Capsule reviews for July 17

Boulevard

A sincere and compassionate performance by Robin Williams in his final role can’t rescue this bittersweet coming-out drama from director Dito Montiel (Fighting) that’s riddled with contrivances and logical gaps. Williams plays Nolan, a closeted Los Angeles banker who begins to act out on his secret desires when he picks up a hustler (Roberto Aguire) and begins a series of late-night encounters in cheap hotels. Obviously this throws his life into turmoil, especially his relationship with his loyal wife (Kathy Baker). The screenplay tries to explore intriguing territory regarding sexuality and happiness but instead generally lacks the courage to follow through on its convictions. (Rated R, 88 minutes).

Catch Me Daddy

Fractured family dynamics lead to tragic consequences in this blue-collar British crime thriller from rookie director Daniel Wolfe that takes place in Yorkshire, where a young woman (Sameena Jabeen Ahmed) has fled from her abusive father. She finds comfort in a drifter (Connor McCarron) but can’t escape her brother (Ali Ahmad) and his gang, whose attempts to find her turn violent. It’s gritty and evocative, yet too often relegates characters to standard drug addicts or lowlife thugs instead of capitalizing on the multicultural potential of the cast. Still, while the result is brutal and bleak and its ending is overly ambiguous, it remains compelling throughout. (Not rated, 107 minutes).

Lila and Eve

You can kind of see why Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez were attracted to the vigilante roles in this otherwise flimsy Thelma and Louise rip-off from director Charles Stone (Drumline) that’s kept afloat only by their performances. Both of them play grieving single mothers who meet in a support group, with Lila (Davis) especially frustrated with the police effort to solve her son’s murder. So the duo takes up the case, confronting drug dealers and gun-toting thugs in a quest for revenge. The script could have dealt seriously with issues of urban violence and struggling mothers, but instead it’s a trivial tale of female empowerment. (Rated R, 94 minutes).

Safelight

This low-budget melodrama features characters that aren’t appealing, and even worse, they aren’t interesting either. Charles (Evan Peters) is a physically disabled and socially awkward teenager who works at a California truck stop, where he meets Vickie (Juno Temple), who’s trying to escape an abusive relationship. They form a romantic bond during a trip to photograph lighthouses along the coast, which allows Charles to purse his hobby and Vickie to start her life over, or so they think. The scenery might make for a pleasant travelogue if only the screenplay by rookie director Tony Aloupis took any risks or showcased any surprises between its bookend confrontations. (Rated R, 84 minutes).

The Stanford Prison Experiment

There have been multiple big-screen variations of the true-life 1971 incident in which a handful of young men were divided into prisoners and guards for a two-week showdown in the basement of a Stanford psychology building as part of a misguided experiment by a professor (Billy Crudup) who allows the resulting barbaric behavior to spiral out of control. But the simple and straightforward approach of this version from director Kyle Alvarez (C.O.G.) makes it more unsettling and provocative, offering a clinical yet suspenseful morality play about power and control. The sharp cast includes Michael Angarano, Thomas Mann, Tye Sheridan, Ezra Miller and Keir Gilchrist. (Rated R, 122 minutes).