500 MILES
(15) 101mins
★★☆☆☆
500 Miles is about siblings who set out on a journey to their favourite place in the world Credit: PA
Bill Nighy plays the role of Grandad Credit: PA
NO, this film is not the story of The Proclaimers.
Instead, the sickly sweet tale, adapted from novel Charlie And Me: 421 Miles From Home, is about siblings who set out on a journey to their favourite place in the world.
After overhearing that their parents will be divorcing — and they will be taken to live separately — teenager Finn (Roman Griffin Davis) and his younger brother Charlie (Dexter Sol Ansell) sneak out from their home to reach their grandparents in Dingle, on Ireland’s West Coast.
Finn wants to reconnect with his grandfather ( Bill Nighy ) and grandma (Deirdre Monaghan), who is in a home with dementia.
The kids long to relive the fun, safe warmth of their childhood trips to the craggy coastline, where they would spend hours trying to spot local dolphin Fungie.
We see plenty of flashbacks of the family, including then-happy mum (Clare Dunne) and dad (Michael Socha) swigging Guinness and doing jigs to Celtic music.
Through a montage of family videos and a voiceover by Finn, we also discover that Charlie, who was born prematurely, has some serious health concerns.
Even more worrying, then, is that his older brother shoves him into the luggage storage of a coach, so the pair don’t get told off by a jobsworth driver for travelling underage.
Soon, the trip is thrown into jeopardy when Finn leaves Charlie on said coach.
He then seeks help from a kooky, ukulele-playing busker named Kait (Maisie Williams).
She sings some renditions of pop classics, including a couple of lines of The Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).
Kait goes above and beyond to help this English stranger, eventually finding him a horse to ride across the stunning beach in his relentless bid not to phone home, but to get to his grandad.
It’s a great shame that this film becomes so trying in places, especially with the character of Charlie, who is meant to be adorable and endearing, but is written as a rather annoying know-all.
Directed by Morgan Matthews, this family drama has a big twist that younger audiences might find very shocking and will certainly have plenty of eyes welling up.
The performances from big-hitters Nighy and Williams — and the stunning Irish landscape — keep it watchable.
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SUPERGIRL
(12A) 107mins
★★★★☆
Supergirl certainly has a very modern take on the world Credit: PA
AS someone who would remortgage to save a beloved cat, I understand the idea of risking life and limb against the world’s most evil forces to help a dog in mortal danger.
This is the basis of Supergirl, a new member of the DC Universe, who certainly has a very modern take on the world.
Directed by Craig Gillespie (Cruella), Supergirl is the grungy, rebellious loner superhero we didn’t know we needed.
Instead of just a giant S on her chest, she wears a Blondie T-shirt and says about her cousin, Clark Kent: “He sees the good in everyone. I see the truth.”
We find Kara/Supergirl () on a solo pub crawl, celebrating her 23rd birthday with her naughty dog, Krypto.
She meets Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who is seeking revenge after witnessing Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) slaughter her family.
But when Krypto is shot with poison by the super- villain, they have only 72 hours to travel the galaxy to find the antidote and seek revenge.
On their mission, they are joined by the rebellious and crazed bounty hunter Lobo ().
The chaotic storyline can be a tad exhausting, but this feminist superhero flies high and packs a punch.
A PRIVATE LIFE
(15) 103mins
★★★☆☆
A Private Life stars Jodie Foster as Psychoanalyst Liliane Credit: PA
THIS sleek psychological thriller has a touch of Hitchcock about it, with the imperfect protagonist trying to solve a crime.
Psychoanalyst Liliane () seems to have either disinterest or disdain for most of her clients, but is shocked by the news that one of them, Paula (Virginie Efira), has died by suicide.
Having been kicked out of Paula’s funeral by her husband, who seems to blame her, Liliane feels the need to go over their sessions and sets out to investigate the strange death, with the help of her ex-husband Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil).
Her daily life is a little chaotic. She has noisy neighbours who don’t care when she complains, and a complicated relationship with her son and his new baby, whom she refuses to touch.
At the same time, Liliane books herself in for hypnotherapy and has many strange and unnerving visions, including that Paula was a lover, playing in the string section of a Paris orchestra during the Nazi occupation, and her son being one of the Hitler militia.
These ‘memories’, further complicate matters.
Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski and filmed with much sophistication, Foster brings this often chaotic film to life, with her first French-language film in 20 years.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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