Jordan Harper’s acclaimed novel “She Rides Shotgun” has been adapted for the big screen, and we have thoughts. Meanwhile, “Code of Silence” speaks volumes as to why Britbox deserves your attention.
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Both arrive in a week when you can also catch Palo Alto native Dave Franco and Alison Brie in the compelling new horror film “Together.”
Here is our roundup.
“She Rides Shotgun”: Bibliophiles who devoured novelist Jordan Harper’s 2017 thriller in a single gulp know well what a pulse-pounding read it was. The question mark hovering over director Nick Rowland’s cinematic adaptation is whether that nerve-jangling tension can be replicated and sustained onscreen. The answer? Yes … mostly.
As in Jordan’s novel, the story grabs you from the start as precocious Polly (Ann Sophia Heger, whose eyes convey the hurt ping-ponging inside) gets taken for a wild ride after school with her dad Nate (Taron Egerton) in a stolen car. Rowland and screenwriters Harper, Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski get a lot right, although the plot caves to an overly contrived finale and a weak side story about a detective (Rob Yang) who is hot on their trail that doesn’t quite gel as it should. Still, Rowland never allows the action to go idle nor its characters to lose sight of who they are. Nate and Polly — played with fierceness by both leads — are chased by a virulent swarm of white supremacists hellbent on avenging a “wrong” Nate committed in the big house. The entirety of the film pivots on that, switching from tender to tough scenes of estranged father and daughter somewhat repairing a damaged relationship while dodging and outsmarting the omnipresent baddies. While you might assume “She Rides Shotgun” would surrender to saccharine by its end, Rowland and his leads hew true to the gritty edges of what Harper envisioned, not allowing these characters who know well of the callousness and dangers of life to become overly sentimentalized — till it’s warranted. Character actor John Carroll Lynch (so good in “Sorry, Baby”), puffs himself up as a shady New Mexico sheriff. Details: 2½ stars; in theaters Aug. 1.
“Code of Silence”: BritBox’s six-part slow-burner “Code of Silence” is an absolute banger, a summer streaming find of the top order. In it, deaf canteen employee Alison Brooks (Rose Ayling-Ellis) lands an under-the-table gig as a covert lip reader for the police and finagles her way into the apex of an upcoming heist operation. Alison leaps at the chance since she’s too often overlooked due to her deafness, and those extra wages might help her and her deaf mom (Fifi Garfield) through some tough times.
Alison’s quick-thinking impresses her bosses, including primary contact Ashley (Charlotte Ritchie) but all advise her to not step out of her lane. Guess what happens? Soon, Alison starts pulling pints at a bar where members of the robbery gang meet up, and soon after she’s falling for a handsome and sensitive lad Liam (Kieron Moore) who shows a genuine interest and is a whiz at hacking into systems.
Creator/writer Catherine Moulton takes her time in unfurling the action, which opens the door for Ayling-Ellis and Moore to add depth and dimension to their beautifully written parts. It’s their electric performances that elevate this from being your average crime thriller. And the last two episodes are outright nail-biters.
Details: 3½ stars; three episodes available now; BritBox.
“Architecton”: Any filmmaker is flirting with danger when committing to make a nonfiction movie about the overlooked significance of rocks and boulders. That’s right, rocks and boulders. The concern is understandable since the result could well become something too esoteric or scholarly for its own good. But director Victor Kossakovsky’s hypnotic film, which is unique and, yes, an acquired taste, is visually and intellectually spellbinding, but only if you surrender to its meditative pace. “Architecton’s” first 20 minutes features no words and has the camera doing a slow crawl up and down structures devastated by earthquakes. From there, “Architecton” gawks at piles of rocks and monolithic slabs — all presented as if they’re testimonials to nature’s resilience in the face of human desire to harness the elements for our purposes. High-minded stuff like this could well result in something that’s as inert and exciting as, well, a pile of rocks, but Kossakovsky creates a thought-provoking visual poem that enlightens and nudges to consider a better future that respects structures and elements. Composer Evgueni Galperine’s soulful score helps fine-tune those elegiac points in a unique film that adds human elements as well, including the exacting, steady tutelage of Italian architect Michele De Lucchi as he and his team reverently create a replica of an ancient landscape on a small patch of land near his home. “Architecton” is quite the transcendent experience and makes you view the world in a more aware, alert light. Not many films can lay claim to accomplishing that goal with the grace and fluidity of a poet. Details: 3½ stars; opens Aug. 1 at Alamo Drafthouse, Mountain View; AMC Mercado 20, Santa Clara and Alamo Drafthouse, San Francisco.
“2000 Meters to Andriivka”: Mstyslav Chernov follows up his Oscar-winning “20 Days in Mariupol” with another nerve-wracking documentary that tracks a Ukrainian platoon in 2023 as they advance along a deadly, treacherous 1-mile stretch to a village occupied by Russians. Chernov makes the audience see from the POV of these soldiers as they experience, sometimes fatally, the chaos of war. The final moments are particularly powerful. It’s another feat of fearless journalism and serves as both a historical reference point and as a reminder of the human factor involved in war as more and more risk their lives. A tough watch, but a needed watch. Details: 4 stars; opens Aug. 1 at the Elmwood in Berkeley with special screenings; 5:45 pm. Aug. 2 at the Roxie in San Francisco with a Q&A with Chernov, who will also be on hand for Q&As at the 2:45 p.m. Aug. 3 screening at the Elmwood and the 4:30 p.m. Aug. 3 screening at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.
“Folktales”: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s engaging documentary isn’t adventurous by any stretch and does exactly what you would expect of it by tagging along with Hege, Romain and Bjørn, three teens taking an innovative gap year by attending the Pasvick Folk High School deep in the rugged wilderness of Norway. And that’s not a bad thing. It is there that the three camp out, learn survival skills and rely on themselves and each other. They also discover hidden strengths (Hege’s adeptness at adapting to sleeping in the wilderness for two days), confront emotional and mental obstacles (Romain’s social awkwardness and feelings of being an outsider) and learn how to be present with others (Bjørn slows down and becomes friends with Romain). Ewing and Grady parallel their challenging journeys with a timeless parable taken from Norse mythology on the three “Norns.” That message is represented in a visually striking way, true of the entire film, but it does get overstated a bit. Counteracting that are the touching scenes where the trio bond with and care for sled dogs (rambunctious Billy is my favorite) at the school. You can’t help but tear up over those moments in a film wherein one of the teens so accurately observes: “Everyone wants to be teenagers except teenagers.” In “Folktales,” we experience the cold snap of those words, no matter what age we are. Details: 3 stars; opens Aug. 1 at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael; also screens Aug. 3 at the Roxie in San Francisco.
Contact Randy Myers at [email protected].
