Deeply personal and profound, Charlotte Wells pulls us into memories both keenly felt and half understood, with real and heart wrenching performances by Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio.
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Wit, wonder and wordplay in The Peculiar Sensation of Being Pat Ingoldsby
Director: Seamus Murphy Starring: Pat Ingoldsby Running Time: 96 minutes One of Dublin’s most recognisable faces gets a moment in the spotlight in The Peculiar Sensation of Being Pat Ingoldsby. The poet, a fixture on the streets of the city for decades, is interviewed along with close friends and family in Seamus Murphy’s documentary. It…
Fun in the foul furrows of Triangle of Sadness
Director: Ruben Östlund Starring: Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Dolly De Leon, Zlatko Buric, Woody Harrelson Running Time: 149 minutes The ‘triangle of sadness’ gets a title drop early doors in Ruben Östlund’s latest satire. Journeyman male model Carl is asked to relax his while trying to book a job – his immediate financial security depends…
Enigmatic and essential urges in Decision to Leave
Director: Park Chan-wook Starring: Tang Wei, Park Hae-il Running Time: 138 minutes The most interesting question with a femme fatale is never did they do it. We love to watch seemingly honourable lawmen twist and turn under far more compelling questioning – how much do they care if the dame did it or not? The…
It’s she, Emily, she’s come home
Director: Frances O’Connor Starring: Emma Mackey, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Fionn Whitehead, Alexandra Dowling Running Time: 130 minutes The short life and enduring works of Emily Brontë make her an understandable target for biopic fare. Work backwards from Wuthering Heights and you can build the story as it suits, about women, about the authorship and ownership of…
Awash on Holy Island
Director: Robert Manson Starring: Connor Madden, Jeanne Nicole Ní Áinle, Dermot Murphy Running Time: 89 minutes When a film presents itself as more abstract and ambiguous, it could be considered a matter of good faith and good manners not to blithely assume that the interpretation you land on as a viewer is obviously and entirely…
The Boring Sneering of The Banshees of Inisherin
Director: Martin McDonagh Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan Running Time: 114 minutes The McDonagh brothers have always been hopeless miserabilists, and it’s proven to be a lucrative lot in life for them on stage and screen alike. Martin the Younger has drawn many plaudits for his ability to draw from the…
Strength, Power and Purpose in The Woman King
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood Starring: Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, John Boyega Running Time: 135 minutes Learning that the Dora Milaje in Marvel’s Black Panther were inspired by real women warriors, the Agojie of the West African kingdom of Dahomey, was one motivation for director Gina Prince-Bythewood to work on The Woman King.…
Florence Pugh deserves more than Don’t Worry Darling
Director: Olivia Wilde Starring: Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, Olivia Wilde, Kiki Layne Time: 121 minutes It’s such a head f*ck trying to evaluate art with a female protagonist, starring one of our most talented young stars, and to now have that performance completely overshadowed and undermined by the media circus surrounding…
A quick but clipped gait in See How They Run
Director: Tom George Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Sam Rockwell, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, David Oyewolo, Charlie Cooper, Harris Dickinson Running Time: 98 minutes The Mousetrap is an institution of the West End, an Agatha Christie murder mystery play that ran in London non-stop from the 1950s until a Covid-enforced pause. Murder mysteries can prompt curious contradictions…