A WALK IN THE WOODS (15)

3 stars

When American writer Bill Bryson set out to walk the Appalachian Trail in the mid 1990s and then wrote the subsequent book of his adventures, he was somewhere in his mid 40s.

Robert Redford, pushing 80, may seem an unusual casting choice to play Bryson, but he’s been in possession of the rights to A Walk in the Woods since the 90s and has finally realised his long-cherished ambition of getting it to the screen.

With the film being set in the present day, Redford is essentially playing Bryson now, a man in his mid 60s. As such the casting isn’t too much of a stretch and actually rather works, with Redford instantly capturing the facetiousness of Bryson’s one-liners.

It can’t be an easy job to fictionalise a travelogue, and this film will never take the place of the book in terms of the detail and depth that can be covered. So the only way to make it work is as a light comedy, and it more or less succeeds in nailing the tone and Bryson’s way with language.

Dramatic impetus needs to be created, so an associate’s death is the spur for Bryson to plan to walk the AT, over 2000 miles from Georgia to Maine. His wife (Emma Thompson) tries to talk him out of it, of course, but he needs someone to go with him. Everyone says no expect his old buddy Stephen Katz (Nick Nolte), who turns up wildly out of shape and with a craving for doughnuts.

So off they set from Georgia, Bryson ahead, Katz behind struggling to keep up, puffing and moaning, and the grizzly and grumpy Nolte is also a nice bit of casting. Their prickly relationship is at the centre of most scenes, and their age does add a certain poignancy the film wouldn’t necessarily have had with younger men.

Lines are lifted directly from the book, and some of Bryson’s exchanges read like great comedy dialogue anyway, so it translates nicely to the screen.

Unfortunately it’s a crying shame the whole thing just wasn’t in the hands of more talented filmmakers. Episodes feel rushed and side characters barely get a look in, while the addition of knockabout pratfalls isn’t really a successful one and half the time the joke is botched through poor execution.

Nor does it really give a sense of the mile after mile trudging that’s captured in the book, or the hardship. It all seems a bit quick and easy, with too many hotels and not enough squalor, but then you can’t just watch them walk for minutes on end.

But it’s perfectly pleasant and gets most of the important stuff right, like the majesty of nature. Bryson fans should find stuff to enjoy, newcomers should get a few easy laughs, and everyone can dwell on the notion that it could all have been so much better.

Director: Ken Kwapis

Running time: 104 mins

 

EVEREST (12A)

3 stars

A card at the beginning of this all-star drama tells us that since Hillary’s first ascent in 1953, one in four people who have attempted Everest have died.

That’s a good way of letting us know there won’t be many happy endings in this true account of an ill-fated 1996 expedition. A New Zealand crew led by Jason Clarke is one of 20 commercial teams aiming for the summit during a very short window, and with so many people up there they sometimes have to wait in queues to pass certain points.

Clarke is all about keeping people alive and making sure his customers know the danger, know that people have no business being up there.

Josh Brolin and John Hawkes are essentially the tourists being guided up by Clarke, and plenty time is spent in base-camp laying this on during a considered build-up where we’re left in no doubt of the peril ahead.

There’s the elation for those who make it up, but that’s only half the battle.

Fine camerawork swirls us in and around the climbers, and it benefits from them clearly being up a mountain. It’s technically admirable, and where it needs to be a set or CGI, it’s integrated fairly seamlessly, yet it’s never quite stirring enough.

As the real threat closes in the film still never manages to be particularly exciting, but it’s certainly harrowing, and death comes quickly and matter of factly, which makes it all the more chilling. It’s not so much a disaster movie as a cautionary tale of people versus nature, and as such doesn’t quite provide the thrills the trailer seems to suggest.

Of more interest is the emotional toll, with Keira Knightley as Clarke’s wife back in New Zealand anxiously waiting for news. As such it’s powerful enough to get the job done, and you’ll still want to pack a scarf and jumper.

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Running time: 121 mins

 

 

THE MESSENGER (15)

2 stars

In the first five minutes of this glum, low budget British supernatural drama, we get a suicide and a fatal car crash (albeit done with clear signs of corner cutting) before we even know who anyone is.

We meet Jack (Robert Sheehan), a troubled young man who, it transpires, sees dead people, some of whom have unfinished business.

His conversations with the ghost of a murdered reporter form much of the main plot and many of the silliest scenes, utilising that old no-one-else-can-see-him gimmick.

It’s gloomy and artfully shot, but in a way that calls attention to itself, and full of foreboding fragments of childhood flashbacks. The dourness extends to the pacing and direction which brings out heavy handed performances, and though one or two worthwhile moments shine through, the majority is a slog.

Director: David Blair

Running time: 98 mins

 

 

TANGERINES (15)

4 stars

An elderly Estonian man living alone in the war-torn Caucasus in the early 1990s has his peaceful life of tangerine growing disrupted when he discovers two wounded soldiers from opposing sides near his remote home.

Tangerines was one of the five entries nominated for best foreign language film at this year’s Oscars and is Estonia’s first ever Oscar nominee, an honour of which it’s more than deserving.

Offering a profound yet never intrusive anti-war statement, it all takes place in a single location yet never feels confined, providing a fascinating set of characters as these mortal enemies, one Chechen and one Georgian, circle each other warily. Its power lies in the quiet way it illustrates the dehumanising effect of war, as well as the gradual realisation of the madness of their situation.

Director: Zaza Urushadze

Running time: 87 mins

 

 

A GIRL AT MY DOOR (18)

3 stars

The new female police chief in a Korean town makes a point of protecting a young girl who is being bullied by her classmates and abused by her stepfather, with the places this leads making this intense drama both disturbing and surprising.

A strange town full of unpredictable characters makes for a film that keeps you on your toes, but though it ends up dealing with weighty subject matter, there's a lot of over-playing among the actors, and a good deal of covering the same ground over and over.

Director: July Jung

Running time: 119 mins