Deborah Ross

The best drama without any drama that you’ll see: Past Lives reviewed

9 September 2023 9:00 am

Past Lives is an exquisite film made with great precision and care about what could have been, even if what…

Depardieu’s Maigret is the best yet: Maigret reviewed

2 September 2023 9:00 am

Georges Simenon’s lugubrious detective Maigret has appeared in umpteen screen adaptations and dozens of actors have played him. Now it’s…

Colourful, tender and sweet, grounded in magical rather than social realism: Scrapper reviewed

26 August 2023 9:00 am

Scrapper is a film about a working-class kid who, after her mother dies, has to look after herself. I know…

You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how unpleasant this is: Strays reviewed

19 August 2023 9:00 am

Based on the poster showing two cute dogs – a border terrier and a Boston terrier – I had assumed…

Dense and spectacular – and not pink: Oppenheimer reviewed

29 July 2023 9:00 am

Oppenheimer is Christopher Nolan’s biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant quantum physicist and ‘father of the atomic bomb’ who…

Should be called Ken: Barbie reviewed

22 July 2023 9:00 am

Finally, the Barbie film is here, for which we must be thankful, as the tsunami of pre-publicity meant you probably…

Gripping: Name Me Lawand reviewed

8 July 2023 9:00 am

You’d have to have a heart of stone to not be moved by Name Me Lawand. It’s a documentary about…

Did ChatGPT write this? Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny reviewed

1 July 2023 9:00 am

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the fifth and final film in the franchise so it’s Harrison Ford’s…

Terminal whimsy

24 June 2023 9:00 am

Fitting in

17 June 2023 9:00 am

Wikipedia does more justice to this fascinating story than this film: Chevalier reviewed

10 June 2023 9:00 am

Chevalier is a biopic of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, whom you’ve probably never heard of, as I hadn’t. He…

Back to reality

3 June 2023 9:00 am

I may never recover: Sisu reviewed

27 May 2023 9:00 am

When I went into the Sisu screening I knew only that it was a Finnish film, so was expecting an…

Warm, charming and tender: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret reviewed

20 May 2023 9:00 am

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is an adaptation of Judy Blume’s seminal young adult novel (1970) about an…

Deeply moving but bleak: Plan 75 reviewed

13 May 2023 9:00 am

Plan 75 is a dystopian Japanese drama about a government-sponsored euthanasia programme introduced to address Japan’s ageing society. Aged 75…

The magic is missing in this remake: Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy reviewed

6 May 2023 9:00 am

Peter Pan & Wendy is Disney’s latest live-action remake (the animated version was in 1953) and it’s quite the sombre…

I cried twice: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry reviewed

29 April 2023 9:00 am

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry is an excellent adaptation of Rachel Joyce’s bestselling novel (2012) about a retired old…

So tastelessly disturbing it forgets to say anything: Sick of Myself reviewed

22 April 2023 9:00 am

Sick of Myself is a satire from Norway that skewers the ‘look at me, look at me’ generation addicted to…

Reframes Patricia Highsmith as a gay icon – and ignores her anti-Semitism: Loving Highsmith reviewed

15 April 2023 9:00 am

I first discovered writer Patricia Highsmith (Strangers on a Train, Carol, the five Ripley novels) as a young teenager working…

Emma Watson’s performance is extraordinary: God’s Creatures reviewed

1 April 2023 9:00 am

There are some films that you know will be quality simply by the actors who have agreed to be in…

I never knew a game of dominoes could be so menacing: The Beasts reviewed

25 March 2023 9:00 am

The Beasts is a rural psychological thriller from Spain that has won many awards across Europe and even though we…

Made me laugh for all the wrong reasons: Allelujah reviewed

18 March 2023 9:00 am

Allelujah, based on the stage play by Alan Bennett, is set in a geriatric ward in a Yorkshire hospital and…

So formulaic I could have written it: Champions reviewed

11 March 2023 9:00 am

Champions is an underdog sports movie starring Woody Harrelson as a baseball coach forced to take on a team with…

Devastating: Close reviewed

4 March 2023 9:00 am

The Belgian film Close, written and directed by Lukas Dhont, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes and is up…

Eight angry women

11 February 2023 9:00 am

Women Talking, which has received Oscar nominations for best picture and adapted screenplay, is one of those films that, on…