SLOW WEST (15)

4 stars

A classical western from a Scottish director isn’t something you’ll see every week on cinema screens, so let’s take a moment to celebrate the existence of Slow West, the fine feature writing and directing debut from John Maclean.

Maclean has created a gritty yet soulful world that’s often as much about the landscape as it is about the characters, an almost Mad Max-style world of scavengers, hard men and drifters.

Kodi Smit-McPhee plays Jay Cavendish, a young Scottish man who heads to the America of 1870 to find his love, Rose (Caren Pistorius). There was a bit of unpleasantness back home involving Rose’s father (Rory McCann) and now the pair of them have fled to the States where the hope is they can begin a new life unnoticed.

In this ruthless land Jay encounters Silas (Michael Fassbender) who has been following his trail and who agrees to become his protector, for the right fee of course, to get him west to Rose.

Jay naively believes that there’s hope in this melting pot of desperadoes but, as one character in the middle of this vast continent says, to the east is violence and suffering, to the west is dreams and toil.

Tense and well-staged incidents play out often with minimal dialogue, yet surprisingly Maclean is a little squeamish when it comes to the onscreen violence, which may have had more impact had it been presented more destructively.

The title may be a little problematic too, not exactly conjuring images of pace and excitement, but this is in fact a proper western, meaty and fairly satisfying, with hints of dark humour peppering it.

On top of that it’s gorgeous to behold, though was in fact shot in New Zealand rather than the States.

Australian Smit-McPhee does a very credible Scottish accent and Fassbender is well cast, looking like he belongs in a western as he chews his cigars like Eastwood.

Silas is carrying a secret that he keeps from Jay, plus there’s Ben Mendelsohn as a former associate of Silas and his gang of bounty hunters who are also on the trail of Rose and her father.

These are all ingredients that bubble away nicely, albeit with a little bit of a midpoint lull, as is often the way with films that can put more effort into the destination than every aspect of the journey.

The finale may not completely satisfy but if The Salvation from a couple of months back was a palatable western starter, Slow West is a fine main course.

Director: John Maclean

Running time: 83 mins

THE OVERNIGHT (15)

3 stars

A couple (Adam Scott and Taylor Schilling) have just moved to a hipster-ish Los Angeles neighbourhood with their young son, where they meet fellow parents Jason Schwartzman and Judith Godrèche.

Tapping into relatable adult angst, the film presents Scott and Schilling as a normal family who were nervous about being able to make new friends, but happily head to their neighbours’ home for dinner and drinks when an invite is extended.

What follows is a warm and inviting indie comedy, with an energy that’s both weird and beguiling, with the night taking turns towards the quirky and odd, until you realise the film is exactly what the title is referring to.

As the hours pass, an anything-goes vibe creates many funny moments, including some of the most unusual stuff you’re likely to see in a relatively mainstream movie.

If you saw Listen Up Philip a few weeks ago, you’ll know how abrasive Schwartzman can be, but he shows an entirely different side here as one of four well-matched, very different performances and people.

There’s not necessarily much depth, but truth and honesty are at the forefront of The Overnight and it more or less follows through on its set-ups.

Director: Patrick Brice

Running time: 79 mins

SHE’S FUNNY THAT WAY (12A)

1 star

Peter Bogdanovich’s first film in 14 years is a honking farce that wants to pitch itself as old-fashioned with its 60s style credits, while also aiming for a Woody Allen sensibility with its large cast of neurotics.

Landing some way short, it begins with an actress (Imogen Poots) telling a reporter of how she became a star, so we cut to four years before when she was an escort who wanted to be an actress, with Owen Wilson the theatre director who hires her.

Many others pop up, including Jennifer Aniston as a psychiatrist, setting off a ludicrous number of connections between them as Wilson attempts to put on a play.

Often frantic yet never controlled, it’s a mess built on coincidence and people showing up at inopportune times, opening with a disclaimer that cynicism shouldn’t get in the way of a good story.

Sadly that’s simply an excuse for not being able to tell a good story, and while a Bogdanovich screwball comedy was once something to treasure, this is 40 years too late for anyone to care.

Director: Peter Bogdanovich

Running time: 92 mins

THE THIRD MAN (PG)

5 stars

Often championed as the best British film of all time, Carol Reed’s masterful thriller stars Joseph Cotten as an American pulp writer who travels to Europe to reunite with his old friend, Harry Lime, only to be caught up in a sinister world.

From the script and performances to the music to the moment Orson Welles receives probably the greatest character introduction ever, The Third Man is a triumph, gloriously filmed in the ruined streets of post-war Vienna.

Filled with murky morals and layered with history and the blackest of souls, it’s perfect in pretty much every way.

Director: Carol Reed

Running time: 104 mins