fredrikgunerius

Classically told, 1980s-adjusted pop-western about the legendary anti-hero Billy the Kid and his notorious posse. The film is full of archetypes and not overly concerned with historical accuracy, but it has enough charisma to captivate with its blend of sentimental moralising and feel-good moments. Lead actor Emilio Estevez is so full of his character's boyish mischievousness that he completely smothers the dramatic potential in some scenes. But then again, heavy drama wasn't the main priority as the 'brat-packers' entered the western genre. It's interesting to see how the ostensibly emotional aspects of the story are switched on and off as needed to drive the plot forward - as if director Christopher Cain aims for a half-and-half mix of sentimentality and coolness, without ever really weaving the two together. Still, Young Guns works shamelessly well on its own self-defined terms, letting its abundance of bubbling, boyish carelessness overshadow any reservations you might have had.

The first Norwegian colour film, shot in Eastmancolor, is a giddy hybrid of moralistic crime, lightweight farce, and breezy musical. The director, Bjarne Andersen, aims for uncomplicated, fashionable entertainment to showcase the beauty of Norwegian women and maritime life - and how vibrantly he's able to capture it all - but the film never quite comes together and is far too slight in everything it does and conveys. The script, by Odd Berset, is thoroughly pedestrian. The cast list is like a who's who of Norwegian actors at the time, many of whom perform as if they were on stage rather than in front of a camera. A couple of song-and-dance numbers by the very young Grethe Kausland and Andreas Diesen, son of lead actor Ernst steal the show.

Albert Finney and Diane Keaton star in this Palme d'Or-nominated 1982 drama directed by Alan Parker - an intense, immaculate dissection of the break-up of a marriage and family. The mechanisms at play and the challenges faced by both married parties and the children caught in the middle are painfully familiar for anyone who has been in this situation. And although Shoot the Moon handles issues and depicts characters and gender roles that are typical for the period of the 1970s to the early 1980s, there is a timelessness in the human repercussions of it all, perhaps best exemplified through the eldest daughter Sherry (brilliantly played by Dana Hill). One of Parker's greatest achievements here is how he makes the group of siblings into a closely bonded, naturally vivacious bunch. The child actresses don't look like they're acting; they seem to be living this reality, torn between their loyalty to their father and mother. At 35, Keaton's youthful glow was already gone here, but she and Parker use this for effect to portray her character's jaded disillusionment. When she becomes involved with her tennis court contractor Frank (Peter Weller), she does so with an almost non-romantic pragmatism. Even the upbeat parts of Shoot the Moon have a sense of gloom to them, but the film is so beautifully shot and the dramatic scenes so well-directed that you're drawn into the emotional mire the characters find themselves in. Typically for this time period, every action is acknowledged and accepted, even acts of male frustration that today might be given the trite label of 'toxic masculinity'. The film is packed with emblematic scenes, from a hilarious quarrel at a restaurant to the slightly overwrought ending.