London Film Festival 2009: Top 10 must-sees (1)
Feature by Rob Carnevale
AS THE BFI 53rd London Film Festival prepares to roll out another strong selection of films, we pick out the 10 must-see movies from this year’s line-up.
Opening and closing films The Fantastic Mr Fox and Nowhere Boy are obvious contenders, so we’ve opted to delve a little deeper into the schedule. Here’s our selection of what’s unmissable.
Film: The Men Who Stare At Goats
What’s it about? Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) stumbles across the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a Special Forces operator on a mind-boggling mission in Iraq. Cassady claims to be a former psychic soldier trained in paranormal techniques who was re-activated post-9/11.
Why so essential? Word of mouth is ultra hot following its debut at the Venice Film Festival, and the cast is excellent too, with Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Robert Patrick and Stephen Lang all joining Clooney and McGregor.
Pre-LFF buzz: A serendipitous marriage of talent in which all hearts seem to beat as one, The Men Who Stare at Goats takes Jon Ronson’s book about “the apparent madness at the heart of US military intelligence” and fashions a superbly written loony-tunes satire, played by a tony cast at the top of its game. – Variety
Film: Up In The Air
What’s it about? Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a management consultant specialising in firing people, and whose work enables him to build up his frequent flyer miles. When placed under threat by a new recruit who plans to introduce video links as a means of firing people, Bingham takes one last trip to try and persuade the newcomer otherwise, and to further his newfound relationship with the fellow flyer of his dreams (Vera Farmiga).
Why so essential? George Clooney again… but there’s just no stopping the man at the moment! Written and directed by Jason Reitman (of Juno fame), Up In The Air has already drawn favourable reviews from Venice and could well be the thinking man’s romantic drama of the festival – even though, at first glance, a film about firing people might seem awkwardly timed!
Pre-LFF buzz: Up In The Air is a slickly engaging piece of lightweight existentialism highlighted by winning turns from George Clooney and Vera Farmiga – Variety.
Next: An Education and A Prophet
I really do think that Up In The Air could be one of the best films of this year and a potential Oscar winner; it combines some big names with a brand new storyline, and with the right amount of marketing and buzz could really be big.
Boon Koh Oct 1 #