Perthians, like sands through the hour glass we have now trickled into February 2023. It’s warm out there. 30 degree days. @0 degree nights. There is simply no better time to catch up with some excellent, entertaining, independent cinema under the stars. Get yourself down to the Luna Outdoor Cinema on Oxford Street, Leederville. Check out this week’s program. For further details or purchasing tickets hit the link.
THE WHALE (8.00PM: Fri 3 — Wed 8, February)
In Darren Aronofsky’s THE WHALE, Academy Award Best Actor Nominee Brendan Fraser gives a virtuosic performance as Charlie, an English teacher living with severe obesity whose time is running out. As he makes a last bold attempt to reconcile with his broken family, Charlie must confront, with his full heart and fierce wit, long-buried traumas and unspoken love that have haunted him for decades.
Based on the acclaimed play by Samuel D. Hunter and also stars Academy Award Best Supporting Actress Nominee Hong Chau, Sadie Sink, Ty Simpkins and Samantha Morton.
“A sensational film of rare compassion.” THE TELEGRAPH
“Brendan Fraser delivers a brilliant, gutting performance.” VOX
“His performance will floor you.” THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“An utter triumph.”VARIETY
THE SON (8.00PM: Thu 9 — Sat 11, February)
Florian Zeller directs this blistering adaptation of his acclaimed play, in which a divorced couple struggle to deal with their teenage son’s mental health crisis.This morally knotty, thematically complex and thoroughly engrossing film finds Zeller working at the height of his powers as a screenwriter and director, following his Oscar-winning collaboration with Christopher Hampton on The Father (2020). Working with Hampton again, Zeller’s new film focuses on Peter (Hugh Jackman), a hyper-successful lawyer embarking on a new life with his young wife (Vanessa Kirby) and baby, his bitter and heartbroken ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern) and their troubled young son Nicholas (Zen McGrath). When Nicholas begins behaving oddly, skipping school and disappearing for long stretches of time, neither Peter nor Kate know quite what to do. As the characters struggle to deal with the boy’s worrying behaviour, the true nature of their relationships is laid excruciatingly bare, and the film evolves into a gripping psychological drama.
Featuring a career-best performance from Jackman and a brief, unforgettable cameo from Anthony Hopkins as one of the most thoroughly monstrous characters he has ever played, The Son is a powerful and devastating drama by one of the most exciting filmmakers working today.
