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. […]
Written and Directed by Denis Côté Produced by Sylvain Corbeil Released by KimStim French with English subtitles Canada. 95 min. Not rated With Pierrette Robitaille, Romane Bohringer, Marc-André Grondin, Marie Brassard, and Georges Molnar The reimagined feminist fairy tale is widespread in Hollywood, evident this past month by the success of Maleficent. Vic + Flo […]
Written and Directed by Chris Mason Johnson Produced by Johnson and Chris Martin Released by Variance Films USA. 89 min. Not rated With Scott Marlowe, Matthew Risch, Kristoffer Cusick, Katherine Wells, Damon Sperber, and Kevin Clarke In this appealing indie, the story of Frankie (Scott Marlowe), a young gay man in 1985 San Francisco, is […]
Directed by Yoruba Riche Written by Ms. Richen and Erin Casper Produced by Richen and Yvonne Welbon USA. 75 min. Not rated The New Black film poses the question, are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues the new black? Is the struggle for marriage equality the forefront of civil rights in America today? The […]
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 […]
Produced & Directed by Pamela Drynan Released by MPI Home Video Ireland. 70 min. Not rated In 1999, Robert Drake was a promising young gay American author and editor who went to Ireland partly in pursuit of what he calls that “whole Yeats thing.” He was also looking to find promising new authors to include […]
Directed by Alain Guiraudie Produced by Sylvie Pialat Released by Strand Releasing French with English subtitles France. 97 min. Not rated With Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou & Patrick D’Assumçao Tense, erotic, and coolly transfixing, Stranger by the Lake captivates through its slow-burning intensity and its brazen exhibition of sexuality. Its components are a bit unconventional, […]
Directed by Stephen Frears Produced by Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan & Tracey Seaward Written by Coogan & Jeff Pope, based on Martin Sixsmith’s book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee Released by the Weinstein Company UK/USA/France. 98 min. Rated PG-13 With Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Mare Winningham, Barbara Jefford, Ruth McCabe & […]
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée Produced by Robbie Brenner & Rachel Winter Written by Craig Barton & Melissa Wallack Released by Focus Features USA. 115 min. Rated R With Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Denis O’Hare, Griffin Dunne, Dallas Roberts & Steve Zahn Ironically enough, Ron Woodroof is a bit like a more inspirational version […]