film reviews, news & interviews
James Saynor |

Given that the film industry is a fairly vain business, it follows that every movie is to some extent a vanity project. So it seems churlish to describe this new Daniel Day-Lewis picture, which he co-wrote with his son, Ronan, for Ronan to direct and himself to star in, as other than a welcome return for the superman actor.

Helen Hawkins |

What defines a life? Money and success? Happiness? Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams employs a narrator, much as Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven did, who fields big questions like those while drawing the audience in. Bentley’s voice is an omniscient one, its owner unseen. 

Adam Sweeting
Directed by Lynne Ramsay and based on the book by Ariana Harwicz, Die My Love is an unsettling dive into the disturbed psyche of Grace, played…
Markie Robson-Scott
“How can you tell she’s an alien?” asks Don (Aidan Delbis, an impressive neuro-divergent actor) of his cousin Teddy (the excellent Jesse Plemons).…
Pamela Jahn
Kelly Reichardt has a thing about losers. You often see them in her films. It's the failure of American individualism that concerns her.Even when she…

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

graham.rickson
Down-and-out in rural Oregon: Kelly Reichardt's third feature packs a huge punch
Helen Hawkins
Josh O'Connor is perfect casting as a cocky middle-class American adrift in the 1970s
James Saynor
A brooding trip on the Bruce Springsteen highway of hard knocks
Justine Elias
Sundance winner chronicles a death that should have been prevented
Miriam Figueras
Love twinkles in the gloom of Marcel Carné’s fogbound French poetic realist classic
Nick Hasted
Guillermo del Toro is fitfully inspired, but often lost in long-held ambitions
Helen Hawkins
New films from Park Chan-wook, Gianfranco Rosi, François Ozon, Ildikó Enyedi and more
Demetrios Matheou
Julia Roberts excels despite misfiring drama
Demetrios Matheou
Conclave director Edward Berger swaps the Vatican for Asia's sin city
Adam Sweeting
... not to mention Kristen Stewart's directing debut and a punchy prison drama
Helen Hawkins
'Jay Kelly' disappoints, 'It Was Just an Accident' doesn't
Justine Elias
Documentary salutes the staunch women who fought Thatcher's pit closures
graham.rickson
Ealing Studios' prescient black comedy, as sharp as ever
Justine Elias
Reason goes overboard on a seagoing mystery thriller
Adam Sweeting
Daniel Craig investigates, Jodie Foster speaks French and Colin Farrell has a gambling habit
James Saynor
A sharp and moving tale of cuss-words and tics
Nick Hasted
The Bad Seed explains the cost of home truths while making documentary Ellis Park
Nick Hasted
Kathryn Bigelow's cautionary tale sets the nuclear clock ticking again
Pamela Jahn
The star talks about Presidential decision-making when millions of lives are imperilled
Demetrios Matheou
Frank Dillane gives a star-making turn in Harris Dickinson’s impressive directorial debut
Markie Robson-Scott
Weird comedy directed by novelist Gilles Legardinier
Helen Hawkins
Embeth Davidtz delivers an impressive directing debut and an exceptional child star
Graham Fuller
Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, and Sean Penn star in a rollercoasting political thriller
Justine Elias
Cillian Murphy excels as a troubled headmaster working with delinquent boys

the future of arts journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

latest in today

We are bowled over! We knew that theartsdesk.com had plenty of supporters out there – we’ve always had a loyal readership of arts…
Sir Mark Elder was back on the scene of past triumphs last night as he returned to the Hallé at the Bridgewater Hall – and he has not lost…
Given that the film industry is a fairly vain business, it follows that every movie is to some extent a vanity project. So it seems…
Mavis Staples, the woman to whom a young Bob Dylan proposed marriage when they met at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival and whose voice he has…
VINYL OF THE MONTHMartel Zaire (Evil Ideas)Montenegro-born, Cyprus-based producer Martel Vladimiroff is a hard man to find out about. His…
Opening acts don’t always enjoy a full house, but at at the Royal Albert Hall at the end of a UK tour in support of Suzanne Vega and her…
What defines a life? Money and success? Happiness? Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams employs a narrator, much as Terrence Malick’s Days of…
It’s weird, right? We’ve somehow stumbled into a world where, for all we’re told that algorithms homogenise music, actually more people…
Janáček described his nature-versus-humanity fable The Cunning Little Vixen as “a merry thing with a sad end”. In which case, the even…
Perspectives on Shakespeare's tragedy have changed over the decades. As Nonso Anozie said when playing the title role for Cheek by Jowl in…