EIFF 2008 round-up, part the first

With the opening night film now screened to a paying audience, the 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is now officially underway. A bit of glamour on Wednesday at Cineworld in the shape of Keira and Sienna (and a few Skinny folk somewhere in the background), there to promote The Edge of Love, came after three days of previews for the eager press pass-wielding journos.

The Edge of Love is a World War II set biopic of poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys), focusing mainly on the friendship between his childhood sweetheart Vera (Keira Knightley) and wife Caitlin (Sienna Miller). While the film looks great – 1940s London represented here with impeccable attention to detail – and the performances are fine, there’s something missing at the heart of the story to make it a five, or even four, star picture.

Elsewhere, Red sees Dundee’s Brian Cox take on the role of Avery Ludlow in a tale of revenge for his dead dog. The premise may not sound brilliant, and the film does veer off into TV-movie-of-the-week territory at times, but Cox is on fine form and there are enough tense moments to make it worth checking out.

Sir Ben Kingsley has three pictures at the EIFF this year, with the first two, Elegy and The Wackness showing two very different sides to the actor. He’s a writer and art critic in Elegy, his non-ability to commit to a serious relationship causing him concern when he meets a beautiful new student (Penelope Cruz) in his college class. There are already mixed views on this one but I thought it was a classy picture, a nice change from the dumbed down film fodder we’re usually served up.

The Wackness is a 1994-set buddy movie with Kingsley as Dr Jeffrey Stokes, a pot smoking psychiatrist with various emotional issues. A hit at Sundance this gets funnier as it goes on and is a fine addition to the range of Kingsley characters.

Elsewhere Stone of Destiny tells of the liberation of the titular relic from Westminster Abbey in 1950 by a group of Scottish students. Somers Town is the new Shane Meadows film, again starring This is England’s Thomas Turgoose as Tomo, just arrived in London from Nottingham. Befriending young Polish immigrant Marek, Tomo causes havoc in the suburb of Somers Town. Some ad-libbed scenes help keep things looking natural and it’s great to see Turgoose back on the big screen.

My main film of note is the Edinburgh-set, ultra low budget Trouble Sleeping. With only one star name – Billy Elliot’s Gary Lewis – among a group of amateur actors, this tale of a small refugee community in the city has real heart and deserves a wider audience.

The above are just a handful of the films on offer this week and next, with the next issue of The Skinny hopefully covering lots more. Let us know your top tips in the meantime…