In the awards competition at the Cannes Film Festival, two films rejuvenated the often clunky genre of the biopic. Mike Leigh, whose films have won many honors here, offered something of a departure from his previous output. Mr. Turner, appropriately his most picturesque film yet, explores the later years of pre-Impressionistic, pre-rebel chic painter J.M.W. […]
One of the top films at Cannes this year—and one of the most shocking and brutal—was The Tribe, from the Ukraine. It was also the most ambitious, dangerous, and accomplished by a debut filmmaker. No subtitles were necessary. It has no spoken dialogue and no translation of any kind; it’s all told through sign language. […]
Written and Directed by Steven Knight Produced by Paul Webster and Guy Heeley Released by A24 USA. 85 min. Rated R With Tom Hardy, Ruth Wilson, Olivia Colman, Andrew Scott, Ben Daniels, and Tom Holland How many different angles can you film one man on an 85-minute car ride in the middle of the night? […]
Directed by Amma Asante Written by Misan Sagay Produced by Damian Jones Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures. UK. 105 min. Rated PG With Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Reid, Sarah Gadon, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Tom Felton, James Norton, Matthew Goode & Emily Watson These days, nothing is more addictive than an English period piece, […]
Directed by Jonathan Glazer Produced by James Wilson and Nick Wechsler Written by Walter Campbell and Glazer, based on the novel by Michel Faber Released by A24 UK. 107 min. Rated R With Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell, and Kevin McAlinden If you’re looking for a movie in which Scarlett Johansson […]
Directed by James Griffiths Produced by Nira Park and James Biddle Written by Jon Brown, based on an idea by Nick Frost Released by Entertainment One UK. 98 min. Rated R With Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris O’Dowd, Olivia Colman, Kayvan Novak, Rory Kinnear, Alexandra Roach and Ian McShane Someone please explain to me the […]
Written and Directed by Richard Shepard Produced by Jeremy Thomas Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures. UK. 93 min. Rated R With Jude Law, Richard E. Grant, Demian Bichir, Emilia Clarke and Kerry Condon Not quite as smart as it needs to be, yet smarter than it may seem, Dom Hemingway is a timely film, and […]
Directed by Roger Michell Produced by Kevin Loader Written by Hanif Kureishi Released by Music Box Films UK. 93 min. Rated R With Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, Jeff Goldblum, Olly Alexander & Judith Davis After 30 years of marriage, Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg (Lindsay Duncan) are expecting a comfortable, satisfied existence, but life hasn’t […]
Claire Stewart’s second year at the London Film Festival helm set sail with the European premiere of Paul Greengrass’s Captain Philips and ended with the world premiere of John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks, both beamed simultaneously by satellite to 30 towns and cities across the UK and Ireland. At the closing press conference, Tom […]