Film reviews are a funny thing. I’ve seen a fair few lukewarm verdicts on The Salt Path since I watched it, and I’m left wondering if they saw a different film, as I found it pretty epic. Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs play Raynor and Moth, who decide to embark on an epic coastal walk after ending up bankrupt, homeless, and with a bleak medical diagnosis.
The Cornish coastline offers some beautiful rolling drone shots, which work exceptionally well on the big screen, but the real standout for me was Gillian Anderson. She can convey a whole range of human emotions without saying a word, and I thought she was superb in this adaptation of a popular memoir by Raynor Winn that’s back in the bestsellers list.
The couple set off with barely anything aside from their tent, and meet a range of characters along the often challenging route. I felt invested in their journey, and was rooting for some good fortune to come their way.
Luckily, they do find some kindness among strangers, but also encounter a few brassed-off locals unhappy about where they are pitching their tent.
I could almost taste the salt spray and found this a very enjoyable couple of hours. I’m almost tempted to add the book to my huge pile which I might one day get round to reading.
Ballerina is a spin-off from the John Wick franchise that features Ana de Armas, who you might remember as Paloma in the 2021 James Bond film No Time To Die. She certainly knows one end of a gun from the other, and takes no prisoners in her hunt for the men who killed her father. Keanu Reeves is more like an extra until the closing scenes, but the general rule of thumb with this is you’ll probably enjoy it if you liked the four John Wick films.
Whilst there’s nothing as memorable as the epic Parisian stairs fight scene from John Wick 4, there are inventive kills aplenty, including the use of ice skates as a weapon. If you attempt to keep a body count, I suspect you’ll have given up within the first quarter of an hour. Don’t expect anything that sticks in the brain for too long, but it was an enjoyable ride. Ian McShane and Anjelica Huston are back in their usual roles in the franchise, and a stay at the Continental will almost certainly result in some damage to the soft furnishings. Police never seem to turn up, no matter what happens. It could maybe have done with a bit more humour, but it was certainly strong on the flamethrower front.
Finally, Ocean with David Attenborough (Disney+ and National Geographic) is heartbreaking in its exposure of bottom trawling boats, which decimate everything in their path on the ocean floor. It’s beautifully shot, powerfully argued, and will surely make the world wake up and see what we are doing to our oceans. We just have to hope it’s not too late.
Alex Cann's weekly film blog - 9th January
