replacement, Christopher Plummer,
dominates the film, the end result
remains a kidnap thriller that’s curiously
lacking in thrills. This is mostly
due to the stilted three-part structure,
which hinders the build-up of
suspense and only serves to highlight
how Scott managed to pull off the
eleventh-hour reshoots. Still, despite
the fact that the behind-the-scenes
controversy is the most exciting thing
about it, it’s worth seeing for Williams’
and Plummer’s performances. — DM
28
EXBERLINER 168