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Up To Date's Indie, Foreign & Doc Critics' 'Three To See,' June 8-10

Soairse Ronan costars in, and Dominic Cooke directs, Ian McEwan's film adaptation of his own best-selling novel "On Chesil Beach."
Robert Viglasky
/
Bleeker Street
Soairse Ronan costars in, and Dominic Cooke directs, Ian McEwan's film adaptation of his own best-selling novel "On Chesil Beach."

There's always something fun to do over the weekend in Kansas City, and this one is no exception — especially if you love ethnic food, beer or sweet air guitar riffs. (The riffs may be pantomimed, but the performances are definitely not.) If an air guitar championship isn't necessarily your jam, how about a movie? Up To Date's indie, foreign and documentary Film Critics have a few good recommendations, all of which should leave your eardrums intact.

Cynthia Haines

"Mary Shelley," PG-13

  • This 19th-century period drama chronicles the tumultuous love between a young Mary Godwin, played by Elle Fanning, and Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the creative process which led to her breakthrough work, "Frankenstein."

"The Rider," R

  • A pensive cowboy looks for a new identity after a life-threatening accident forces him into early retirement from rodeo riding in this contmeporary western from director Chloe Zhao

"RBG," PG

  • The 85-year-old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the subject of this documentary recalling her career from one of the only women in her Harvard Law School graduating class to the most iconic liberal voice in the Supreme Court.


Steve Walker

"On Chesil Beach," R

  • Based on an Ian McEwan novella, Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle play newlyweds whose wedding night jitters precipitate flashbacks to the beginning of a romance that couldn't predict the eventual roadblocks.

"Mary Shelley," PG-13

  • This biopic of the teenager who wrote "Frankenstein" dives into the author's unconventional relationship with the poet Percy Shelley and the accompanying scandal that led her to address loss, neglect and connection in her work.

"The Rider," R

  • Director Chloe Zhao's beautifully shot modern western about a rodeo cowboy, played by the charismatic Brady Jandreau in an impressive film debut, hell-bent on getting back on a horse as he recovers from a near-fatal head injury.

Copyright 2021 KCUR 89.3. To see more, visit KCUR 89.3.

Since 1998, Steve Walker has contributed stories and interviews about theater, visual arts, and music as an arts reporter at KCUR. He's also one Up to Date's regular trio of critics who discuss the latest in art, independent and documentary films playing on area screens.
Luke X. Martin is an assistant producer for KCUR's Up To Date.
Dallas Johnson