TIFF19 'Calm with Horses': Film Review
Douglas "Arm" Armstrong is a former pugilist so pummeled into submission by work and life that "downcast" has become his default mode. He's the kind of guy who seems like his sweat glands overcompensate because he's always holding back tears.
Arm does what he's told, especially whenever Paudi's egomaniacal nephew, Dymphna , who desperately wants his uncle's respect, demands it. Theirs is a virulently co-dependent relationship; it's obvious Arm could break the snot-nosed Dymphna in half if he had the mind to. But compliance seems the better choice, especially since Arm wants to ensure his ex Ursula and their 5-year-old autistic son Jack stay as safe as possible in what is increasingly proving to be a no-exit existence.
Despite the pervasive aura of despair, the dramatic stakes feel rather low and play out — particularly via the blood-soaked road-to-redemption climax — in the droningly soporific ways of many an indie. The part-Eno/part-Reznor electronic score by Blanck Mass additionally solidifies the sense that we're watching a depressive ambient album in motion.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Just Mercy': Film Review | TIFF 2019Before entering the Marvel universe with 2021's 'Shang-Rai,' Destin Daniel Cretton offers an Earthbound story of justice starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.
Read more »
'The Friend': Film Review | TIFF 2019Dakota Johnson, Casey Affleck and Jason Segel star in Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s drama about a young mother dying of cancer, her husband and their best friend.
Read more »
'Military Wives': Film Review | TIFF 2019Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan star as British women who form a choir while their soldier spouses are away at war in the latest from director Peter Cattaneo ('The Full Monty').
Read more »
'Abominable': Film Review | TIFF 2019DreamWorks Animation's latest feature, a co-production with China’s Pearl Studio, has a voice cast including Sarah Paulson and Eddie Izzard.
Read more »
'Human Capital': Film Review | TIFF 2019Marc Meyers follows up 'My Friend Dahmer' with an adaptation of Stephen Amidon's novel, already the source for an Italian film by Paolo Virzi.
Read more »
'My Zoe': Film Review | TIFF 2019Julie Delpy writes, directs and stars in a sci-fi-inflected drama about a woman who goes to extremes when tragedy strikes her family.
Read more »