In Halina Reijn’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, five 20-somethings gather at a “hurricane party” to see out an impending cyclone. The venue is David’s (Pete Davidson) family’s remote mansion. With the gathering underway, a couple of others walk in. Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) – David’s childhood friend – has had a stint in rehab and has a…
It seems to be a film a year in the “After” teen-romance franchise, and now we’re onto the fourth. Unless you’ve seen the others you might find it difficult to follow the threads because the action just starts with a presumption of character knowledge. The series began with After in 2019, followed by After We…
Imagine what a dark place a world without music would be. That is the starting point for this bold, brassy and zany work, the brainchild of writer Brittanie Shipway, with original music from Jess Newman and Shipway. She straddles Nazi-era cabaret to a totalitarian regime with harsh dictates in 2043. Senser hits the right note figuratively and…
A widow with a 16-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son who prides herself on her scrupulous control and attention to detail is due to get married the next day. Her daughter is hardly enamoured by the idea and butts heads with her. Then everything changes when magically they switch bodies and have to step into each other’s…
A dramatic comedy, Bed & Breakfast is a brilliantly written, outstandingly realised double hander with many parts. The work of Canadian playwright Mark Crawford, this marks its international premiere. Frankly, a work of this quality, containing such important subject matter, should be seen globally. The action takes place in Melbourne, Ballarat and in a smaller regional setting,…
Colm Bairéad’s The Quiet Girl is a deeply affecting work – I had tears running down my cheeks on the final scene. We’re in rural Ireland in 1981. Cait (Catherine Clinch) (aged 9) is one of five children who keeps to herself, says very little but observes much. There is no love shown to her…
Identity is the theme of a dramatic comedy about a 34-year-old who is trying to get a sense of self. Korean-born Lucy (Susanna Qian) was adopted by her quintessential Australian parents – Shirley (Maude Davey) and George (Syd Brisbane) – when she was four. She was brought up with much love in a small country town. Now, out…
A deceptively clever period crime drama, director Graham Moore’s The Outfit is a slow burn mesmeriser. Set in Chicago in 1956, all the action takes place at the premises of a bespoke tailor. Leonard (Mark Rylance) is a well-spoken, nondescript British “cutter” who takes great pride and pleasure in his work. His narrative about what…
After spending two years in a Chinese jail for organising a protest that never happened, Lin Bo (Louis Le) has given an exclusive interview to The New Yorker. The artist explains what led to his imprisonment and interrogation, which included beatings. He speaks about the abject conditions in prison – appalling food, cockroaches aplenty and not even a…
In Orphan: First Kill, Leena (Isabelle Fuhrman) looks every bit like a 10-year-old girl. But she’s actually 31 and the most dangerous patient in an Estonian psychiatric institution. Particularly devious, she’s also deadly. When she escapes from the facility, she poses as the long-lost young daughter of a wealthy American family. Thinking his daughter has…
