“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage
Synopsis: After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes (McDormand) takes things into her own hands and paints three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at the town’s revered chief of police (Harrelson).
What You Need To Know: Martin McDonagh has become something of a divisive figure. The writer/director behind the nail-sharp and heart-felt “In Bruges,” squandered all goodwill he’d earned right off the bat with “Seven Psychopaths,” a film sold as an ostensibly self-aware takedown of Hollywood, that really just fell prey to exactly the sort of sexism, hypocrisy, and meaninglessness it aimed to skewer. Still, McDonagh has an idiosyncratic, rapid-fire style that has yet to be anything less than entertaining (even when completely frustrating), and a lead and supporting cast that most directors would die for. The first trailer was a rambunctious, vitriolic good time, and the premise has some weighty ideas at its core, so here’s hoping that McDonagh can once again find a way to meld his rancorous tendencies with the grounded, beating heart that propelled “In Bruges.”
“mother!”
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer
Synopsis: A loving couple finds their relationship — and lives — put to the test when some uninvited guests unexpectedly arrive at their house, disturbing their once-tranquil living.
What You Need to Know: Whether you loved or hated Darren Aronofsky’s last film, his epic, expensive, long-term passion project “Noah,” you’re likely itching for the “Black Swan”/”Requiem for a Dream” filmmaker to return back to his smaller, more paranoid roots. And that’s exactly what he does with “mother!,” a moody, intensive character-based creeper that’s heavily inspired by “Rosemary’s Baby” and other suspense-laden ‘70s flicks. Aronofsky can make you squeal and squirm like few other working directors, and the trailer alone was enough to give us spasms. Even if we need to hyperventilate to the end, we’re dying to see what Aronofsky has cooked up with his mysterious, terrifying new film.
“Victoria and Abdul”
Cast: Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard
Synopsis: Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.
What You Need To Know: Director Stephen Frears‘ career is, you could say, eclectic or all over the map. His best pictures (“The Grifters,” “The Hit,” “My Beautiful Laundrette,” “High Fidelity” to name a few) are classics, the rest are… a mixed bag and it’s a long list too. But whatever you might think of the films, you have to admit he has a fluency with period costume drama often centered on royalty (“The Queen,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Philomena“). So, the great dame Judi Dench certainly won’t hurt this one. Perhaps less stuffily, “Victoria and Abdul” is apparently hewed on the humorous side using jocularity to explore “questions of race, religion, power, and the farce of Empire through the prism of a highly unusual and deeply moving friendship.”
Honorable mentions:
We wanted to keep our preview tight, but there’s still many titles and auteurs worth watching. Takeshi Kitano has a new film in competition (“Outrage Coda“), Errol Morris is back with a new Netflix series (“Wormwood”), Michael R. Roskam, the filmmaker behind “Bullhead” and “The Drop,” is in attendance with stars Matthias Schoenaerts and Adèle Exarchopoulos (“The Racer And The Jailbird”), plus there are new films by William Friedkin (the documentary “The Devil And Father Amorth”), James Toback (“The Private Life Of A Modern Woman”) and Abel Ferrera (“Piazza Vittorio”). In addition to these titles, there’s Chinese agitator Ai Weiwei’s latest doc (“Human Flow”), and the self-explanatorily documentary “Jim And Andy: The Story Of Jim Carrey, Andy Kaufman and Tony Clifton” by Chris Smith. That’s just scratching the surface and the Lido should also provide some discovery breakouts as well so keep your ears to the ground.
— Rodrigo Perez, Bradley Warren, Will Ashton, Gary Garrison