The 10 movies to check out in February

By Paul Byrnes

Movies to see in February include (from left) The Son, Magic Mike’s Last Dance and Aftersun.Credit:Jessica Kourkounis/Sony Pictures Classics, Claudette Barius, Sarah Makharine

Life is short, but February is shorter. The “cleaning” month, according to the Romans, who practised atonement and purification. It’s also Groundhog Day (Feb 2) and Valentine’s Day (Feb 14), a good match for some of the more cerebral of this month’s movies, where there is a lot of recrimination, regret and sadness.

No doubt, it’s a sombre month in movie-land, although the tougher films come from A-list directors: Darren Aronofsky, Steven Soderbergh, Sarah Polley and newcomer Charlotte Wells, who has won extravagant praise for her debut feature, Aftersun.

Brendan Fraser stirs the usual controversy in a teacup with The Whale. And the Oscar nominees are out, so it’s time to tick off the contenders.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.

The Whale

The latest from Darren Aronofsky, who brought us The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan and Mother! The Whale is his first feature in five years and it has generated a lot of talk, with Brendan Fraser playing a morbidly obese English teacher who’s trying to reconnect with his daughter. Fraser wore a fat suit for the role, so he and Aronofsky have been copping criticism for not using an obese actor – somewhat predictably. Reviews have been positive, but not uniformly so. Opens February 2.

The Honeymoon

The latest from British comedy writer Dean Craig, who wrote Death at a Funeral. His recent films have also died, but this one might be worth a peek: it looks raucous and ridiculous, with some good physical comedy. A newlywed couple heads to Venice on honeymoon; the groom’s oafish friend crashes the party and things go south from there. Asim Chaudhry plays the friend. Opens February 2.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance

Steven Soderbergh returns to the director’s chair he vacated after the original Magic Mike ten years ago. Channing Tatum brings the beef (for the last time?) as the stripper with a heart of gold. Salma Hayek plays the woman who wants to help him take his act to the London stage. The promo line says it’s “the final tease”, but we shall see. There have been rumblings about spin-offs with characters other than Magic Mike. The series will probably go on as long as it has legs – and pecs, biceps and butts. Just shoot me. Opens February 9.

The Son

French playwright and director Florian Zeller wrote and directed The Father, based on his own play. Christopher Hampton helped to adapt it to an English setting. In The Son, Hugh Jackman plays a man who walked out on his marriage, some years earlier. Now his ex-wife (Laura Dern) asks him to help with their troubled 17-year-old son (Zen McGrath), whom he barely knows. Zeller is once again directing his own work, adapting the play with Hampton. Fans of The Father will be lining up. Anthony Hopkins makes an appearance. Opens February 9.

Women Talking

This could be the film of the month. It’s based on a true story. At a strict and conservative Mennonite colony in Bolivia, some women discover they’ve been drugged and raped by their own menfolk. The women meet to work out what to do: stay, leave, fight back? Canadian actress, writer and director Sarah Polley has assembled a glistening cast: Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Frances McDormand, Ben Whishaw, Judith Ivey. It has been nominated for best picture and best adapted screenplay for the coming Oscars, which surprised even its director. Looks intense. Opens February 16.

Close

Nominated for best international feature film at the Oscars (which are on March 13). Two 13-year-old boys, Leo and Remi, have an intense but innocent friendship that becomes complicated when they get to high school. It’s the second feature of Belgian director Lukas Dhont, who based it on his experiences as a teenager. It won the Grand Jury prize at Cannes (the second prize) and the Sydney Film Festival Prize at last year’s Sydney Film Festival. Opens February 16.

Knowing the Score

This is Janine Hosking’s biographical documentary on Australian conductor Simone Young, who stormed the citadels of classical music, kicking down doors and punching through ceilings. Is she the real life version of the character Cate Blanchett plays in Tar? Not quite, even though Blanchett produced the documentary. At one point, Young responds to the gender question with a memorable line: ‘What does being a woman have to do with conducting? My tits don’t get in the way’. Looks terrific. Opens February 16.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

Is nothing sacred? Winnie the Pooh reborn as a slasher movie? How is that even possible, when Disney owns the rights to the original books? Actually, the first book entered public domain in the US in January last year. So here we have a grown-up Christopher Robin returning to the Hundred Acre Wood to find that Pooh and Piglet have never forgiven him for leaving. They take bloody revenge on a group of women renting a cottage nearby. Looks to be completely scurrilous and appalling – so just right for the horror crowd. Opens February 16.

Cocaine Bear

Elizabeth Banks continues to surprise. She has already directed two films including the rebooted Charlie’s Angels. Here she takes on a horror-comedy, based on the true story of a black bear that ate a bunch of cocaine in the woods. That happened in 1985 when some drug smugglers threw a couple of keys out to lighten their payload. That bear died of an overdose. This one goes on a rampage, of course, which is only fair. Looks like good naughty fun. February 23.

Aftersun

Scottish writer director Charlotte Wells’ debut is getting a lot of love in Blighty. A woman recalls the holiday she shared with her father 20 years earlier in Turkey, when she was 11 years old. Paul Mescal plays the father, who is only 31 and struggling with depression. Celia Rowlson-Hall, as the older Sophie, tries to work out the questions her younger self could not fathom. The British cinema bible Sight and Sound named this the best film of last year. Opens February 23.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.

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