Shadows on the Wall | Arthouse Films

Shadows catches up ’26
Reviews of films I only managed to see late in the game...

On this page: THE MISFITS | NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON'T

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 15.May.26

The Misfits
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

MUST SEE

dir John Huston
scr Arthur Miller
prd Frank E Taylor
with Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, Thelma Ritter, James Barton, Kevin McCarthy, Estelle Winwood, Philip Mitchell, Dennis Shaw, Marietta Tree, Rex Bell
release US 1.Feb.61,
UK 8.Jun.61
restoration UK 26.Jun.26
61/US 2h05

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With its heavy themes and touchy narrative, this is a late-career classic for Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift. With beefy direction by John Huston and a punchy and somewhat stagey script by Arthur Miller, the film grabs the attention with its colourfully messy characters and situations. And it has a lot to say about how we so often feel at odds with the world around us.

In Reno for a quick divorce, Roslyn (Monroe) and her sparky landlady Isabelle (Ritter) befriend pilot-mechanic Guido (Wallach) and carefree cowboy Gaylord (Gable), heading off to Guido's unfinished desert home. Guido has a crush on Roslyn, but it's Gay who moves into the house with her. Then at a rodeo they connect with daredevil rider Perce (Clift), who agrees to join Guido and Gay on a trip into the hills to rustle wild mustangs. But Roslyn is horrified to learn that these horses are destined to become dogfood, and she tries to change their minds.

Inventively shot by cinematographer Russell Metty, the film's black and white imagery continually catches us off guard with its striking angles and vividly realised settings. The final sequence on a vast dry lake bed is spectacularly staged, and much more disturbing than it would have been six decades ago, as wild horses are chased and violently roped. So Roslyn's impassioned pleas to let them go feel even more urgent today. Each of the performances has a gritty realism to it, mixing determination with emotion in often unnerving ways. And all five principal actors are at the very peak of their powers, stirring both snappy humour and underlying darkness into each scene. Their physicality is especially impressive.

Thematically, the film resonates just as strongly as ever, exploring the cost of progress and how each of us so desperately needs someone who cares about us. Because the characters have this inner yearning, they are both sympathetic and somewhat unlikeable, revealing attitudes that push people away. So while the feelings sometimes seem to be overwrought, and if Miller's approach sometimes tilts to the theatrically heavy-handed, there is so much going on in every interaction that we can't look away. It's especially riveting on a big screen, where the darkened cinema and communal experience add an intense kick, because these people refuse be contained by the surfaces of polite society.

themes, language, violence 1.Apr.26

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
Review by Rich Cline | 3/5

dir Ruben Fleischer
scr Michael Lesslie, Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese, Seth Grahame-Smith
with Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, Lizzy Caplan, Rosamund Pike, Thabang Molaba, Morgan Freeman, Mark Ruffalo
release US/UK 14.Nov.25
25/US Lionsgate 1h53

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smith, greenblatt, sessa, eisenberg, fisher and franco

Whizzy and entertaining, this 10-years-later sequel carries on the slickly over-produced Robin Hood antics of the ever-expanding magical Horsemen. This is another elaborately twisty heist directed with style and humour by Ruben Fleischer. Flashy settings and locations liven things up, while the magic itself is once again more reliant on camera trickery than actual illusion making. It's not as smart as it looks, but it's still a guilty pleasure.

Things kick off as series of mysterious calling cards bring the four Horsemen (Eisenberg, Harrelson, Franco and Fisher) back together in New York, teamed up this time with three young upstarts (Smith, Sessa and Greenblatt). Then they're propelled into a series of wacky encounters in Europe and Abu Dhabi, squaring off against a dodgy South African diamond mine owner (Pike). Along the way they run into an old mentor (Freeman) and another Horseman (Caplan). But everyone is trying to fool everyone else, and the trickery knows no bounds.

None of this holds water, so the gyrations of the crazy storyline actually feel a little dull, especially as the dialog features a nonstop barrage of cool-sounding but ultimately pointless exposition. And Fleischer has to strain to give the expanding number of cast members their individual moments to shine. But the actors are having a lot of infectious fun, so the general tone is breezy and fun. And the constant sight gags dazzle us into submission. Like the earlier films, this is not remotely as good as it should be, even if it keeps us mildly entertained all the way through.

themes, language, violence 28.Jan.26

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL