Film
A drama without drama
Past Lives is an exquisite film made with great precision and care about what could have been, even if what…
Crimes of Paris
Georges Simenon’s lugubrious detective Maigret has appeared in umpteen screen adaptations and dozens of actors have played him. Now it’s…
Fighting spirit
Scrapper is a film about a working-class kid who, after her mother dies, has to look after herself. I know…
Suspended reality
Aix is an odd place. It should be charming, with its dishevelled squares, Busby Berkeley-esque fountains, pretty ochres and pinks.…
Splitting headache
Oppenheimer is Christopher Nolan’s biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the brilliant quantum physicist and ‘father of the atomic bomb’ who…
Flipping the script
Will we even notice if AI replaces screenwriters?
Feminist phooey
Finally, the Barbie film is here, for which we must be thankful, as the tsunami of pre-publicity meant you probably…
False notes
Chevalier is a biopic of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, whom you’ve probably never heard of, as I hadn’t. He…
A fight to the Finnish
When I went into the Sisu screening I knew only that it was a Finnish film, so was expecting an…
Girl’s world
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is an adaptation of Judy Blume’s seminal young adult novel (1970) about an…
The end is in sight
Plan 75 is a dystopian Japanese drama about a government-sponsored euthanasia programme introduced to address Japan’s ageing society. Aged 75…
Sick at heart
The latest film from Ruben Ostlund received an eight-minute standing ovation after its screening in Cannes and also won the…
Full marks for the bottom
My Policemanis a forbidden love drama starring both Harry Styles – whose bid for movie stardom continues apace – and…
Weird and wonderful
The life of Emily Brontë is an enduring object of fascination. So small, the life, so sparse, so limited. Yet…
Bones of contention
The Lost King is a comedy-drama based on the 2012 discovery of the remains of King Richard III beneath a…
French fancies
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris is a comedy-drama based on the 1958 novel by Paul Gallico about a cheerful, kind-hearted…
What a ride
Moonage Daydream is a music documentary like no other, which is fitting as the subject is David Bowie. If it’s…
Gore-fest meets snooze-fest
You always have to brace yourself for the latest David Cronenberg film, but with Crimes of the Future it’s not…
Falling stars
If you want real acting in films, forget the leads – it’s in the supporting roles that you’ll find true talent, says Tanya Gold
Curiouser and curiouser
My Old School is a documentary exploring a true story that would have to be true as it’s too preposterous…
High and dry
Eiffel is a romantic drama purporting to show how a passionate but forbidden love inspired Gustave Eiffel to design and…
Howard’s way
About ten minutes in to Thirteen Lives, Boy came in and asked me whether it was any good. I said:…
Mob mentality
It’s hard to imagine in the wake of GoodFellas, The Sopranos and Gomorrah but there was a time, not so…
