himself.
Twelfth son of the Lama, the flowing robes,
FILM CAPSULES
CP = CITY PAPER APPROVED
NEW
BEFORE I FALL. In Ry Russo-Young’s thriller, a
young woman (Zoey Deutch) with a seemingly
perfect life ends up re-living the same day over
and over. Through this weird quirk of time, she
discovers that maybe her life had some pro-
blems after all. Starts Fri., March 3
THE SHACK. Stuart Hazeldine directs this dra-
ma, in which a grieving man believes he has re-
ceived a communication from God, which leads
him to a shack … and a life-changing experi-
ence. Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer
star. Starts Fri., March 3
TABLE 19. After losing her date for the wed-
ding, the ex-maid of honor (Anna Kendrick)
winds up at the table of oddballs. Jeffrey Blitz
directs this dramedy penned by the Duplass
brothers. Starts Fri., March 3
A UNITED KINGDOM. In 1947, Seretse Khama
(David Oyelowo), a young man from the Brit-
ish protectorate of Bechuanaland, in southern
Africa, is studying in London. Upon his return,
he will claim his seat as king of his tribe. But
at a dance, he meets Ruth Williams (Rosamund
Pike), a secretary. They court, marry and make
plans to set up their new life in Bechuanaland.
Though their interracial marriage is legal, it is
frowned upon by Ruth’s working-class fam-
ily; Seretse’s tribe (which resents that a white
Englishwoman will be their queen); and the
British government, which is engaged in some
tricky diplomatic negotiations with Bechuana-
land’s neighbor, South Africa. Nonetheless, the
couple moves to the tribal region, and suffers
through a series of personal and political crises,
determined that their love for each other, and
a hope in people’s general sense of fair play,
will see them out.
The film, directed by Amma Asante (Belle),
is an old-fashioned, golden-toned melodrama,
set against a backdrop of historical political
intrigue. Oyelowo and Pike make attractive
leads — particularly when contrasted with the
cold-hearted, sherry-sipping, upper-crusty Brit-
ish bureaucrats — and naturally, you’ll root for
their success. If you see a lot of these uplifting
“based on a true story” films, you’ll note the
genre’s typical pitfalls: narrative shortcuts and
embellishments, stock characters and feel-bad/
feel-good beats that such scripts demand when
recounting a complex story. And this film is no
exception. That doesn’t make it a bad film, nor
does it undermine its pleasures; certainly, this is
an interesting chapter of history, and I looked
forward (as always) to seeing photos of the re-
al-life people during the closing credits. Spoiler
alert: Bechuanaland turns into Botswana. Starts
Fri., March 3. Galleria 6, South Hills (Al Hoff)
XX. This new horror anthology offers four
short films directed by women. These films
also feature women as the protagonists, but
in more interesting ways than in traditional
horror, which often reduces them to victims
(whether or not they fight back). In “The Box,”
the horror is unseen, unknowable, and is de-
stroying an otherwise normal family: After an
encounter with a man on the subway, a young
boy refuses to eat. Jovanka Vuckovic’s film is
unsettling, not least for its close-ups of deli-
cious meals that go uneaten. Melanie Lynskey
stars in “The Birthday Party,” directed by Annie
Clark (a.k.a. music’s St. Vincent), which makes
dark comedy out of a rich girl’s celebration
gone wrong. It’s padded and not at all scary,
38 PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 03.01/03.08.2017
XX
but has some kicky production design. “Don’t Fall,”
from Roxanne Benjamin, presents a typical story:
Four careless pals go camping in the wilderness, dis-
turb a piece of ancient art and suffer the expected
consequences. Lastly, there is Karyn Kusama’s “Her
Only Living Son,” in which the origin and relation-
ship of a single mom and her 18-year-old son are
slowly revealed. It is an interesting set-up — the lad
is more than just an adolescent troublemaker — but
it fails to resolve with much satisfaction. 7 and 9 p.m.
Sat., March 4; 4 p.m. Sun., March 5; and 7 p.m. Mon.,
March 6. Hollywood (AH)
ONGOING
THE RED TURTLE. A castaway washes up on
CP the shore of a small tropical island in Michael
Dudok de Wit’s lyrical and dialogue-free animated
feature. The man explores the island; he is alone save
for curious sand crabs, but finds fruit and water. He
makes several attempts to leave on bamboo rafts,
but is thwarted just offshore by a large sea turtle. En-
raged, he later confronts the turtle on land, but in a
bit of unexplained magic, the turtle transforms into
a woman.
Thus does the story shift, focusing not on the
man escaping the island, but on how now, with com-
panionship, he embraces his new life on it. There is
not a lot of plot — lest we forget that simply living is
its own story — with the film instead growing increas-
ingly existential and even experiential (the exquisite
animation and sound design are quite transporting).
It’s a short work, at less than 80 minutes, and it
should hold kids who can sit through a slower-paced
A United Kingdom
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
film (though it is probably best for older children who
can manage some sad parts and scenes of peril). The
Dutch director’s film is the first non-Japanese work
to be produced by the renowned Studio Ghibli; it
was also nominated for Best Animated Feature in
this year’s Academy Awards. AMC Loews; starts Fri.,
March 3, at Regent Square (AH)
REPERTORY
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE.
In Mike Newell’s 2005 film, Harry and the gang
compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and the
wizarding world expands to track events beyond
Hogwarts. Noon, Wed., March 1. Row House Cinema
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX.
In David Yates’ 2007 film, Harry’s lifelong nem-
esis — the evil wizard Lord Voldemort — has been
restored to his corporeal form. It’s all hands on
deck. 3:15 p.m. Wed., March 1, and 12:30 pm. Thu.,
March 2. Row House Cinema
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE.
Harry, Hermione and Ron strengthen the bonds of
their friendship — and work to prevent real catastro-
phe — in David Yates’ 2009 adaptation of the penulti-
mate book in the series. 6:15 p.m. Wed., March 1, and
3:20 p.m. Thu., March 2. Row House Cinema
CP CADDYSHACK. “So I jump ship in Hong Kong
and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as
a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. … And
who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama,
the grace, bald. … So we finish the 18th and he’s gon-
na stiff me. And I say, ‘Hey, Lama, hey, how about a
little something, you know, for the effort?’ And he
says, ‘Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when
you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total con-
sciousness.’ So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.”
In 1980, Harold Ramis directed the greatest golf
movie ever made, featuring the sublime melding
of four idiosyncratic comedians: Bill Murray (quoted
above as groundsman Carl Spackler), Chevy Chase,
Rodney Dangerfield and Ted Knight. 7:30 p.m. Wed.,
March 1. AMC Loews Waterfront. $5 (AH)
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS:
PART 1. In David Yates’ broody 2010 adaptation of
the seventh Potter book, Harry frets about his up-
coming and inevitable one-on-one showdown with
evil wizard Voldemort. 9:30 p.m. Wed., March 1, and
6:40 p.m. Thu., March 2. Row House Cinema
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS:
PART 2. “The boy who lived, come to die.” Fourteen
years, more than 4,000 pages and nearly 20 hours of
movie all boil down to this critical meeting, when
Harry goes wand to wand with his sneering nemesis,
Lord Voldemort, in David Yates’ 2012 film. 9:30 p.m.
Thu., March 2. Row House Cinema
AMERICAN PSYCHO. Director/screenwriter
CP Mary Harron brings Bret Easton Ellis’ infamous
satirical yuppie-slasher novel to the screen in this
2000 film. Harron successfully pitches this story of a
privileged young investment banker (Christian Bale)
who kills compulsively somewhere between a black
comedy, a horror film and a rumination on the self,
the self-obsessed and fantasy. Spared most of the
gruesome detail of the book, the film is minimally
a wicked satire of 1980s conspicuous consumption
in Manhattan, rich with vignettes of business-card
one-upmanship and absurdly trendy restaurants.
March 3-6 and March 8-9. Row House Cinema (AH)
A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT.
CP Ana Lily Amirpour directs this 2014 genre-
buster from Iran that taps vampire mythology and
American Westerns to tell of a young female skate-
boarder who feeds on men who mistreat women.
March 3-5 and March 7-8. Row House Cinema (AH)
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Fran Rubel Kuzui
directs this 1992 cult horror-comedy, penned by Joss
Whedon, about a cheerleader (Kristy Swanson) who
takes on the bloodsuckers plaguing her town. March
3-9. Row House Cinema
THE BABADOOK. Is a woman going mad with
CP the stress of raising her troubled young son? Or
is there really a monster in the house? Jennifer Kent
directs this slow-burn 2014 Australian horror film.
March 3-7 and March 9. Row House Cinema (AH)
DOUBLE INDEMNITY. Fred MacMurray stars
CP as the insurance salesman who gets ensnared
in the web (and anklet) of an unhappily married
woman (Barbara Stanwyck). Can they get away
with murder and a big payout? Billy Wilder directs
this classic 1944 film noir. 7 p.m. Sun., March. 5.
Hollywood (AH)
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. A trial in which a white
lawyer (Gregory Peck) in a small Southern town de-
fends a black man accused of rape forms the moral
heart of Robert Mulligan’s award-winning 1962 ad-
aptation of Harper Lee’s coming-of-age novel. Check
website for show times. Tue., March 7. Tull Fam-
ily Theater, 418 Walnut St., Sewickley. thetullfamily
theater.org
SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS. Stanley
Donen directed this lively 1954 musical comedy
starring Howard Keel and Jane Powell — barn-raisin’
in the Old West has never had so much singing and
dancing! 7:30 p.m. Wed., March 8. AMC Loews
Waterfront. $5
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