Citadel

Midnighters
D: Ciarán Foy; with Aneurin Barnard, James Cosmo, Wunmi Mosaku

When Tolkien created Middle Earth, his shire was inspired by the rolling fields of pastoral England. Now Citadel‘s piss-stained take on urban blight reimagines the dilapidated Edenstown estate as a modern-day Mordor, roamed by orclike teens shrouded in puffy jackets. Embattled and besieged single dad Tommy (Barnard) is a dead ringer for Frodo midquest and Nurse Marie (Mosaku) is his ever-optimistic and loyal Sam, while James Cosmo’s grizzled priest leads this fellowship as a blaspheming, surly Gandalf. Yet Tommy’s precious is not the one ring but his baby daughter – and the orcs are always hunting for her. Foy’s script keys into the UK’s media-driven “hoodie” scare, where kids were flesh-eating demon spawn, and makes it a literal truth. This is the apocalypse of degeneration and collapse, and Foy ably and shockingly skates between the grounded and the gruesome, making a pedestrian tunnel as epic as the bridge of Khazad-dûm.

Thursday, March 15, 12mid, Alamo Lamar

This article appears in March 16 • 2012.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.