Cannes Diary – Day 3

Red Carpet In The Rain

The heavens opened this Friday morning in Cannes soaking all the early birds eager to see Jane Campion’s latest offering at 8.30am. The red carpet wasn’t looking its best, but BRIGHT STAR enjoyed a packed house, and the packed house seem to enjoyed BRIGHT STAR right back.

BRIGHT STAR is about the love affair between Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) and John Keats (Ben Whishaw). Beautifully shot with strong performances, although a couple of us found it slow at times, the veterans among us called it ‘classic filmmaking for adults.’ One thing is undeniable, exquisite costumes. Good reviews once again from the Guardian and Time Out.

THIRST is Park Chan-wook’s South Korean vampire tale with distant echos of Let The Right One In, modern and moralistic with moments of humour. Not quite up to OLDBOY standards but certainly enjoyable.

Clare & Madeleine on the red carpet

Romanian Corneliu Porumboiu’s POLITIST, ADJECTIV about a policeman with a conscience, screening as part of the Un Certain Regard section, was a slow builder but paid out in spades at the end. A standing ovation for the director and a move straight into our top five.

I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS also went down very well. Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey are conmen who fall for each in this US comedy based on an improbable real-life story.

Another American indie, HUMPDAY from director Lynn Shelton, follows two straight men, buddies from college reunited after several years, who decide to film themselves having sex as some kind of misguided artistic statement. It’s a do they don’t they film with moments of hilarity, perhaps not enough?

The jewel in today’s filmic crown is probably Lee Daniels’ PRECIOUS: based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. A Harlem teenager is pregnant with her second child, abused by her mother and suffering from obesity and illiteracy. This film is at times difficult to bear but carries with it an incredibly strong sense of hope and a truly remarkable performance by Gabourey Sidibe.

Picturehouse Top Five

1. PRECIOUS
2. UP
3. POLITIST, ADJECTIV
4. BRIGHT STAR
5. THE COVE