Unclenching the Fists
UNCLENCHING THE FISTS explores the struggles of a young woman named Ada, and is a powerful portrayal of the impact of patriarchal structures – societal and familial – on the women within.
All posts by Jim Ross
Cinema Will Live Forever or Die Trying
Reports of cinema’s death are greatly exaggerated, but the attack on the ‘big screen experience’ is coming from inside the building. As the focus on films continues to dwindle, and more and more desperate attempts are made to augment a diminished core experience, cinemagoing increasingly resembles an embodiment of a famous Groucho Marx quote: “I intend to live forever, or die trying.”
Girl
Adura Onashile’s GIRL is a gentle and sometimes hypnotic view of a life laced with the after-effects of trauma. The film is an elegantly slow-burning drama, and its willingness to let the visuals and understated performances establish an atmosphere allows the audience to feel Grace and Ama’s emotions all the more keenly.
Infinity Pool
INFINITY POOL is a compelling film that effectively garners visceral and spontaneous reactions to thoughtfully constructed grotesqueries. However, the scant implementation of the ideas driving the characters’ behaviour leaves it like that hotel leisure showpiece; the lack of boundaries is an intricately and considerately engineered illusion. A look beneath its glistening surface and the safe confinement becomes all too apparent.
Aftersun
Charlotte Wells’ feature debut showcases the assured hand she had already demonstrated in her short film work and enhances it further to balance tone and pace throughout a touching story of a daughter and her troubled father on holiday. Calum (Paul Mescal) takes his 11-year-old daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio) on a package holiday to Turkey, … Continue reading Aftersun
After Yang
AFTER YANG is a film steeped in humanity despite its gently dystopian subject: an android sibling of an adopted child. Koganada’s feature includes many thought-provoking strands focused on family privacy, technological dependence, and what makes someone – or something – belong to a family unit. Still, its imagination and sincerity when dealing with memory and … Continue reading After Yang
Resurrection
Although the story develops inconsistently, a captivating trauma-laced performance from Rebecca Hall and a confidently creepy supporting one from Tim Roth combines with an intense atmosphere in Andrew Semans’ feature to create a gripping horror story.
Don’t Look Up
Although DON’T LOOK UP is undoubtedly sharper than Adam McKay’s previous political feature, VICE, the same smugness and cocksure piety blunt the more incisive moments, just as many performances are pitched more for caricature than satire.
From the archives: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
As part of celebrating ten years since the launch of TAKE ONE, which coincides with one of the first films we covered, Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy getting a new 4K home release, we have reached back into the archives for an interview with the film’s team conducted at the 2011 Cambridge Film Festival.
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
THE ELECTRICAL LIFE OF LOUIS WAIN conducts a lot of charm, and the affecting performance of Cumberbatch reduces resistance to the film’s more twee elements in the opening stretch.