The last few years have seen the much-needed positivity of the #MeToo movement followed by a raft of ethical confrontations, whether it’s differences over the feminist generation gap, or those for and against cancel culture.
Luca Guadagnino’s new campus drama wades enthusiastically into these murky waters, perhaps intending to spark new debate and to ruffle some feathers, but instead sinking beneath them. It’s a perplexing, slowly infuriating affair.
Is This Thing On?
Whether it’s the trenches of the First World War, or the halls and chambers of Vatican City, we’re becoming used to director Edward Berger creating highly believable, evocative and immersive environments for his stories. His latest is no different – except in one very particular way.
Film festivals are a bran tub: what you find in them may be unexpected, and not always in a good way. Here are six I pulled out in my first week (minus one of my favourites, The Mastermind, which I will review when it goes on general release next week).
Jay Kelly
The enduring image of the 1984-1985 Miners' Strike is that of men standing arm in arm against police and of mass protests devolving into mayhem – with protesters being beaten and knocked to the ground.
A fizzy mystery cocktail with a twist and a splash, The Woman in Cabin 10, based on Ruth Ware’s bestseller, sails along like the sleek superyacht that provides its deadly setting.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
People sometimes go to the movies for the violence and maybe even for the sex. Until recently they didn’t particularly buy a ticket for the bad language, but lately, British cinema has been making this a selling point. In Wicked Little Letters (2023), profanity-laced correspondence circulated among buttoned-up Brits; now we have I Swear, based on the life of John Davidson, who almost single-handedly taught Britain about the perils and inspirations of those with Tourette syndrome (or “Tourette’s”).
Armageddon is here again, as Kathryn Bigelow’s first film in eight years examines the minutes before a nuclear missile hits Chicago from multiple perspectives, finding no hope anywhere.
Urchin feels like a genuine moment in British cinema. Thematically, it offers a highly original, thoughtful, affecting account of the endless cycle of misfortune and institutional ineptness that can trap someone in homelessness. At the same time, it marks the coming of age in the careers of two brilliant young talents.