Music, Style & Culture

LFF Highlights - Films Worth Queueing For

The essential sold-out films at the 55th BFI London Film Festival.

With the 55th BFI London Film Festival kicking off this week, we're bringing you the films to look out for.

DIY has been busy scouting out the films that won't necessarily have the star-studded gala premieres, but will linger on long after the red carpet has been rolled up.

Running from 12th - 27th October, the LFF sees the UK premieres of the lauded likes of Steve McQueen's Shame, silent movie tribute The Artist, David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut Coriolanus and the George Clooney double whammy of The Descendants and The Ides of March.

The buzz around these films is a given, but below we bring you the titles worth looking out for. The first of our two lists gives you the sold-out films that are worth selling a kidney for. You don't have to - just queue for standby tickets on the day, as they are nearly always available half-hour beforehand. Head to www.bfi.org.uk/lff to check screening dates and times.

Sold-out and worth queueing for:



Alps
If the fantastically warped Dogtooth tickled your fancy, then get ready for the second film from Yorgos Lanthimos. The director, who earned a Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination for his debut, promises something "darker and funnier... it goes to each extreme a little bit more." We've yet to see Alps, so all we know is that it reunites Lanthimos with Dogtooth's Aggeliki Papoulia for a story about professionals hired to stand in for dead people by their relatives, friends and colleagues. Expect to be both disturbed and amused. Read more about Dogtooth here.



Dreams of a Life
Our review is embargoed until the world premiere at LFF, but there's a reason this documentary is long sold-out. In 2006, a distressing news story revealed a 38-year-old woman's remains were found in her London flat. With the television still blaring, and Christmas presents half-wrapped, Joyce Vincent's body had lain undiscovered for an estimated three years. Filmmaker Carol Morley spent years tracing Vincent's friends and family for this docu-drama, which aims to put a face and a story to the headline, and attempts to reason why a popular woman could endure such an isolated death. Talented British actress Zawe Ashton (Blitz) plays Joyce in the dramatised sections. We spoke to Ashton earlier this year - read our interview here.



Weekend
Something a bit more gentle after the visceral, distressing and twisted films listed here is Andrew Haigh's highly anticipated romance. Weekend picked up a lot of buzz at SXSW earlier this year, and now UK audiences get to sample the naturalistic drama, which follows a one-night stand between two gay men that develops into something unexpected. Tom Cullen and Chris New star in the intimate, emotional romance between two very different men. One to pick over the vastly overrated Like Crazy, which ended up being an underdeveloped, twee drama.



We Need to Talk About Kevin
Yes, it's a gala. Yes, it's out in UK cinemas this month. However, Lynne Ramsey's striking adaptation of Lionel Shriver's novel is so gobsmackingly brilliant and genuinely disturbing, to see it in the company of the cast and crew will be electric. Tilda Swinton is the most empathetic she's been to date as a mother dealing with the aftermath of her wicked son's actions. Ezra Miller is chilling as said teenager, who delights in his twisted, manipulative relationship with his parents. Ramsey's bold, provocative style makes for a magnificent, unforgettable masterpiece, which is visually stunning, unsettling and powerful. Sure to be the festival's greatest film.



Wild Bill
Dexter Fletcher rounds up his acting chums for his directorial debut, but this is no lazy vanity project. A touching story of a father's redemption following his release from prison, it's full of black humour and affecting performances. Narnia's Will Poulter is the 15-year-old left to care for his younger brother when his mother leaves with her new boyfriend. After eight years inside, estranged father Charlie Creed-Miles returns, determined to go straight, despite his fearsome reputation. Fletcher's film may be set in gritty East London, but he maintains a polished cinematic quality that gives the film class. The cast boasts Andy Serkis, Jaime Winstone, Iwan Rheon and Olivia Williams.