Indie Picks: At The Movies This Weekend

Tilda Swinton stars in We Need To Talk About Kevin (Oscilloscope).

We Need To Talk About Kevin (Alamo South Lamar, Regal Arbor)

While this film did not garner the Academy Award nominations that Oscilloscope was certainly hoping for, Tilda Swinton's performance won her Best Actress accolades from the National Board of Review, the European Film Awards and the Austin Film Critics Association. She plays Eva, a woman who becomes convinced at a very young age that her son is a sociopath. Her husband, played by John C. Reilly, doesn't see the same signs that she does. In fact, he thinks that she exaggerates and reads too much into Kevin's actions. By the time her instincts are proven right, let's just say that she's left with a mother's worst nightmare.

The structure of this film may be off-putting to some viewers. Lynne Ramsey's third feature film is not told in a linear fashion. Hell, it doesn't even come close. The easiest way to determine what time period you are looking at (at least initially) is to really pay attention to Tilda Swinton's haircut. For the first half of the movie, things may seem a little unclear to you, but as the second half comes into focus it will leave your stomach in knots.

The performances by Swinton and Ezra Miller (as Kevin) are so compelling that you'll be apt to forget your confusion and just completely get lost in the story. Seamus McGarvey's cinematography is filled with gorgeously framed compositions, elegant rack focus shots and bold bursts of color. We Need To Talk About Kevin is a complex and challenging piece of cinema that would be hard to handle in less capable hands, but Ramsey masterfully adapts Lionel Shriver's novel into a chilling mediation on grief.

Also this weekend:
- Pariah recently wrapped up a brief run at the Regal Arbor. When we saw it there on opening weekend, there was damage to the print in the first reel which was outrageously distracting. Also, we know we're spoiled by the quality presentation at other theaters in the area, but the sound at the Arbor is often turned down so low that it is barely audible. We're very pleased to report that the Violet Crown has booked Pariah for a limited engagement that begins today. If you missed this stunning film from Dee Rees, you only have a few chances over the next week to see it in crystal clear digital projection with an aggressive sound mix that should kick in nicely as Khia's "My Neck, My Back" pumps through the opening scene. This one comes with our highest recommendation, but it's only playing each day at 6:15pm. The Violet Crown is opening two new movies next weekend, so this one is unlikely to play beyond Thursday.

- Ti West's The Innkeepers premiered locally last year during SXSW. While this story of a haunted hotel didn't leave much of a lasting impression on us at the festival, it's been picked up by Magnet Releasing and genre fans seem to really be loving it. In fact, it has a 76% currently on Rotten Tomatoes, so if you're into ghost stories you'll probably want to catch it on the big screen. The film, which is also available as an on-demand rental from local cable systems, plays each night within the 10pm hour over the next week at the Alamo South Lamar.