Film reviews: Sound of my Voice | The Possession | Tabu | Shut Up and Play | A Night in the Woods

Published on 01/09/2012 19:16

SIOBHAN SYNNOT casts her eye over the recent cinematic offerings.

Sound Of My Voice (15)

Rating: * * *

Amateur movie makers determined to infiltrate and expose a cult find themselves beguiled by the enigmatic leader (Another Earth’s writer/star Brit Marling). But is she a prophet or just an alluring profiteer who preys on the gullible? A compelling low-budget film which would have been even better if co-writer Marling could wean herself off an infatuation with infuriating conclusions.

Filmhouse, Edinburgh, until tomorrow

The Possession (15)

Rating: * *

A ten-year-old girl buys a wooden box and, before you can say “not another Exorcist rip-off”, she’s talking in tongues and giant moths are terrorising her bedroom in this dappy demon flick.

On general release

Tabu (15)

Rating: * * * *

This deceptively unassuming drama is about an old woman in modern Lisbon whose housekeeper and neighbour uncover her romantic past in period Africa. Shot in black and white, it’s occasionally perverse (a dialogue-free section feels like a gauntlet thrown down to cinephiles) but also lushly romantic.

Glasgow Film Theatre and Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Friday until 13 September. Dundee Contemporary Arts, 14-20 September

Shut Up And Play

The Hits (15)

Rating: * * *

James Murphy’s LCD Soundsystem produced three albums and found a post-punk groove, until Murphy decided to pull the plug for good. An elegiac documentary covering the last 48 hours of the band, it’s an engaging portrait of a frontman unwilling to play the rock star.

Cameo, Edinburgh, Tuesday and Wednesday; Odeon, Dunfermline; Grosvenor, Glasgow; Glasgow Film Theatre and Perth Playhouse, Tuesday only

A Night In The Woods (15)

Rating: * * *

Has Halloween come early? Three campers go hiking in Dartmoor and encounter

Blair Witch-style problems. Competent but not exactly original.

Selected release from Friday