Seattle International Film Festival Dispatch 3

Another day, another round of films. Hit the jump to see what's worth seeing.

“Love and Mercy” (Bill Pohlad/USA)

What Is It? A biopic of Beach Boy Brian Wilson. Features Paul Dano, John Cusack, Paul Giamatti, and the luminous Elizabeth Banks.

How Is It? Well, it’s on the high end of recent biopics, which is admittedly not difficult when your main competition is tripe like “The Imitation Game”. It’s a finely constructed, magnificently acted film (Elizabeth Banks gives a career-best performance), but one with limited ambition; there’s no intention of transcending its genre. [B]

“Guidance” (Pat Mills/Canada)

What Is It? An alcoholic former child star becomes a high school counselor and develops unconventional relationships with his students.

How Is It? Forever dancing on the line between good taste and bad, this clumsily charming R-rated dark comedy has its moments of genuine ingenuity, but it’s all terribly superficial stuff. By and large a pretty forgettable little film from our neighbors to the north. [B-]

“Best of Enemies” (Morgan Neville & Robert Gordon/USA) – Documentary

What Is It? In 1968, ABC broadcast a series of debates between the ultraconservative Bill Buckley, Jr. and liberal icon Gore Vidal during each party convention; this picture explores the contentious relationship between the two men. Basically a feature length version of this.

How Is It? Solid, if unspectacular, this movie could probably be compiled with a few hours of diligent Youtubing. Artistic merit aside, it’s worth the price of admission for the sheer volume of vitriol exchanged between the two ideological opposites. [B+]

Slow West

“Slow West” (John Maclean/New Zealand)

What Is It? A young Scottish boy travels to America to find the love of his life, who has moved to the frontier. Stars Kodi Scot-McPhee, Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn, and Ben Mendelsohn’s pimpin’ fur coat.

How Is It? An early frontrunner for best of the fest. It owes more than a little to the Tarantinos and Coens of the world, but the blackly funny, fatalistic tone of the picture helps present an off-kilter portrait of the frontier not often seen in Westerns. It looks great, too; Robbie Ryan delivers some characteristically beautiful compositions. [A-]