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    New In Theaters: I Saw the Light, Krisha, Baskin & More

    So much great stuff to catch at the movies this weekend, though not much of it is mainstream. Doc Week returns with plenty of opportunity for you to feed your nonfiction jones, while some magnificent indies and freaky new horror make their debuts as well.

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    I Saw the Light

    The reliably talented Tom Hiddleston lost some pounds as well as his Brit accent to take on the role of lanky Alabaman Hank Williams. While his performance is not perfect, it is quite good. Between the surprisingly effective singing and the occasionally haunted expression, Hiddleston brings Williams to charming if conflicted life.

    Hiddleston’s joined by the equally talented Elizabeth Olsen, and the two attempt to animate the volcanic relationship between Williams and wife Audrey. Their chemistry keeps the rocky pairing believable and fascinating, and Olsen’s spitfire performance shows fearlessness.

    No, the problem with I Saw the Light is definitely not the cast. But make no mistake, there are serious problems here.

    Director Marc Abraham (Flash of Genius), who adapted the nonfiction book by Colin Escott, meanders through the musical legend’s personal life while entirely neglecting his music. The film never feels like it is moving forward, offers no real context or reflection on Williams’s personal struggles, and is exasperatingly slight when showcasing his artistry.

    Williams tells us in the film that when a country singer sings a sad song, you know that he knows sadness.

    Man, I bet that’s true. Too bad I don’t hear his sad songs, nor do I see him battle sadness. I do see him drink, show up too drunk to perform, and marry several times. That may be the fodder for a country song or two, but a satisfying biopic on one of the most influential songwriters in modern music? Nope.

    Grade: C

    Krisha

    Krisha is not only a powerful character study awash in intimacy, it is a stunning feature debut for Trey Edward Shults, a young writer/director with seemingly dizzying potential.

    And then there’s the startling turn from Krisha Fairchild, Shults’s real-life Aunt, who, after decades of scattershot film and voice work, delivers a jaw-dropping lead performance full of such raw authenticity you begin to feel you are treading where you don’t belong.

    That’s no accident. Shultz draws heavily on his own painful family history to bring the story of Krisha (Fairchild), who is attending a big Thanksgiving dinner after 10 long years of estrangement from her loved ones. Slowly, we’re introduced to other family members (some also played by Shults’s relatives) and learn that Krisha is a recovering addict who has done some very bad things.

    The direction is truly graceful. Obviously influenced by recent work from Cuaron and Inarritu, Shults gently leads his camera away from character activity to linger on the surroundings, just long enough to call to mind the part they play in Krisha’s fragile psyche.

    It is all an artful complement to Fairchild’s intense, blistering portrait of a woman quite literally under the influence. From the unnerving opening shot through the next 82 minutes, taking our eyes off of her is nearly unthinkable.

    Grade: A-

    Baskin

    “Hell is not a place you see. You carry Hell with you at all times.”

    Cheery stuff, that! If you’ve ever wondered what hell might look like, first time feature director Can Evrenol has some ideas to share. They are vivid. You’ll swear they even have an odor.

    Evrenol’s Baskin is a loose, dreamily structured descent into that netherworld in the company of a 5-man Turkish police unit. (Baskin is Turkish for “police raid.”) The serpentine sequencing of events evoke a dream logic that gives the film an inescapable atmosphere of dread, creepily underscored by its urgent synth score.

    Evrenol’s imagery is morbidly amazing. Much of it only glimpsed, most of it left unarticulated, but all of it becomes all the more disturbing for its lack of clarity.

    The cast is uniformly solid with the exception of Mehmet Babi, who may leave you speechless. Babi’s remarkable presence authenticates the hellscape of these characters’ descent. Evrenol’s imaginative set design and wise lighting choices envelope Babi, his writhing followers, and his victims in a bloody horror like little else in cinema.

    Grade: B

    Also opening this week in Columbus:

    • AT FEST (NR)
    • BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE 70MM (PG-13)
    • THE BRAINWASHING OF MY DAD (NR)
    • THE CAT RETURNS (PG)
    • GOD’S NOT DEAD 2 (PG)
    • EYE IN THE SKY (R)
    • FLORENCE AND THE UFFIZI GALLERY (NR)
    • GOYA: VISIONS OF FLESH AND BLOOD (NR)
    • HANG ON SLOOPY: THE MOVIE (NR)
    • HERE COME THE VIDEOFREEX (NR)
    • IP MAN 3 (PG-13)
    • KILL YOUR FRIENDS (NR)
    • KING GEORGES (NR)
    • KRISHA (R)
    • MAD TIGER (NR)
    • MARGUERITE (R)
    • MEET THE BLACKS (R)
    • NATURAL BORN PRANKSTERS (R)
    • PAPER TIGERS (NR)
    • PREPPIE CONNECTION (R)
    • QUEEN MIMI (NR)
    • REQUIEM FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM (NR)
    • SCIENCE, SEX AND THE LADIES (NR)
    • SPECULATION NATION (NR)
    • STEVE MCQUEEN THE MAN AND LE MANS (NR)
    • THEY WILL HAVE TO KILL US FIRST (NR)
    • VIDEO MASSACRE VOLUME 1 (NR)

    Reviews with help from George Wolf.

    See a full set of movie reviews on MADDWOLF and listen to Hope’s weekly horror movie podcast, FRIGHT CLUB.

    Looking for more film events in Columbus? CLICK HERE to visit our Events Calendar.

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    Hope Madden
    Hope Maddenhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Hope Madden is a freelance contributor on Columbus Underground who covers the independent film scene, writes film reviews and previews film events.
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