Jennifer Lawrence in “Causeway” (Picture: Apple TV+) and Harry Kinds in “My Policeman” (Picture: Amazon Studios)
CHICAGO – A lot has been manufactured from the decline of the film star, however two streaming platforms are hoping to lure in audiences based mostly on megawatt star energy. On Apple TV+, Jennifer Lawrence kicks off a brand new section of her profession with the modern PTSD drama “Causeway.” In the meantime, over on Prime Video, Harry Kinds delivers his second main man efficiency of the yr within the homosexual interval romance “My Policeman.”
Although set in drastically totally different eras, the 2 movies truly share quite a bit in frequent. They each heart on stoic characters who discover consolation within the uniforms they put on; they’re each helmed by administrators recognized predominantly for his or her work in theater; they usually each desire a quiet, contemplative tone to over-the-top drama. Right here FOX Digital movie critic Caroline Siede — who caught each movies at this yr’s Chicago Worldwide Movie Competition — weighs in on the highs and lows of every.
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Causeway (streaming on Apple TV+)
Jennifer Lawrence in “Causeway.” Picture: Apple TV+
Essentially the most compelling factor about “Causeway” is its simplicity. It doesn’t really feel in any respect just like the sort of film a mega-famous, Oscar-winning actress would star in. In actual fact, it feels much more just like the sort of small, intimate indie they’d make on the way in which up. And that’s becoming for a mission that Jennifer Lawrence is reportedly utilizing as a sort of relaunch for her profession.
We might know her as Katniss Everdeen or Mystique or the charmingly uncouth 22-year-old who tripped on the way in which as much as obtain her Academy Award, however “Causeway” strips away all that glamorous gloss to disclose the unvarnished expertise of an actor who’s all the time been very, excellent at commanding the display with a novel mixture of power and vulnerability. That is the sort of plain-and-simple story Lawrence hasn’t actually made since her 2010 breakout in “Winter’s Bone.” And that simplicity — although not all the time completely deployed — continues to be deeply fascinating.
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Lawrence stars as Lynsey, a military corps engineer who just lately suffered a traumatic mind harm in Afghanistan. Not solely does she have to relearn to speak and stroll — material the movie covers in a brief however impactful prologue — she must reassess what her future seems like now that the steadiness and routine of the navy is (at the very least briefly) gone. Misplaced and nonetheless therapeutic, Lynsey strikes again in along with her self-centered mom (Linda Emond) in New Orleans, tries to persuade her neurologist (Stephen McKinley Henderson) that she’s able to return to service and tentatively befriends an area automotive mechanic named James (“Atlanta” star Brian Tyree Henry).
Brian Tyree Henry and Jennifer Lawrence in “Causeway.” Picture: Apple TV+
In as a lot as “Causeway” has a plot, it facilities on the nice and cozy however difficult dynamic between Lynsey and James, who’re each nursing emotional wounds tied to their New Orleans hometown. For a lot of its runtime, “Causeway” is an unexpectedly breezy hangout movie, as Lynsey and James slowly bond whereas shifting furnishings or grabbing snow cones — speaking concerning the previous and avoiding it in equal measure.
Theirs is a tentative dance of two previous souls who cloak loneliness with independence whereas gently craving for one thing extra. And when the perimeters of their grief poke by way of, it’s in small, plausible methods. There are not any Oscar-montage-ready breakdown scenes or dramatic plot twists, simply 90 minutes of Lawrence and Henry commanding the display with a nuanced, lived-in naturalism. If the movie doesn’t all the time know what to do with that set-up, it’s nonetheless spellbinding to look at Lawrence and Henry merely exist inside it.
WATCH FREE ON TUBI: Brian Tyree Henry within the indie comedy “Household” — get the app
Certainly, it’s each a power and a weak point that debut director Lila Neugebauer (2018’s Broadway revival of “The Waverly Gallery”) is content material to let “Causeway” unfold in an observational key, quite than a histrionic one. The movie’s total arc is rather less satisfying than the person items inside it. Nonetheless, it’s refreshing to see a narrative of trauma and repression fueled by surprising heat and kindness. As a personality drama, “Causeway” provides as much as rather less than the sum of its elements. However as an performing showcase, it proves simplicity generally is a performer’s best power.
Grade: B
Rated R. 92 minutes. Dir: Lila Neugebauer. That includes: Jennifer Lawrence, Brian Tyree Henry, Linda Emond, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Jayne Houdyshell, Russell Harvard.
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My Policeman (streaming on Prime Video)
HARRY STYLES, EMMA CORRIN, and DAVID DAWSON star in MY POLICEMAN Picture: Courtesy of Prime Video © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC
it’s not all that uncommon to bump into an fascinating movie the place one of many central performances simply doesn’t fairly work. But it surely’s one other factor totally when that imperfect efficiency belongs to world-famous pop star Harry Kinds. Sarcastically, the promoting level that may little question get essentially the most eyeballs on “My Policeman” is the very factor holding it again from being a very nice film. Nonetheless, it’s a testomony to the light power of the fabric (based mostly on a novel of the identical identify by Bethan Roberts) that “My Policeman” manages to be a comparatively affecting queer love story — uneven central efficiency and all.
It helps that Kinds is surrounded by a crew of proficient co-stars. He performs Tom Burgess, a reserved, socially conservative policeman dwelling in Fifties Brighton, a British seaside city. Eager for a traditional life, Tom marries vivid however reserved faculty instructor Marion Taylor (“The Crown” star Emma Corrin), all whereas carrying on a long-time affair with ebullient museum curator Patrick Hazlewood (David Dawson). In the meantime, the ripple results of their youthful decisions play out in a parallel storyline during which Gina McKee, Linus Roache and Rupert Everett painting the trio as they enter retirement age within the Nineties.
WATCH FREE ON TUBI: Hugh Grant within the homosexual interval romance “Maurice” — get the app
Corrin and Dawson, specifically, do a ton of heavy lifting relating to the movie’s emotionally advanced central dynamic. Mixing witty confidence with tender vulnerability, Dawson’s dazzling efficiency as Patrick speaks to a complete technology of homosexual males who strove to stay as authentically as attainable, even at a time when that authenticity might get them arrested or killed. The tragedy of the movie is that Tom sees no path to do the identical for himself.
One of the best he can do is encourage Marion and Patrick to hitch him in a type of Three Musketeers-style friendship — one the place they repeatedly paint the city crimson at vigorous dinner events and cultural occasions. However in Tom’s nearly childlike want to combine the private and non-private halves of his life, he can’t see simply how merciless this setup is to Marion specifically, a throughline McKee picks up fantastically within the Nineties timeline.
GINA MCKEE and RUPERT EVERETT star in MY POLICEMAN Picture: PARISA TAGHIZADEH © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC
Although light in tone, “My Policeman” understands the bitter human price of repression. And that’s an enormous a part of what makes Kinds’ casting so irritating. An intentional cipher, Tom is supposed to characterize the top of stoic, standard Fifties masculinity. So why solid a lovably goofy pop star who discovered his best profession success by leaning into colourful, expressive Nineteen Seventies androgyny?
Certainly, it’s not that Kinds is dangerous a lot as he’s basically miscast. His candy pet canine portrayal of Tom is essentially at odds with a personality who’s repeatedly described as a type of strappingly standard himbo. (“The Umbrella Academy” star Tom Hopper is who instantly jumped to this reviewer’s thoughts for the function.) And although Kinds has some good moments of chemistry with Corrin and particularly Dawson, the movie can’t shake the oddness of his casting — an issue that additionally plagued his function in “Don’t Fear Darling.” (Maybe it’s time to confess that mid-century just isn’t Styles’ era.)
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In the long run, “My Policeman” will work greatest for many who are both prepared to go searching Kinds’ casting or learn issues that aren’t there into his efficiency. As a delicate interval romance, the movie principally works, notably every time Dawson’s mesmerizing efficiency is entrance and heart. As a launching pad for Kinds’ performing profession, nevertheless, “My Policeman” fails to get off the bottom.
Grade: B-
Harry Kinds in “My Policeman” – watch the trailer
Harry Kinds, Emma Corrin and David Dawson star in “My Policeman,” streaming through Prime Video.
Rated R. 113 minutes. Dir: Michael Grandage. That includes: Harry Kinds, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache, David Dawson, Rupert Everett.
Extra nice drama: “Past the Lights,” streaming free on Tubi
Past the Lights (2014): This achingly lovely coming-of-age romance a couple of pop star named Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Uncooked) is an ode to setting boundaries and never letting anybody management you — even the individuals who raised you. Themes of artistic identification, psychological heath, sexism within the music trade, romantic partnership and household stress take heart stage on this hidden gem of a film from “Love & Basketball” director Gina Prince-Bythewood. Rated PG-13. 116 minutes. Dir: Gina Prince-Bythewood. Additionally that includes Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Danny Glover.
“Past the Lights” is streaming free on Tubi — get the app
Methods to watch “Causeway”
“Causeway” is streaming on Apple TV+ and enjoying in choose theaters. The service is $4.99/month after a 7-day free trial; Apple additionally provides bundles which embody Apple Music and Apple Arcade, and an prolonged three-month trial is out there with the acquisition of an Apple machine.
Methods to watch “My Policeman”
“My Policeman” is streaming on Prime Video and enjoying in choose theaters. An Amazon Prime membership prices $14.99/month or $139/yr; Prime Video can be obtainable as a standalone service for $8.99/month after a 30-day free trial.
In regards to the author: Caroline Siede is a movie and TV critic in Chicago, the place the chilly by no means bothers her anyway. A member of the Chicago Movie Critics Affiliation, she spent 4 years lovingly analyzing the romantic comedy style one movie at a time in her column When Romance Met Comedy for The A.V. Membership. She additionally co-hosts the film podcast, Function Calling, and shares her popular culture opinions on Twitter (@carolinesiede).
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