Mister Lonely

Michael Jackson (Diego Luna) moonwalks, high kicks and yelps ‘yoo-hoos’ in the streets of Paris. While he is entertaining pensioners at a nursing home, Marilyn Monroe (Samantha Morton) teeters by, and tells Michael of a haven for look-alikes in the Highlands of Scotland, a commune where Charlie Chaplin, Shirley Temple, the Pope, Queen Elizabeth II and others work together and entertain each other in glorious seclusion, away from the misunderstandings they face in the outside world. Michael can’t resist seeing the place for himself, and follows Marilyn there.

Meanwhile, in the jungle, a drunken missionary (Werner Herzog) leads some nuns on a highflying adventure. Harmony Korine’s first feature since 1999 finds him in a playful, enjoyably mischievous mood, capturing a tone as reminiscent of his so-called ‘novel’, A Crackup at the Race Riots, as it is of his previous films. That’s not to say all is sweetness and light in Korine’s world, and Mister Lonely does have some darker twists. It is still a film that’s a delight to watch from the astonishing opening sequence on, one that’s beautifully filmed, audacious, hilariously funny and ultimately very touching.

Michael Hayden, London Film Festival Programme