SHOSHANA (2023) Michael Winterbottom / Writers: Laurence Coriat, Paul Viragh, & Michael Winterbottom / Cinematographer: Giles Nuttgens (2.35:1) / Design: Sergio Tribastone / Editor: Marc Richardson / Composer: David Holmes / Acted by: Douglas Booth, Irina Starshenbaum, Harry Melling, Aury Alby, Ian Hart, Rony Herman, Yarden Lavi, Doron Kochavi, & Ofer Seker / Britain & Italy / Distributors: Altitude Film Distribution / 121 mins.
As explosive as today’s headlines, yet told in a manner as tepid as a movie-of-the-week, we’ve learned to expect more from a film about the building of Israel, particularly one directed by the generally amazing Michael Winterbottom. Did you hear the one about the British deputy superintendent of the Palestinian police (Douglas Booth) falling for the titular daughter of the co-founder of the Zionist labor movement (Irina Starshenbaum)? No? Well, never mind: it’s a love affair moved to the back burner, all in the name of endless espionage and intelligence gathering.
There are more bombs dropped during Shoshana than an open mic night at The Comedy Store — many of which are telegraphed. We follow a galvanized milk churn, dangling in hand, through an open air market. Once deposited alongside a row of empties, the carrier turns to reveal the identity of the man beneath the burnoose. The camera then follows as Shlomo Ben Yosef (Gal Mizrav) walks away and, sure as thunder follows lightning, it's just a matter of moments before the suspense-building, unbroken take we’ve grown to anticipate in situations such as these, goes BOOM! So much for the element of surprise.
Scenes skip around like a three-hour TV movie cut to fit a 120-minute time slot. Is it any wonder the name in the title of this biographical thriller is absent for big chunks of the running time — a supporting player cast in her own biopic? Despite a few genuinely tense moments, there's not much in the way of thrills or sustained suspense when the payoff is frequently tipped ahead of schedule.
A singular moment of unintentional delight: a trio of Orthodox Fighters for the Freedom of Israel take an unorthodox approach to knocking over a bank. The identity-blocking face shields that drop at the tip of a black Borsalino fedora would have felt right at home in a Mel Brooks movie. **
Now playing at The Lot and The Digital Gym.
SHOSHANA (2023) Michael Winterbottom / Writers: Laurence Coriat, Paul Viragh, & Michael Winterbottom / Cinematographer: Giles Nuttgens (2.35:1) / Design: Sergio Tribastone / Editor: Marc Richardson / Composer: David Holmes / Acted by: Douglas Booth, Irina Starshenbaum, Harry Melling, Aury Alby, Ian Hart, Rony Herman, Yarden Lavi, Doron Kochavi, & Ofer Seker / Britain & Italy / Distributors: Altitude Film Distribution / 121 mins.
As explosive as today’s headlines, yet told in a manner as tepid as a movie-of-the-week, we’ve learned to expect more from a film about the building of Israel, particularly one directed by the generally amazing Michael Winterbottom. Did you hear the one about the British deputy superintendent of the Palestinian police (Douglas Booth) falling for the titular daughter of the co-founder of the Zionist labor movement (Irina Starshenbaum)? No? Well, never mind: it’s a love affair moved to the back burner, all in the name of endless espionage and intelligence gathering.
There are more bombs dropped during Shoshana than an open mic night at The Comedy Store — many of which are telegraphed. We follow a galvanized milk churn, dangling in hand, through an open air market. Once deposited alongside a row of empties, the carrier turns to reveal the identity of the man beneath the burnoose. The camera then follows as Shlomo Ben Yosef (Gal Mizrav) walks away and, sure as thunder follows lightning, it's just a matter of moments before the suspense-building, unbroken take we’ve grown to anticipate in situations such as these, goes BOOM! So much for the element of surprise.
Scenes skip around like a three-hour TV movie cut to fit a 120-minute time slot. Is it any wonder the name in the title of this biographical thriller is absent for big chunks of the running time — a supporting player cast in her own biopic? Despite a few genuinely tense moments, there's not much in the way of thrills or sustained suspense when the payoff is frequently tipped ahead of schedule.
A singular moment of unintentional delight: a trio of Orthodox Fighters for the Freedom of Israel take an unorthodox approach to knocking over a bank. The identity-blocking face shields that drop at the tip of a black Borsalino fedora would have felt right at home in a Mel Brooks movie. **
Now playing at The Lot and The Digital Gym.