Light House Film Club

Director: Rebecca Miller

Cert: 15 

Time: 1hr 38mins

We all carry skeletons in the cupboard but rarely do they emerge in full daylight. Rebecca Miller’s film sets out to change that by focusing a spotlight on the life of Pippa Lee and more specifically its dim and distant past.

We begin with Pippa, wife of an octogenarian publisher (Alan Arkin) moving into a gated community for OAP’s. Here, as very much a younger woman, she cuts the gracious figure of a devoted wife, mother of two grown children and trusted friend to all.  But her past is filled with turmoil – an array of erotic adventures, a diet-pill addicted mother and the suicide of an exotic rival.   As the story unfolds she meets a new and soulful acquaintance (Keanu Reeves) who helps her to confront her volatile past.

There is an awful lot of weeping but if you can endure that this film has much to offer. The narrative never drags and in the process provides a fascinating insight on parental influence, the dynamics of relationships and the façade of the charmed existence. Robin Wright Penn is wholly believable in the role of Pippa Lee, a mix of insecurity and fragrance and carries the film through some of its minor tics.

Rating: 3/5

Patrons: 13

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Director: Claire Denis

Cert: 12a  (French with subtitles)

Time: 1hr 41mins

This film is so understated that it could be described as an urban Sleep Furiously.  The narrative, what there is of it, follows Lionel a train driver and widower who lives in a Parisian apartment block with his only daughter Josephine. They live side by side, almost to the point of living in each other’s pockets in a protective cocoon from the outside world.  For Lionel everything in his life revolves around his daughter and for Josephine her world is him. But, little by little, Lionel starts to recognize that the time has come for them to move on and find their own independence.

Nothing very dramatic happens and there were occasions when the lack of activity was a little too soporific. That said the way in which director Claire Denis allows little snippets of information to be drip fed to us is masterly and it ensures that we remain in thrall to the end.  It may not suit the Transformers generation but if you approach it with an open mind you will find it both warm and engaging.

Patrons: 16

Director: Courtney Hunt

Cert: 15

Time: 1hr 37mins

The tone of this gritty drama is set from the outset as we are shown, in close up, the battle hardened features of a woman clearly in distress.  They belong to Ray Eddy, an upstate New York trailer mom, who is on her uppers after her gambler husband has taken off with the down payment for their new mobile home. 

Whilst attempting to track down said husband, Ray meets Lila, a Native American girl, who lives on a reservation that straddles the US-Canadian border.  With Christmas approaching and desperate to get the down payment for the new home she learns that Lila is a smuggler through which lies a route to easy cash. Thus does she reluctantly agree to start trafficking illegal Chinese and Pakistani immigrants in the boot of her car.

The tale has a certain inevitability about it. But at no time does it try to sentimentalise the circumstance of the protagonists, all of whom are trying to eke out an existence on the dark margins of society.  In so doing it covers a lot of issues – the economy, racism, crime and the perils of necessity.  Melissa Leo is also excellent as Ray Eddy, a tough but essentially decent mom, trying to do her best for her two children. And, whilst the end might be construed as somewhat pat it does offer an antidote to the grim realities that have preceded it.

Rating: 4/5