Film

Four new films to see in cinemas this week

Cyrano, The Duke, Foo Fighters’ Studio 666, Rurangi

Haley Bennett and Peter Dinklage in Cyrano

Donald Clarke
Tara Brady
Sun Feb 27 2022 - 06:00

CYRANO ★★★★☆
Directed by Joe Wright. Starring Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Ben Mendelsohn, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Dolan. 12A cert, gen release, 124 min
The title character's proboscis is no longer the prosthetic that cast a shadow on such famous Cyrano interpreters as José Ferrer, Gérard Depardieu and Steve Martin. Instead, playwright and theatre director Erica Schmidt has reworked Rostand's romantic hero as an unrequited lover of short stature. It is an ideal role for her husband, Peter Dinklage, who originated the role in Schmidt's 2018 stage musical. In an ideal world, it'll do Greatest Showman box office business. Mind you, in an ideal world, Dinklage's forlorn turn should have earned an Oscar nod. The spectacle is the main event. Full review TB

THE DUKE ★★★★☆
Directed by Roger Mitchell. Starring Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Fionn Whitehead, Anna Maxwell Martin, Matthew Goode. 12A cert, gen release, 95 min

Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren in The Duke

Inspired by the couldn't-make-it-up historical 1961 theft of Goya's Portrait of the Duke of Wellington from London's National Gallery, The Duke concerns Kempton Bunton, a straight-talking socialist taxi-driver from Newcastle and a role that Jim Broadbent was surely born to play. His mouth repeatedly gets him in trouble with his charlady wife Dolly (Mirren) and various employers. The Duke is one of those snappy, well-formed Brit-coms that one expects to see reworked as a Full Monty or Kinky Boots-style Broadway show. As irresistible as it is treacly. Full review TB

STUDIO 666 ★★★☆☆
Directed by BJ McDonnell. Starring Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, Whitney Cummings, Leslie Grossman, Jeff Garlin. 18 cert, limited release, 106 min

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Dave Grohl in Studio 666

Grohl moves Foo Fighters into an abandoned mansion to complete their latest album and promptly loses his soul to blood-hungry demons. No, really. Studio 666 is not exactly a good film. It is not a particularly enjoyable one. But it is cheering to know it is out there in the world – merrily not being a tortured autobiographical tale of ghetto life or a compilation of musings on the singer's sociological concerns. More than anything, it suggests a considerably more violent (much, much more violent) episode of The Monkees – if The Monkees were less amusing people. Full review DC

RURANGI ★★★☆☆
Directed by Max Currie. Starring Elz Carrad, Arlo Green, Kirk Torrance, Awhina-Rose Ashby, Aroha Rawson, Renee Sheridan. Limited release, 87 min

Elz Carrad in Rurangi

Touching drama about a young trans man returning to his home in rural New Zealand after 10 years in the big city. Few of his friends or family have met him since transition. His dad (Torrance), a Maori farmer who campaigns against chemical fertilisers, barely recognises the young man. Rūrangi does have an occasional tendency to break down into public-information speak. But, for the most part, this is a gentle, effective drama that makes the most of its limited resources. Carrad is terrific in the lead. The film's arguments are irrefutable. Humanity wins in the end. Full review DC