Film Reviews

Though unlikely to be particularly indicative of a wider critical response, it’s impossible to ignore the snorts of incredulity that echoed throughout the Debussy theatre in the Cannes Palais, following a key narrative revelation halfway through Asghar Farhadi’s occasionally compelling but frustratingly contrived festival opener, Everybody Knows. Up until that moment of weakness, Farhadi’s quasi-thriller had displayed plenty of muscle. A modest opening act sets the scene well. Laura (Penélope Cruz) – accompanied by her two children, including her teenage...

About 25 minutes into Revenge, a close up of an ant heralds one of my favourite sequences in a 2018 film to date. For a second it’s just there, large and still in the middle of the screen. Then, in slow motion, with a sound effect like a crashing wave, a drop of blood falls on it. One, two, three, and more drops fall until the film returns to normal speed and the blood becomes a small lake, swallowing the...

Fans of Andrew Niccol will be all too than familiar with the director’s particular brand of Philip K Dick inspired output. From the timeless cult classic Gattaca which is set in a future where people are judged on the strength of their genetic make-up rather than on merit, to the slightly less well received In Time, in which time has replaced money as currency, creating a two-tier society in which only the rich can hope to live beyond the age...

The Young Karl Marx is directed by Haitian film-maker, Raoul Peck, whose previous work, I Am Not Your Negro - a documentary focusing on James Baldwin - earned him an Oscar nomination. His latest effort is an intense period drama of the early life and work of Karl Marx. The film does not make any concessions to the audience in presenting the subject matter from an intellectual point of view rather than an emotional one. This does not mean the film...

What do you come to horror cinema for? For me it’s generally to be scared, to be unnerved, to be thrilled. For that to happen there have to be certain ingredients in place. Most importantly I have to care. The ability to be truly concerned about what happens to a character - whether it be that I want them want them to escape, or that I’m rooting for them to meet an especially gruesome end - means that I’m invested....

Following the critical acclaim of Weekend and 45 Years, director Andrew Haigh returns with a naturalistic and tender tale of a boy’s connection with an ageing race horse. It is a revealing character study that is full of heartfelt and melancholic moments. Lean on Pete follows Charley (Charlie Plummer), a teenager living with his father Ray (Travis Fimmel) in a small dilapidated home. Ray may at times be carless but his love and affection for his son is clear to...

Ever since Juno blew me away at the cinema I've been fascinated by Diablo Cody's work as a screenwriter. She's always worked best delving into the dramas playing out in suburban homes across America, transforming what may be mundane into the witty and heartfelt. While Juno dealt with the impact of pregnancy, Tully focuses on the immediacy of raising an infant. Marlo (Charlize Theron) already has two kids with her husband Drew (Ron Livingston), and her hands full with 'quirky'...

The shadow of Studio Ghibli stalwart Hayao Miyazaki looms over Mary And The Witch’s Flower, the debut feature from the newly established Studio Ponoc – founded by leading film producer Yoshiaki Nishimura, in the wake of Ghibli’s decision to halt production following Miyazaki’s retirement back in 2014. Adapted from Mary Stewart’s beloved novel, ‘The Little Broomstick’, the film introduces us to the titular Mary (Ruby Barnhill), a curious & independent youngster struggling to overcome the boredom of living with her...

The annual ritual that represents the transition from childhood to adulthood within the Xhosa community in South Africa was a carefully kept secret until Nelson Mandela mentioned it in his autobiography 'Long Walk to Freedom'. Since them it has been a fiercely debated topic of controversy and is the focus of John Trengove’s film The Wound. The film follows Xolani (Nakhane Toure), a lonely warehouse worker, who took part in the ritual as a teenager and now in his 30s...