In Contention

Tag: Katie Jarvis

  • FIRST-HALF FYC: Best Actress

    The fifth column in our new seasonal series — if you haven’t got the drill by now, we’re rounding up the most Oscar-worthy work from the oft-overlooked first half of the year — wraps up the performance categories with by far the most competitive race of all. Conventional wisdom has it that Best Actress is the most crowded field of this year’s awards derby, and as I looked over the January-to-June release schedule, I realized that’s just as true of the early birds.

    Where I admit I had embroider a little to make up five-strong fields in one or two other categories, this week’s task found me scratching my head over who to leave out. Many of the year’s most lavishly acclaimed performances jostled for position: Kim Hye-ja may have taken the Los Angeles critics’ honors, but as much as I love the demented commitment of her performance in “Mother,” I was surprised to find myself leaving her on the sidelines. Tilda Swinton is on near-peak form in “I Am Love,” and yet she too finds herself in the honorable mention category.

    I was all prepared to court controversy by citing Julianne Moore’s exemplary work in Atom Egoyan’s otherwise negligible “Chloe,” but there just wasn’t room to be that playful; in a regular year, “Father of My Children” star Chiara Caselli would easily have figured in at the halfway mark. Others might make cases for Noomi Rapace or Giovanna Mezzogiorno, and I’m still hamstrung by not having had access to “Everyone Else.” The bottom line is: there was a lot to sift through before arriving at the five names below. May future years also be this good to the ladies.

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  • ‘Social Network’ leads Chicago critics’ nods, wins in Detroit

    I’ll give you a moment to recover from the shock. [Moment.] There, may I continue? Of the B-list critics’ awards, the Chicago Film Critics’ Association attracts more eyeballs than most, largely because it’s Roger Ebert’s stomping ground — though the list of nominees they announced this morning suggests a lot of autopilot voting with a few welcome flashes of inspiration.

    “The Social Network” tops their list with eight bids, including slightly less obvious mentions for Armie Hammer and DP Jeff Cronenweth, while their matchy-matchy Picture and Director lists include such ubiquitous titles as “Black Swan,” “The King’s Speech,” “Winter’s Bone” (nice get for Debra Granik there) and, perhaps less predictably from a critics’ group, “Inception.”

    Surprises are in short supply in the acting categories–though it’s nice to see some respect for Lesley Manville after a rough week on the precursor trail–and in Best Foreign Language Film, where a group of actual film critics somehow sees fit to nominate “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” alongside the likes of “Mother” and “A Prophet.”

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  • ‘A Prophet,’ ‘Fish Tank’ lead London Critics’ awards

    Best British Actor winner Colin Firth at the London Film Critics' Circle awardsThe BAFTA Awards take place on Sunday, but last night the UK’s premier critics’ body had their say at the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards. And what we learned is what the London Film Festival, Sight & Sound and even the BAFTA longlists already taught us: the Brits really, really like “A Prophet.”

    Busting out of the foreign-language ghetto, Jacques Audiard’s Oscar-nominated prison gang saga took the night’s top award, Film of the Year. That was its lone award of the night, however — Kathryn Bigelow continued her steamroll through every directing honor in sight, while they democratically handed what would have been a rather superfluous foreign-language prize to “Let the Right One In.”

    The night’s biggest winner, meanwhile, was another of my pet films: “Fish Tank” took four awards in the British categories, including Best British Film and acting honors for Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender. Following Bigelow, Andrea Arnold made it an all-female affair in the directing categories.

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  • INTERVIEW: Michael Fassbender

    Michael FassbenderMichael Fassbender is unemployed.

    This, at least, is what he tells me at the outset of our conversation, and he sounds entirely relaxed about it. As well he sound be: after 18 months of back-to-back film projects, a catholic range spanning the gruelling physical demands of “Hunger,” the arch larking-about of “Inglourious Basterds,” the kitchen-sink grit of “Fish Tank” and the blockbuster polish of the upcoming “Jonah Hex,” the 32 year-old Irish-German thesp has more than earned himself some downtime.

    Not that Fassbender is entirely sure how to enjoy it. “I don’t really know what to do with myself, to be honest,” he tells me over the phone from Los Angeles, where his next vehicle – “A Single Shot,” a “very quirky” thriller in which he has the lead role – is currently in pre-production.

    “When you’re trying to make it as an actor, all you want to be is busy. After nearly two years of bouncing from one shoot to another, even a little time off is kind of disconcerting. I don’t even really have a home at the moment to spend it in.”

    He laughs, but there is a trace of weariness in his voice, its lolloping West Irish rhythm occasionally colored with harder enunciation that only faintly betrays his half-German parentage. His professional restlessness, however, has made him one of the past year’s most visible young actors.

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  • ‘Fish Tank’ trailer

    I caught Andrea Arnold’s “Fish Tank” during last year’s AFI Fest and frankly, wasn’t overly impressed by it.  Katie Jarvis is a real find and, of course, Michael Fassbender is and has been going places.  I liked the world it evokes feels very authentic and on the whole, it’s nice to have diversity in the marketplace.  But I just hated the narrative trajectory of the piece and whatever confused ideas it thought it was putting forth.

    But, hey, you know what they say about opinions.  Guy (who didn’t base his list on U.S. release dates) thinks it is one of the year’s very best films.

    Anyway, the domestic trailer has landed via Apple.  Have a look below:

  • ‘Moon,’ Carey Mulligan, Tom Hardy take BIFA Awards

    Tom Hardy in BronsonThe British Independent Film Awards really spread the wealth this year, with only two films — “Moon” and “Fish Tank” — taking more than one award. In a slightly surprising result, Duncan Jones’s sci-fi debut claimed the night’s top prize, Best British Independent Film, as well as Best Debut Director honors.

    Meanwhile, “Fish Tank,” which entered the ceremony with the most nominations, took a well-deserved pair of awards: Best Director for Andrea Arnold (the first woman ever to receive the honor) and Most Promising Newcomer for 18 year-old sensation Katie Jarvis.

    Jarvis lost the Best Actress award, however, to Carey Mulligan for “An Education” — one of the night’s few winners likely to figure prominently in the awards race across the pond. (This in stark contrast to last year’s BIFA awards, which were all about “Slumdog Millionaire.”)

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  • ‘A Prophet’ dominates European Film Award nominations

    Tahar Rahim in A ProphetIs “A Prophet” gradually stealing awards-season momentum from “The White Ribbon?” (It’s the superior film, if you ask me.) Too soon to say, of course, but it certainly came out on top in this morning’s European Film Award nominations.

    Jacques Audiard’s searing chronicle of French prison gangs leads the field with six nominations, to four for Michael Haneke’s German Palme d’Or winner. The two films, seen by many pundits as the chief contenders for the foreign-language Oscar, also appear to be the frontrunners here, continuing a rivalry that started way back in May at Cannes.

    Also beating “Ribbon”‘s total, with five nods (six, if you include the People’s Choice Award), is “Slumdog Millionaire,” which didn’t make last year’s cut-off date. The film’s popularity clearly still lingers (to the point that it even eked out a Best Actor nod for Dev Patel, ahead of, say, Michael Fassbender), though I sense its moment has passed.

    (More discussion, and a full list of nominees, after the cut.)

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  • NYT spotlights Jarvis, Hoult, Kendrick, Smit-McPhee

    Nicholas HoultThe New York Times makes an annual tradition of rounding up the season’s most notable breakthrough turns in upcoming films, and it’s typically an intelligent, even prescient, selection of faces. Last year’s crop ran the gamut from François Bégaudeau (“The Class”) to the ultimately Oscar-nominated Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”).

    In keeping with the youthful slant of many of this year’s awards hopefuls, this year’s group of Gray Lady picks skews rather younger, ranging from 13 year-old Kodi Smit-Phee to 24 year-old Anna Kendrick. (Three of the four are teenagers.)

    Presumably, writer Karen Durbin feels enough attention has already been lavished (not least in her own paper) on Gabourey Sidibe (who I’m increasingly convinced will win the Oscar anyway), as the “Precious” star doesn’t rate a mention. Fair enough.

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  • ‘Fish Tank,’ ‘Moon,’ ‘Education’ lead BIFA noms, female directors rule

    Katie Jarvis in Fish TankYou’ve heard me natter on enough for months about how “Fish Tank” is one of the year’s best films — now you don’t have to just hear it from me anymore.

    Andrea Arnold’s lyrical character study of an unhappy Essex teenager (now being dubbed ‘the British “Precious”‘ by some lazy wags) leads the nominations for the British Independent Film Awards, with mentions in a whopping eight categories, including two for 18 year-old sensation Katie Jarvis.

    Once a very niche Transatlantic equivalent to the Indie Spirits, the BIFA Awards are gaining in profile every year, painting a far more revealing picture of the state of the UK film industry than the Oscar-toadying BAFTAs.

    They’re also naming more contenders who go on to feature heavily in awards season: “Slumdog Millionaire” was the belle of last year’s BIFA ball, while this year’s major crossover nominee promises to be “An Education.”

    (More discussion, and a full list of nominees, after the cut.)

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  • THE LISTS: Top 10 actors under 30

    Abbie Cornish in CandyI wrote recently about how this year’s Best Actress race seems to ushering in a striking new wave of young talent, from the elfin throwback charm of Carey Mulligan to the rawer screen presence of Gabourey Sidibe, while a range of youthful names, from the long-hyped Abbie Cornish to the out-of-nowhere Katie Jarvis, have been racking up critical plaudits all year.

    Whether Academy voters comply or not, it’s hard to disagree that it’s a good year to be a fresh face.

    Meanwhile, the industry’s male twentysomethings may have enjoyed less frenzied acclaim than their fairer counterparts, but the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Whishaw and – yes – Shia LaBeouf have kept things ticking over for the generation quite respectably.

    So, with the teen-driven narratives of “An Education” and “Precious” heading for theaters soon, and with the youth romance of “Bright Star” currently pleasing older arthouse audiences, it seemed an apt moment to celebrate the new guard by ranking the finest talent that the born-after-1980 generation has to offer.

    And believe me when I tell you it was one of the trickiest lists I’ve ever compiled on this site. The more I contemplated recent successes and breakthroughs, the longer the shortlist of candidates grew, spanning Academy-endorsed names already on the A-list (Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal) to quirkier talents from the indie and foreign sectors (Sam Riley, Emilie Dequenne). I like to think that the fact that I struggled as much as I did to narrow the list down to 10 names bodes very well for the future.

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  • Here come the girls

    Saoirse Ronan in The Lovely BonesI know I’m hardly the first person to mention it, but as I was fiddling around with my predictions recently, I was struck once more by just how young the Best Actress category is skewing.

    At present, 15 year-old Saoirse Ronan is the only teenager being talked up for a nomination, but with three other solid contenders — Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe and Abbie Cornish — all playing teens in their respective vehicles, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. (As if that weren’t enough, in a perfect world, 18 year-old Katie Jarvis would be leading the field for “Fish Tank.” We can but dream.)

    Meanwhile, you can bet that a sizable number of Academy members are under the impression that waif-like 24 year-old it-girl Mulligan (the current frontrunner for “An Education,” in case you need reminding), and especially 26 year-old non-pro Sidibe (whose buzz for “Precious” has rocketed since Toronto), are even younger than they are.

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  • ‘Fish Tank’ trailer

    It’s been six weeks since I saw (and loved) Andrea Arnold’s Cannes Jury Prize winner “Fish Tank” at the Edinburgh fest, and the film simply will not leave me alone. Scenes and images from Arnold’s simultaneously exhilarating and devastating portrait of an Essex adolescence keep popping vividly into my head at random intervals — and I’m more and more convinced that young Katie Jarvis has given the single best performance of 2009 to date.

    I’m afraid this trailer doesn’t do a great job of selling what distinguishes the film from its kitchen-sink peers: Arnold’s impressionistic use of music and sound, its ambiguous sexual currency, the zest and rhythm of its dialogue. Just take my word for it that this is a very special piece of work. It’s out on 11 September in the UK; Americans must wait indefinitely. (It will, of course, play at Toronto next month.)

  • ‘Moon’ takes top prize at Edinburgh

    Sam Rockwell in MoonThe Edinburgh International Film Festival closed today with an awards ceremony that culminated in Duncan Jones’s sci-fi debut feature “Moon” landing the fest’s most coveted prize, the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature. The jury, headed by Joe Wright and including Oscar-nominee Frank Langella, said of the film:

    We award “Moon” for its singular vision and remarkably assured direction as well as for the inspired manner in which it transcends genre. The central performance by Sam Rockwell embodies the film’s emotional complexity and compelling philosophical perspective.

    The award is an aupicious one; recent winners that have gone on to considerable international success include “My Summer of Love,” “Control” and Oscar-winner “Tsotsi” (yes, it’s British). I suspect Jones might land a few more citations, particularly of the Best First Film variety, before the year is out.

    (More details, and a full list of awards, after the cut.)

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  • REVIEW: “Fish Tank” (***1/2)

    Katie Jarvis in Fish TankEdinburgh International Film Festival

    There’s a slightly condescending tendency among many critics to brand almost any British film set on a working-class council estate as “miserablist” simply by virtue of the aesthetics of its setting, despite the fact that many thousands of people live functional, three-dimensional lives in precisely such conditions.

    Of course, it’s a bias that filmmakers feed too: since Ken Loach essentially patented this sub-genre with “Cathy Come Home” in 1966, the landscape of Britfilm has been clogged with imitators piling on the grimness to perverse effect.

    Occasionally, however, the trend gives rise to a creative voice of genuine compassion and ingenuity. Recently, Lynne Ramsay and Shane Meadows have located poetry and humor in the crevices of blue-collar Britain.

    Now Oscar-winning short filmmaker Andrea Arnold joins their rank with “Fish Tank,” a deserving Jury Prize winner at Cannes that represents a quantum leap on Arnold’s already impressive feature debut, “Red Road.”

    I’d be lying if I said “Fish Tank” isn’t an often unhappy, and occasionally very angry, film. But in its detailed, immersive study of the life of an emotionally tormented, 15 year-old Essex girl (the term applied geographically rather than pejoratively, though protagonist Mia certainly has many of the vulgar physical and behavioral traits beloved of British satirists like Catherine Tate), the film seeks out moments of everyday contentment, and even cathartic bliss, that keep the proceedings in balance. (It’ll be interesting view the film in relation to its similarly-themed U.S. counterpart, “Precious.”)

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  • What will take the Palme d’Or?

    Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw in Bright Star It’s all over bar the voting. Tomorrow, Cannes jury president Isabelle Huppert will meet with her formidable, female-dominated team of eight – including the diverse likes of Robin Wright Penn, Asia Argento, James Gray and Hanif Kureishi – to pick over the 20 Competition titles they have seen over the last fortnight and select their collective favorites.

    As I’ve said before, the most surprising thing a Cannes jury can do is not to surprise: to hand the Palme d’Or to the critical and/or popular favorite. It can happen, of course – critics and pundits alike called it for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” the day it screened in 2007, and were proved right – but the list of upsets is long and illustrious.

    As you’ve probably heard by now, if the bookies have their way, French auteur Jacques Audiard will be brandishing the Palme this time tomorrow, his prison drama “A Prophet” having wowed critics and audiences across the Croisette. I’ll be delighted if he does, but I’ve questioned whether a French production can win two years running, after a two-decade drought to boot.

    Of course, such streaks aren’t unheard of: the U.S. held onto the Palme for three years between 1989 and 1991. Other questions running through my mind are whether Frenchwoman Huppert might want to avoid making the festival too much of a local affair, and whether Audiard’s all-male film will resonate as strongly with a mostly female jury.

    If not, there are a number of alternatives. By my count there are six titles seriously in the hunt for top honors. Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon” is fancied by many to finally land the director the top prize. Earlier today, the film made its presence felt by claiming the FIPRESCI critics’ prize for best in show, though it should be noted that the jury’s and FIPRESCI’s choices have only lined up three times this decade.

    (More speculation, and my final predictions, after the cut.)

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  • ‘A Prophet’ leads Cannes race at midway point

    A ProphetWith 12 the 20 Cannes Competition titles out of the way (that’s counting the already critically-examined “Broken Embraces”), a clear favorite seems to have emerged — and I’m both pleased and a little surprised that it’s Jacques Audiard’s “A Prophet.”

    Pleased, because Audiard is a brilliant filmmaker who is owed more recognition. Surprised, because on paper, I didn’t expect an all-male, 2.5 hour prison drama to generate this much excitement. In the event, however, the film has inspired repeated comparisons to “GoodFellas,” and ScreenDaily’s critical panel rates it the best of the fest so far (closely followed by “Bright Star”), an endorsement echoed by a range of critics from Manohla Dargis to the Guardian’s Xan Brooks.

    Of the rest already screened, only “Bright Star” and British film “Fish Tank” really sound like viable Palme d’Or alternatives. Meanwhile, those two films’ respective leading ladies, Abbie Cornish and Katie Jarvis, look to be heading a heated Best Actress contest. (“Vincere’s” Giovanna Mezzogiorno and even “Antichrist’s” Charlotte Gainsbourg are also in the mix.) By contrast, the only actor attracting major buzz at this stage appears to be Tahar Rahim, the young Arab discovery of “A Prophet.”

    Of course, nobody has any idea what the jury is thinking, while jurors are apparently discouraged from reading the press about Competition titles. So when awards are dealt out, surprises are the norm. I’ve thought from the beginning that “A Prophet,” and indeed any other French titles in the lineup, were at a disadvantage; following last year’s winner, jury prez Isabelle Huppert might want to avoid showing too much homeland favor. Meanwhile, can Audiard’s entire male cast win over a mostly female jury? And with critical reactions so scattered, who knows what they make of “Antichrist?”

    So many questions. And with several formidable titles still to bow (including the latest from Michael Haneke and Elia Suleiman, my personal, out-of-thin-air bet for the Palme), plenty more to come.