Reel-View Ratings: The Bigger The Beard, The Better The Movie

AMY

Amy is difficult to watch because this story’s ending hangs over every scene: Singer Amy Winehouse died at 27 of alcohol poisoning. The documentary lovingly, gently paints a portrait of Winehouse before the fame, when she was just a Jewish girl in London who loved jazz, and follows her to her tragic demise in 2011. Through rare home movies and extensive interviews with just about every significant figure in Winehouse’s life, the film reconstructs her life without dramatic fanfare, declining to point fingers (though it, perhaps, coughs politely in specific directions) or discuss Winehouse’s less savory characteristics. Voiceover-only interviews and on-screen lyrics are unusual editing choices, but oddly fitting. Opens at Kahala Theatre July 10

ATTILA MARCEL

A mute piano prodigy lives a sheltered life in Paris with his two aunts — until he meets Madame Proust, his herbally gifted neighbor who plies him with teas that help him recover long-forgotten memories about his mysterious parents. It’s a whimsical, visually lush and surrealistic ride, but it doesn’t always quite jive correctly. Director Sylvain Chomet is an Oscar-nominated animator, but perhaps his gifts for comedy and transition don’t quite translate to live-action actors, who are gamely doing their best here to fit into the ethereal world around them. Still, the music and images blend most pleasingly, and it’s never dull, even if it can be overwhelming. But one can’t help but think the whole thing might’ve been better off as a cartoon. Plays at 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. July 10; 10 p.m. July 12; and 11:30 a.m., 1:30 and 6:15 p.m. July 13 at the Movie Museum

TESTAMENT OF YOUTH

Vera Brittain was a remarkable woman. After her fiancée, brother and friends all were killed in World War I, the college-educated nurse and journalist devoted herself to advocating for peace. Unfortunately, less of the woman she was is on display in this too-conventional film adaptation of her 1933 memoir, reimagining her simply as a woman who suffers tragedy upon tragedy. If the film is taken on its own merits, it’s actually a fairly decent British wartime love story: Alicia Vikander shines amidst a handsome cast that includes Kit Harington (his signature Jon Snow curls slicked and tamed). But we already have Atonement and other tragedies; this movie could have been more, and simply wasn’t. Opens at Kahala Theatre July 10