Four new films to see in cinemas this week

Joaquin Phoenix in provocative character epic Beau Is Afraid and long-awaited Judy Blume adaptation Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, plus the 10th Fast & Furious and Under the Fig Trees from Tunisia

Joaquin Phoenix in Beau Is Afraid. Photograph: Mommy Knows Best LLC/Takashi Seid
Joaquin Phoenix in Beau Is Afraid. Photograph: Mommy Knows Best LLC/Takashi Seid

Beau Is Afraid ★★★★★

Directed by Ari Aster. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane, Kylie Rogers, Denis Ménochet, Parker Posey, Julia Antonelli, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Richard Kind, Hayley Squires. 16 cert, gen release, 179 min

Beau Wasserman (Phoenix) sets upon an odyssey after learning that his mother has been decapitated by a falling chandelier. Nobody can doubt Aster’s commitment to the bit. This is a vast, generous, properly hilarious entertainment that will spawn debate for years to come. Hereditary and Midsommar, Aster’s first two films, combined full-on horror effects with emotional austerity born in the European art house. With Beau Is Afraid, he adeptly juggles the sort of laughs you get from Samuel Beckett with the sort you encounter in Mel Brooks. It will certainly drive some viewers mad. Full review DC

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret ★★★★★

Kathy Bates and Abby Ryder in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Photograph: Lionsgate
Kathy Bates and Abby Ryder in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Photograph: Lionsgate

Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig. Starring Rachel McAdams, Abby Ryder Fortson, Elle Graham, Benny Safdie, Kathy Bates. PG cert, gen release, 106 min

It’s all happening at once for Margaret (Fortson). Her family has moved from Manhattan to New Jersey, placing her miles away from her beloved grandmother (Bates) and next door to Nancy (Graham). It’s a tricky business explaining the importance of Judy Blume’s pre-teen cornerstone to anyone who hasn’t experienced a period or bra fitting. Trust Craig, the writer-director of Edge of Seventeen – the best teen movie of the past decade – to translate Blume’s seminal novel into a funny, exhilarating, coming-of-age movie that will charm all genders. Full review TB

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Fast X ★★★☆☆

Jason Momoa in Fast X. Photograph: Universal/Giulia Parmigiani
Jason Momoa in Fast X. Photograph: Universal/Giulia Parmigiani

Directed by Louis Leterrier. Starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Jason Momoa, Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Helen Mirren, John Cena, Rita Moreno, Brie Larson, Charlize Theron, Michael Rooker, Cardi B, Scott Eastwood. 12A cert, gen release, 142 min

In the great game of Fast & Furious bingo, Fast X hits a full house around 23 minutes into its extensive two-hours-plus run time. A suburban barbeque? Check. Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris tomfoolery? Check. Ret-conning? Check. Product placement? Check. Vin Diesel talking about family? Check, check, check to the power of 10. It’s unfortunate that the gritty street races that once defined the Fast sequence have given way to green screen, CGI and unintelligible fast cuts as director Leterrier can still ramp up the adrenalin. But you do know what you’re getting. Full review TB

Under the Fig Trees ★★★★☆

Under the Fig Trees. Photograph: Luxbox Films
Under the Fig Trees. Photograph: Luxbox Films

Directed by Erige Sehiri. Starring Fide Fdhili, Feten Fdhili, Ameni Fdhili, Samar Sifi, Leila Ouhebi. Limited release, 93 min

Here is a neatly structured, naturalistic film that packs a great deal of believable human drama into a small space and a limited time frame. Staying true to its title, Under the Fig Trees follows one day in the work of fruit pickers in contemporary Tunisia. There are old women. There are youngish men. The film is, however, most concerned with a group of teenage girls working during their school holidays. The improvised dialogue and nimble camerawork adds to the sense of life unfolding to its natural rhythms. Lovely. Inciteful. Full review DC

Donald Clarke

Donald Clarke

Donald Clarke, a contributor to The Irish Times, is Chief Film Correspondent and a regular columnist

Tara Brady

Tara Brady

Tara Brady, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a writer and film critic