JENNIFER LAWRENCE, ROBERT PATTINSON IN DIE, MY LOVE

Some very short reviews of a few more notable 2025 films

DIE MY LOVE (Lynne Ramsay). "Returning to the screen after a long absence, Lawrence manages such profound levels of eye-rolling pissed-offness that it’s difficult not to take it as a sign of the actress pushing back on the suffocating levels of adoration she has been subjected to," Tom Shone in The Times wrote. That's a fun way of looking at this extreme tale of a woman who goes mad, leaving Robert Pattinson's husband staggering in the wake. It's been another long break between directorial efforts for Scottish auteur Lynne Ramsay (RATCATCHER 1999, MORVERN CALLAR 2002, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN 2011, YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE 2017). Her work provides great opportunities for actors, but may be more attention-getting than profound. This unconvincing effort undercuts her earlier ones. Metacritic rating: 72%.

MARTY SUPREME (Josh Safdie). "Mean-spiritedness lies in the eye of the beholder: one person’s aggressively sour-minded movie is another’s idea of delightfully jaundiced fun, and no movie this year proves that as aptly as Josh Safdie’s two-and-a-half-hour loop-de-loop character study Marty Supreme," wrote Stephanie Zacharek in Time. The surprise NYFF premiere was rapturously received (reflecting how very New York Chalamet's and his character's ambitious pushiness is) and the Metacritic rating is 88%. But for me in the watching this lead character seemed as Zacharek says, annoying and repetitious. What stand out are the rapid-fire table tennis games. Chalamet works hard to make those authentic.

NOUVELLE VAGUE (Richard Linklater). It is amazing that he directed both this and the shattering BLUE MOON this year, and this is a bracing, crisply black and white evocation of and sort of making-of Jean-Luc Godard's French New Wave signature film Breathless/aka/À bout de souffle . It's a very fun idea and cinephiles are glad Linklater did it. The only trouble is nobody is as cool and sexy as the real Belmondo or as pretty and (seemingly?) sweet as the real Jean Seberg. It may be a good way in for newcomers, though, and a humorous refresher on Godard's thinking and what was innovative about his filmmaking technique and exciting about this historic moment in cinema.

SPLITSVILLE (Michael Angelo Covino). As in their breakthrough 2019 THE CLIMB Covino and best friend-collaborator-costar Kyle Marvin craft a skillful comedy of musical couples involving themselves playing switcheroo, but it's more mechanical and less heartfelt, specific, and personal than last time. It just makes one want to go back and enjoy THE CLIMB and that's what you should do. Better luck next time, guys.

IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU (Mary Bronstein) Summary reads: "While trying to manage her own life and career, a woman on the verge of a breakdown must cope with her daughter's illness, an absent husband, a missing person, and an unusual relationship with her therapist." Guess who the therapist is? Conan O'Brien. With a last-minute celebrity cameo (Christian Slater). This sounds harrowing. Well, it is. But it is very watchable. Rose Byrne is excellent and sympathetic in the lead. Metacritic rating 77%.

TWINLESS (James Sweeney)- has been described as " a near perfect indie movie." James Sweeney is near perfect and Dylan O'Brien is absolutely perfect in this high concept near-bromance of two men who meet in a support group for twins who have lost their twins. Online on many platforms. Metacritic rating 80%.

COVER-UP (Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus) You can also, and should, watch this documentary portrait of the ground-breaking reporter Seymour Hersh, essential viewing available on Netflix now about the man who unearthed, among other embarrassing truths, the My Lai massacre and the torture at Abu Ghraib.

Though other end-of-year catch-ups URCHIN and THE MASTERMIND are more essential, and yes, also HAMNET - decide for yourself what you think - these are well worth seeing. I'm trying, so far unsuccessfully, to see the semi-musical portrait of the founding of the Shakers TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE (Mona Fastvold), cowritten by Brady Corbet, starring Amanda Seyfried. Avi Ofer says it's one of Seyfried's best performances of her career. However he calls the film "beautifully shot and poetic, but tedious, overlong and heavy-handed." Do you very much want to see a film about the founding of a song-and-dance-centric religious movement whose members make wonderful furniture anyway?

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©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.