
Photo © Neon
Presence film still
Lucy Liu, Callina Liang, Eddy Maday and Chris Sullivan in 'Presence'
Brave the Dark
(In Theaters Jan. 24)
This embattled film’s pedigree includes direction and co-writing by actor Richard Harris’s son Damian Hill. Another of Harris’s sons, Jared, plays a leading role. The film is based on a true story by Nathan and John P. Spencer, a student and his teacher. After Nathan (Nicholas Hamilton) is arrested for stealing, his drama instructor Stan Deen (Jared Harris), steps in to help, having learned the lad is living in his car. Deen’s emotional availability is the result of having recently lost his mother, while Nathan’s need arises from his tragic cast of family members. Realizing that without intervention, Nathan will go to prison, Deen becomes the boy’s lawful guardian although Nathan’s anger and self-destructive tendencies make helping him particularly challenging. The script benefits from the pair’s authentically evolving relationship, but the film came perilously close to becoming an orphan. It took nine years to get it made, and another two years to find a distributor after the film's 2023 Cannes premiere. (Lisa Miller)
Don’t Change Hands
(Severin Blu-ray)
French director Paul Vecchiali had a few laughs with film noir when he made this 1975 film. The Big Sleep-inspired plot concerns a wealthy woman blackmailed by unknown parties with a copy of a hardcore porn flick starring her son—who is missing. Flipping gender roles, the hard-charging private detective she hires is a woman with a fast gun hand. Vecchiali brings a great eye for color and contrast to his strikingly cinematic compositions. Don’t Change Hands has been restored and released on Blu-ray. (David Luhrssen)
Flight Risk
(In Theaters Jan. 24)
The confined space aboard a small airplane, makes this action-thriller more compelling. Mel Gibson directs Mark Wahlberg as Daryl Booth, a pilot whose intriguing sideline is assassination (or is it the other way around?). Boarding Booth’s small plane are Deputy U.S. Marshal Madelyn Harris (Michelle Dockery), and Winston, an informant (Topher Grace). Booth’s real assignment is to prevent Winston from reaching his destination alive where Winston’s testimony will deliver a conviction in a high-stakes trial. When Daryl’s efforts to kill Winston fail, the trio’s plane is assailed by other aircraft. With Daryl injured, and all their lives at stake, viewers should buckle up for a bumpy ride. Wahlberg, normally sporting a full head of hair, shaved his head to present his balding character during 22 days of filming. Gibson claims that, “Mark has a very dark side.” This became apparent when the actor adlibbed a significant number of his lines. Though Gibson edited out most improvs, he was nonetheless impressed and highly amused. (Lisa Miller)
Presence
(In Theaters Jan. 24)
Slowly transforming from an uncomfortable family drama into a tense horror, director Steven Soderbergh’s film reveals an unseen ghost with unclear motives. It observes the family from an omnipresent viewpoint. There’s self-absorbed Rebecca (Lucy Liu), whose career takes precedence over motherhood. Her one soft spot is for son Tyler (Eddy Maday), whose surface niceness masks cruel tendencies. Younger sister Chloe (Callina Liang), misses her recently deceased best friend whose mysterious drug overdose mirrors the death of another classmate. Chris Sullivan portrays the beleaguered dad, concerned about Chloe’s state of mind and unaware that Tyler’s buddy Ryan (West Mulholland), is secretly hooking up with his daughter. The ghost is focused on Chloe who believes she senses a “presence.” As tensions build, David Koepp’s R-rated screenplay becomes increasingly fraught. (Lisa Miller)