FILM
NoTimeLike thePresent
Froma19th-centurywhalingship toapost-apocalyptic totalitarian regime, thismonth’snew
filmsareset inworlds thathaveus thankingour luckystars it’s2015.Here,we takea lookat
eachera’spolitics, fashion, riskofbodilyharmand, perhapsmost important, smells.
—ND
themonthahead
30
MARCH2015
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
ALittleChaos
,
starringKateWinslet
andAlanRickman
(MARCH27)
17th-century
Versailles
KingLouisXIV is
looking for someone
todesignhis new
palace’s gardens. André
(Matthias Schoenaerts)
values symmetry and
order. Free spirit Sabine
(Winslet)—quelle horreur,
awoman!—loves, well, a
littleorganic chaos.
Absolutist. The SunKing
ruledbydivine right for
72years.
Leave the restrictive
gowns in thepalace.
Sabine’swork frocks
look shockingly comfy
andpractical.
This is LouisXIV, not
XVI, soeverything’s
still rosyhere in the
gardens—at least for
thenext fewdecades.
Nodaily showers,
but lots of perfume
and flowers.
TheDivergentSeries:
Insurgent
, starring
ShaileneWoodley
(MARCH20)
Post-apocalyptic
Chicago
It’s the future, and
society’s been split into
fivepersonality-driven
factions. But nobodyputs
Tris Prior (Woodley) in a
box. Her divergencekicks
off awar, and this sequel
finds her huntedby the
evil JeanineMatthew
(KateWinslet).
Dystopian-Fascist. Rule
one: Don’tmesswith
KateWinslet.
Monochromatic,
utilitarianand tailored
to suit each faction’s
specific needs. Ina
word: drab.
Witnesswhat The Hunger
Games hathwrought:
Our teenheroine faces
gunfire, bombs and
mind-control torture.
Sterile in thehalls of
power; sweaty among
the resistance.
Serena
, starring
JenniferLawrence
andBradleyCooper
(MARCH27)
Depression-era
NorthCarolina
GeorgePemberton
(Cooper) runs a successful
lumber empire. And then
theDepressionhits. And
thenan illegitimate child
showsup. And thenhis
femme fataleof anew
wife, Serena (Lawrence),
starts channelingher
inner LadyMacbeth.
Machiavellian. TheThere
Will Be Bloodof cutting
down trees.
Gatsby goes south.
These folksmayhave
atrocious ethics, but at
least they’redoing it all
in style.
Train car explosions,
bodies pinnedunder
metal, fires and talkof
murder—and that’s just in
the trailer.
Freshmountain air,
evergreen trees and
gunpowder.
IntheHeartofthe
Sea
, starringChris
Hemsworth
(MARCH13)
ThePacificOcean,
1819-20
Basedon themaritime
disaster that inspired
Moby-Dick, RonHoward’s
epic follows a crewof
whalerswhomust fight
for survivalwhena
vengeful spermwhale
destroys their shipmore
than a thousandmiles
from shore.
Democratic. Regardless
of rank, everyone’s equal
ona lifeboat.
Thepirate-chic puffy
shirtsworkwell on
deck, but theyoffer no
protectiononce things
getmorewaterlogged.
Shipwrecks, storms,
starvationanda sperm
whale thatmakes
Pinocchio’sMonstro look
likea goldfish.
Fresh, saltyocean
air, plus fishand
rotting corpses.
THESETTING
THEGIST
THEPOLITICS
THEFASHION
THERISKOF
BODILYHARM
THESMELL
