It somehow seems ironic that a film exploring the last days in the life of a famous artists should itself be about as interesting as watching paint dry. At Eternity’s Gate is a biopic of the eccentric and misunderstood artist Vincent Van Gogh who died at the age of 37 in 1890. This story of…
Last year we saw the excellent documentary RBG, a comprehensive and insightful look at the life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the diminutive lawyer and champion of human rights and gender equality who became the second woman ever appointed to the bench of the US Supreme Court. Ginsburg, who graduated at the top of…
– On the Basis of Sex – Only in cinemas from 7 February 2019 We have 10 double in-season passes thanks to eOne Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer star in On the Basis of Sex, the inspiring true story of a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg,…
Apart from some exaggerated teeth, Bohemian Rhapsody is an absorbing biopic of a man, his music and a complicated life. That man is of course Freddie Mercury, a supremely talented show pony. He fronted one of the most successful rock bands of all time in Queen and the film’s title is highly appropriate for what…
Joaquin Phoenix is ideally suited to fill the role of an inveterate drinker who pays a horrendous price for his addiction, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. Phoenix frequently tackles more obtuse material and appears to revel in it. The last day slacker John Callahan (Phoenix), who lives in the US city of…
The sad later life of French painter Paul Gauguin is brought into sharp focus in this slow-moving biopic. The year is 1891. Gauguin (Vincent Cassel) is already well known in Parisian artistic circles. But he’s tired of the so-called civilised world and its conventions. Leaving his wife Mette and five children behind, he ventures alone…
Finland’s official entry for the Foreign Language Oscar in 2018, Tom of Finland is a handsome production. This is a biopic of artist Touko Laaksonen. Laaksonen’s erotic drawings (under the pseudonym Tom of Finland) had a huge influence on gay identity and became a symbol of gay pride in the sexually liberated 70s and 80s….
Queen Victoria formed an attachment late in life that brought the royal household to the point of apoplexy. That true story is given poetic licence in Victoria & Abdul. In 1887, Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal) – a 24-year-old clerk – travelled from India to the UK to present a ceremonial medal as part of the…
There have been a few films exploring the lives of genius mathematicians – from the Oscar winning A Beautiful Mind, a biopic about bipolar mathematician John Nash and his inner turmoil, through to The Imitation Game, a drama about Alan Turing, who helped crack Germany’s unbreakable Enigma Code thus turning the tide of WWII. Turing…
The name Dalton Trumbo is little known outside of those with an interest in Hollywood history, but this hugely successful (as in Oscar winning) writer is the subject of Jay Roach’s detailled and compelling biopic, Trumbo. For a little background, Trumbo was a prolific and celebrated screenwriter during the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. His many…
