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62nd Chicago International Film Festival, Film reviews

Wild Horse Nine Review-62nd Chicago International Film Festival

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The last film I saw by Martin McDonagh was The Banshees of Inisherin at the Chicago International Film Festival in October of 2022. Wild Horse Nine has gained much attention at a variety of film festivals this year. The film was screened at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, the 53rd Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the 49th Mill Valley Film Festival, and the 15th Montclair Film Festival. It is also slated to premiere at the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival, the 17th Twin Cities Film Festival, the 29th SCAD Savannah Film Festival, and the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival. McDonagh’s writing makes for excellent festival material and creates plenty of awards’ buzz. McDonagh knows how to grease the wheel with tensions and unnerving conflicts that result in surreal entertainment that is twisted and vibrant. His fans saw a friendship falling apart with a dark comedic tone in The Banshees of Inisherin. Now they get a look at his approach with CIA colleagues in Chile.

John Malkovich plays Chris and Sam Rockwell plays Lee, two men working together as CIA agents. Their boss is MJ, played by Steve Buscemi. There is a bond of a friendship yet trust is on the fritz in Wild Horse Nine. The love versus hate vibe is written with much wit along the way, especially in the performance of Malkovich. His stereotypical character unleashes classy innuendos and pontificates like a master of success in Wild Horse Nine.

While Chris and Lee continuously work together, they both have their struggles. Chris has drug addictions and always itches for conflicts. Lee is also confrontational but tries to fly below the radar. The boundaries arising when the partners test each other are a revelation. When they get into conversation mode, they talk a lot about democracy, and the connections between countries and their cheeses. The conspiracies linger to full effect in Wild Horse Nine. McDonagh is skilled at combining layers that are laughable and at the same time maintaining a tone of darkness.

Chris and Lee encounter two students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailin Salas) who fascinate them. They feel they are the only humans worthy of proper interactions on their CIA journey in Chile. However, the level of trust is not high, because Lee runs his mouth excessively, always relating subjects to himself and acting like he knows it all. Self-centeredness feels real in Wild Horse Nine. 

The film begins to take a proper shift around the issues surrounding Lee. Back home, Lee’s wife, Marge (Parker Posey), is a nervous wreck. She is always under the impression that they may be in danger. The chances are high that she’s right, but at the same time the enemies are quirky  and some possess a two-sided nature. Malkovich’s character is someone quite rebellious with an attitude. Given the combination of characters, drugs, and bad choices, the hatred is written in stone and leads to a bigger revelation. McDonagh has delivered another masterpiece filled with mind-boggling twists and turns. Four out of four stars for Wild Horse Nine.

Film reviews

The Testament of Ann Lee Review

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This is one of those powerhouse dramas that combines a musicalelement within a historical context with the dramatizations being quite thorough. Directed by Mona Fastvold and co-written with Brady Corbet, The Testament of Ann Lee is a mammoth masterpiece. They’ve created a film where movements uproot themselves through songs and dance and where leaders find themselves to have a proven purpose. It feels like a serious play but then revitalizes itself through the choreography and the musical moments. The Testament of Ann Lee is shockingly astounding. I went in with mixed expectations, but then the politics of historical colonies came together, and blew me out of the water. 

The film’s main character is Ann Lee, played by Amanda Seyfried. She is the founding leader of the Shaker Movementand is labeled by her supporters as the renowned female Christ. The film focuses on building the foundation for a society that strives to be utopian. There are back and forth motions involving segregation and other politics, and it is all about how Ann leads the way. She is the power and force behind changes to come.

The late 1700s was a time where using one’s voice had the most promising efforts for change, especially in an era where females struggled to get leadership opportunity. This all comes through in the frustration vibe apparent in the music and the dancing. With Seyfried’s performance, there is a high-level of encouragement that will wow audiences. Gender equality is the driving force of the fight. She finds herself with those who support her and those who do not, but what matters is what Ann wants. She wants her vision of the incipient utopia to have a solid foundation.

The film has elements surrounding spiritual leadership, yet also has a theatrical feel in the Shakespearean sense. The feel comes with the many settings around a historical London backdrop and a society portrayed in the era of evolving castles. New beginnings do not come easy, but it takes one voice to make a change. The Testament of Ann Lee paints the portrait to encourage those to stand their ground.

A term that is used frequently in the film is, “Divine manifestations,” and I will say I felt that aspect throughout the trial and error of Seyfried’s performance. It was especially apparent in her dealing with tragedies and her overcoming those hardship moments. That is where the growth of her voice stumbles, only to become bigger. The Testament of Ann Lee is a spellbinding tale of falling and getting back up repeatedly. The direction of Fastvold does not hold back from greatness in an era with no technological advancements. The Testament of Ann Lee is by far a true and poetic portrait of surrealism and one standing her ground. Musically and cinematically a spectacle, there is nothing like The Testament of Ann Lee. There may be times when superiors want to hold Ann back, but that only drives her to be more ambitious. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for The Testament of Ann Lee.

 

 

Film reviews

Rental Family Review

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From the mind of director Hikari comes a mesmerizing and diverse portrait where some unique connections are found in her latest film, Rental Family. The purpose here focuses on a character in a struggling career who decides to take a different path—one that requires having a heart. Brendan Fraser delivers one of the best performances of 2025, and ultimately one of the best of his career. Rental Family is a film that blends diversity and human connection to form parallel values of context that come out of hiding. 

Fraser plays Philip Vanderploeg, an actor for commercials, who finds himself not doing so great. His gigs are in Tokyo. His new opportunity is to take a job with an agency titled “rental family.” The purpose of it is to fill in roles for strangers. For example, if one is missing a father, one fulfills that role in the family. That is the role that Philip ends up filling. He does so for a young girl named Mia, played by Shannon Gorman. Moving forward, Philip tries to fill the father role, and as hard as it is, he finds himself in the stage of his life where the position becomes rewarding and meaningful in this role of a “stranger.”

Rental Family is mind-boggling in its ability to create curiosity for its audiences to wonder what it would be like to have someone stand in for a role in a family. It leads to many questions. What dynamics would it twist? What conversations would it confuse? How would the moving parts feel? A lot of those questions come and go in the film’s writing, but at the same time, empathy weaves throughout with a sense of style in Rental Family. The Tokyo setting brings in a lot of value and culture through the eyes of Philip and Mia amid the narrative.

A lot of thoughts revolving around the idea of a fake family come to mind when watching Rental Family. The subject of routine came around a lot for me, because the agency finds itself in hurdles with others outside of Philip’s life doing this process as well. It proves that not everyone has it right and that having a family that’s “rented” does not easily find common ground. It is, however, a door for connection and new beginnings to evolve.

There is the motion of a weaving narrative that is enchanting, while also questionable. However, Fraser is the savior of the film. He plays the one that works to have a heart, while also dealing with the realities of life in Tokyo. Being in a father role that he had not planned for is not easy, but his heart grows. The film will inspire, as Rental Family is unique, diverse, and brilliant. Also, it was quite amazing. I love how there is a side of being included while also trying to deal with a strange, newreality. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for Rental Family.