FILM 19
7
Issue 46 / 2012
www.guestlist.net
14th
DEC
SMASHED COMING SOON
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World star Mary Elizabeth
Winstead gives a bruisingly intense performance
as Kate, a primary school teacher stuck in an
abusive relationship.
Not with amiable husband
Charlie (Aaron Paul) but with
alcohol ��� and it���s beginning
to show.
From vomiting in front her
class to losing control of her
woozy, boozy bladder whilst
shopping, director James
Ponsoldt
has
received
due praise for his honest
depiction of the destructive
effects alcohol can have.
Kate is relatively quick to
acknowledge the problem
at
hand,
making
her
character easy to root for,
and the copious setbacks all
the more devastating. After
all, it���s hard enough being a
recovering alcoholic without
your boyfriend and social
circle happily indulging in a
tipple right in front of you.
Fortunately, there���s help
in the form of her school���s
vice principal Mr. Davies
(Park and Recreation���s Nick
Offerman), and Jenny (The
Help���s Octavia Spencer), the
earthy sponsor he introduces
Kate to.
Their support is important,
not least in temporarily
distracting our heroine from
her disintegrating marriage
to Charlie.
At
only
85
minutes,
Smashed
is
a
brisk,
intoxicating little drama that
deserves attention, if only
for Winstead���s revelatory
performance.
Just don���t bet on wanting a
night out after it.
THE IMPOSSIBLE
JANUARY 1ST
QUARTET
JANUARY 1ST
DJANGO UNCHAINED
JANUARY 18TH
Naomi Watts and Ewan
McGregor star in this
true story of one families���
survival and separation
during the 2004 Indian
Ocean earthquake and its
subsequent tsunami.
Dustin Hoffman���s directorial
debut see���s Downtown
Abbey���s resident scenestealer Maggie Smith as a
precocious ex-wife causing
trouble at a nursing home
for retired opera singers.
Jamie Foxx stars in Quentin
Tarantino���s
presumably
violent tale of a slaveturned-bounty hunter on
a quest to rescue his wife
from a Mississippi plantation
owner.
