A Infância de Um Líder

Greetings again from the darkness. Brady Corbet has established a pretty nice career as an actor (Melancholia, Funny Games), and along comes his feature film debut as a writer/director (co-written with Mona Fastvold). In this day of remakes and reboots, this one is anything but. The "Overture" sets the mood with video clips of the WWI aftermath and the explosive score from Scott Walker quickly establishes itself as a character unto itself.

Subsequent title cards are broken into three "Tantrums", as we witness the ever-escalating inappropriate behavior from young Prescott (Tom Sweet). In what on the surface could be classified as a nature vs nurture expose', the film leaves little doubt that Prescott is rebelling against the monotony of his environment and the disengaged parents to which he is tethered. However, it also seems evident that young Prescott is inherently "off". He seems to be cold and emotionally removed as he engages in battles of will with his parents … his father (Liam Cunningham) a US diplomat knee-deep in negotiations that will lead to the Treaty of Versailles, and his mother (Berenice Bejo), a self-described "citizen of the world".

Two obvious film comparisons would be The Omen (1976) and We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011). The ominous music and settings leave little doubt that we are headed somewhere very dark here, though it's not in the religious sense of The Omen and it's more global than the intimacy of 'Kevin'. Thinking of this as evil in the making would be a just description, though a different title might have held the ending a bit longer.

Support work is provided by Stacy Martin as the French teacher and Yolanda Moreau as the housekeeper who has moments of connection with the challenging Prescott, but Robert Pattison fans will be surprised at how little screen time he has – especially for dual roles.

Young Tom Sweet is fascinating to watch in a very tough role for a child actor, and director Corbet proves he is a filmmaker we should follow closely. His visual acumen is something special, and offsets a script that could have used a bit of polishing. The movie will probably prove divisive – either you will find it mesmerizing and creepy, or you simply won't connect at all. That's often the case with a creative and bold project.

I like Liam Cunningham and Bérénice Bejo very much, and it is also necessary to say that cinematography and art direction are quite good in The Childhood of a Leader. However, all those qualities are not enough for delivering a good movie. It is definitely not. Not only because of its sluggish boring pace, with different events of varied interest that do not compose together a deep portrait. Perhaps, the very general idea is even worse than that. The script was supposedly adapted or inspired in a story by Sartre, which I have never read, and, then, I do not know if French thinker shared the filmmaker's sins. Anyway, the very idea that a fascist leader eventually follows his authoritarian steps due a permissive education and upper-class family dysfunctional relationship during his coming-of-age years is a bizarre, stupid and childish understanding. I could not understand if fictional Prescott - who director Brady Corbet clarified that was neitler Hitler nor Mussolini - became a Füher or duce in France, Hungary, the United States or anywhere else, and I believe that confusion is intentional, but I do know that fascism does not rise because there is an individual with Prescott's traits and that has been mistaken for a girl. Addressing psychologically fascism as consequence of a troubled mind of a leader is no more intelligent and mature than portraying Nazis as zombies, vampires os extraterrestrials, as mainsteam popcorn flicks often do. We know that Pattinson's character was anti-Islamic and anti-Semitic, but even his possible harmful personal influence over the kid does not appear in the film (differently from the boy's precocious sex drive towards Stacy Martin's character, for instance). Additionally, the general and widespread (not just circumscribed in the family's personal circle) jingoist and racist prejudice feeling in society - and the hatred for the humiliation of the Versailles Treaty - would have been focused on if it were a consistent film about Fascist genesis. To resume, the choice of a horror music score (composed by Scott Walker) does not contribute for acknowledging this movie's political seriousness either.

Well, it took about 2 years but I finally got around to watching this. The trailer was hands down my favorite of 2016. The fierce Scott Walker composition cut to all the stunning shots hooked me hard, and induced goosebumps every time I watched it.

Let me say right off the bat that it is quite an odd film in the sense that it truly feels like an incredible pilot episode for a series, all building towards something that feels monstrous, but just as you reach that point, the movie is over. While this element is probably not for everyone, I was cracking up in supportive amusement during the closing sequence - I personally admired it's absence of a common folk sort of finale.

Setting that oddity aside, which could be considered a pretty major flaw in some people's eyes, everything about this film is masterfully done... the whole cast kills. This was my intro to Berenice Bejo and she made a MARK! Simultaneously beautiful and elegant, and then, at turn of a hat, heinous and witchlike. Liam Cunningham is as strong and actor as possible, shown here through stoicism with an underlying weasliness to his character. Stacy Martin is intoxicating and graceful as usual and young TOM SWEET steals the show, flawlessly delivering as a child imprisoned in the confines of his own royal sort of upbringing. Every motion, every murmur that he delivers hits right on the mark.

The film is absolutely gorgeous too. It's shot and directed beautifully in a very disciplined manner, and I'd use the same adjectives for the pacing. All the wardrobe, styling, and environments are tastefully chosen and displayed. And, of course, the frickin' legend SCOTT WALKER's score is intense and awesome - I wish there was more of his abrasive orchestral cuts but the film doesn't really call for it outside of the opening and the finale - I'll take what I can get.

All I can say is after viewing this and based off of what I can tell so far about Corbet's upcoming second film, VOX LUX, he could very well be one of the new darlings of American filmmakers! Childhood of a Leader comes off as a huge risk to make in this era but he made it happen and I see it as a very ballsy move for a debut. Can't wait to see Corbet's second film VOX LUX starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law in theaters this December - I think he has a masterful catalogue in him waiting to be unleashed!

A flawed but very promising directorial debut from Brady Corbet. The plot meanders a little, promising more than it ultimately manages to deliver. There are, though, plenty of great moments as the film unfolds and the increasingly oppressive atmosphere of isolation, alienation and menace intensifies. Scott Walker's soundtrack is gloriously weird and over the top, and is used to particularly powerful effect in the set piece sequences that open and close the film. The acting is uniformly excellent. Tom Sweet delivers a fine performance as The Boy, whose increasingly violent tantrums are a sign of grim things to come. This is an intelligent and subtle film. A very good debut, which falls just short of being great.

There are many films that revolve around evil children and all of their misdeeds, including those who become murderers and killers. This one's different in that the film is telling you from the beginning (including with its title) who the child will go on to become, meaning it's not just an evil children horror film. The opening credits are a blast, mostly because of the loud, over-the- top, delightfully campy music. But it also kind of puts you in a mood for something that is more tongue-in-cheek, and I don't really think this film is. I think it's a good watch, and there's some great directing from Corbet (impressive that it's his first time) but there are also instances where I wish the film would have gone further. No doubt it's a good watch though, even if the last few minutes are disappointing.