Hard Truths, Saturday Night, You’re Cordially Invited | Thoughts, and sort-of reviews

Hard Truths
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Hard Truths, Saturday Night and You’re Cordially Invited are all now out in the world. Some thoughts on each of them here.


When a film has debuted months before at a film festival, has debuted elsewhere in the world, and is now landing in UK cinemas, I’ve got a question for you: is there a lot of point to a written film review on a web page?

Background: I’m a print nerd, a huge believer in the written word, but also realistic. Most outlets, this one included, have a finite amount of resources. A film review eats up, say, four to five hours of people’s time. Yet on the web, when chucked into the Google machine, if you’re an outlet that hasn’t gamed or played the Google system to a certain degree, how do your words get noticed, and do they offer much guide to the reader at the end of it all?

I puzzle over this a lot. If you get into an early screening, then that’s one thing. But three films are out in the UK at the moment, each of which I’ve enjoyed, and I’m conscious that if I’d bashed out a list, or a leftfield feature, I’ve got better chance of getting noticed. It’s an odd conundrum, and I do wonder a lot about where our words are best positioned.

The three films are a welcome testament to the breadth of current cinema, and the quality of movies that are coming through.

I first saw Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths for instance at the end of last year. It was a screening I wasn’t allowed to review from, but I’ve been grateful for the extra time I’ve been afforded. I sat at the end of the movie, no spoilers, really struck by what I’d seen, in manner that reminded me of when the credits of All Of Us Strangers rolled. I maintain that All Of Us Strangers is one of the very best films of the last 25 years, and I don’t think Hard Truths is quite at its level. But I do think its terrific.

I’ve seen Mike Leigh in interviews downplay the mental health aspect of the film, but as a portrayal of what I’d probably describe as late stage depression, I think it’s unequalled in modern cinema. Marianne Jean Baptiste, reuniting with Leigh in cinema for the first time since Secrets & Lies, gives us an astonishing complete character. As Pansy, she’s the last person I’d want to be stuck in a lift with, yet Hard Truths explores why. Coupled with Michele Austin as her sister, a woman who’s been dealt similar cards in life but deals with them in a different way, and it’s a funny, moving and difficult film. For me, it’s right up there with the best of Mike Leigh. But dozens of reviewers on the planet have told you that already.

They’ve also told you about Jason Reitman’s really enjoyable Saturday Night, a film that’s missing out of an awards race in which I wonder if it was intended to feature. It came out four months ago in America, and hardly set the box office alight there. A feature about the build-up to an American television show’s debut – as universal as SNL has become – is thus not going to be the easiest sell in the UK.

A shame, though. It’s a real time telling of the time leading up to the first episode of Saturday Night Live going live, and it’s an exercise in choreographing actors too that’s worthy of applause. Penned by Reitman and his regular collaborator Gil Kenan, I didn’t love all of the film, but thoroughly enjoyed the main thrust of it. Plus, the setup gives it dramatic momentum, and Reitman is savvy enough to make the most of it. There are stories and characters in and around the side of the film though that I think I wanted to follow more, but then I accept that’s as much praise as criticism. If the supporting characters are interesting enough to make me invested in them, something is going right.

Saturday Night has been long available via on-demand services in the US, and as much as I’m a cinema purist, I’m curious to see how well this plays at home. I’m glad the film exists, I’m glad it’s being projected onto big screens. My words, I accept, won’t affect its reception or box office chances a single iota. That ship feels like it’s long sailed. But still, it’s worth a look.

Finally, not going anywhere near a cinema – because romantic comedies don’t do that anymore – there’s You’re Cordially Invited, the latest high profile Prime Video release. The prime attraction (arf) is the combination of Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell in the lead roles, but it’s the wide supporting cast that really helped this work for me. The setup – two families end up booking the same venue for a big wedding – leads itself to obvious hijinks, and writer/director Nicholas Stoller has a great time exploring them.

Wisely not outstaying its welcome, You’re Cordially Invited is as fun a romcom as I’ve seen in some time. Ironically, it’s the reverse of Saturday Night too. This is one I’d love to have seen in a packed cinema with an audience, but hey ho, not to be.

Three films then. Each worthy of your time. Each, I’ve written about. But in my heart of hearts, I do wonder how much good I’m doing when we’re getting to the films right on top of their release date.

Hard Truths

Saturday Night

You’re Cordially Invited

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