The 2014 Cannes Film Festival lineup is here, so now we can spend the next month trying to get as much intel on the movies as possible before they screen for critics and cinephiles on the Croisette. And of course, that means lots of images are here, so let’s dive into three playing in Competition and one in Un Certain Regard.
First up is Ryan Gosling‘s “Lost River,” formerly known as “How To Catch A Monster” (via The Film Stage). Christina Hendricks, Ben Mendelsohn, Eva Mendes, Saoirse Ronan and “Doctor Who” star Matt Smith feature in this one that has been intriguingly described as “a really bizarre, fantasy-type story, in the vein of ‘Goonies‘ meets ‘Twin Peaks.’ ” Count us in.
Next is Xavier Dolan‘s “Mommy,” with the wunderkind filmmaker finally landing in Competition with his fifth feature. And like the wicked “Tom At The Farm,” it looks like the director is taking another left turn into new territory. Here’s the official synopsis: A widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbour, a woman, inserts herself into the mother and son’s household, providing the mother with needed support.
Mike Leigh returns to Cannes with this next effort, the art world biopic on painter J.M.W. Turner, titled rather appropriately, “Mr. Turner.” Timothy Spall has the lead role and there’s no official synopsis, so we’ll just let you know that Marion Bailey, Dorothy Atkinson and Paul Jesson co-star in the costume drama, the director’s first since his critically acclaimed “Topsy-Turvy.”
Finally, Ken Loach is at Cannes for the twelth time with “Jimmy’s Hall,” reported to be his last feature film. Barry Ward, Simone Kirby, Jim Norton and Andrew Scott star in this true story inspired political drama. Here’s the logline: Ken Loach’s period-drama Jimmy Hall tells the true story of political activist Jimmy Gralton who was deported after building a dance hall on a rural crossroad.
Pics below, no release dates yet.
