By 
By Roger Costa
NEVER STEADY, NEVER STILL
Giving all of herself, delivering a career-changing, Oscar-caliber performance, Scottish actress Shirley Henderson plays a woman suffering of Parkinson’s disease as she battles her own strength to maintain a stable family. An accomplished actress who had fabulous appearances in hits such as “Topsy-Turvy”, “24-Hour Party People”, and especially her highly dramatic turn in “Intermission”, Henderson finds perfection in this role, a painful, heart-breaking portrait of a middle-aged woman stricken by a harsh irreversible fact. She was named Best Actress at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle last year, while the film scored several nominations. Gradually forwarding the advanced stage, she’s losing control of her movements and perception. Things get worse when her husband suddenly dies and she’s left alone with her troubled, drug-addicted, sexually ambiguous teen son, also in crisis at his workplace. Adapted from her highly praised short of the same name, writer-director Kathleen Hepburn’s first directorial effort delves into Henderson’s agony, despair and hopelessness with magnificent, contemplative details, as well as it highlights her tremendous courage and determination to keep on moving, creating a simple question of compassion and tolerance: what exactly are we complaining for? (LevelFilm. 6/22. AMC Empire 25.)
MARLINA THE MURDERER IN FOUR ACTS
A smart, fast-paced, violent Indonesian modern western evoking the works of Tarantino with amazing results. Written and directed by Mouly Surya, it follows a woman, who after being attacked at her home by a group of bandits, goes on a journey for redemption, revenge and confession, crossing paths with eccentric, strangely aggressive figures while haunted by her predators’ ghosts. A Cannes selection and nominated for the Audience Award at AFI Fest, it’s filled with breathtaking images and impressive angles of claustrophobic spaces, and smartly funny and accurate commentary on the persistent abuse against women and the rise of a new female era. (KimStim. 6/22. IFC Center.)
JET TRASH
In this British indie adventure, two friends with some criminal records are hiding out in a paradisiac beach in India when the arrival of a mysterious ex-girlfriend turns their vacation in a tumultuous, deadly and frenetic chasing-style crime thriller. Shot with hallucinating colors, visually impressive and structured as a trippy experience, award-winning director Charles Henri Belleville’s third feature is an explosively entertaining, action-packed, twisted thriller that feels like a mixture of Danny Boyle and David Fincher. Constantly translating the disruptions/emotions of its pair of protagonists (a perfect partnership chemistry between Robert Sheehan and Osy Ikhile), the film also introduces fearless villains and associates with precise rage and humor. Adding up to its attributes, International star Sofia Boutella (Kingsman, Star Trek) shines in a sexy role as Vix, the girl with an unexpected baggage and a decisive key in the exciting cats-and-dogs game. (Indican Pictures. 6/22. VOD and DVD.)
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