You may know Armando Iannucci from his biting satires of British and American politics via In the Loop and Veep respectively. His latest political spoof, The Death of Stalin, explores the events surrounding the passing of appalling Soviet leader Josef Stalin. But far from being a history lesson, the film resonates with contemporary relevance. In a recent interview, …
The Divine Order is a crowd-pleasing light drama from Switzerland. A bit like Pride and Made in Dagenham, it explores how a social movement can bring about change and alter entrenched attitudes. In 1971, women in Switzerland were still denied the right to vote – one of the last countries in the industrialised world to…
Compelling performances drive Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, a love story between an older woman and a young man. I’m not talking about just any older woman. But let me go back and explain. In late September 1981 Peter Turner received a phone call that would change his life forever. His former lover, Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame,…
Swinging Safari reunites writer and director Stephan Elliott with key personnel from his The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (1994). They include producer Al Clark, production designer Colin Gibson, costume designer Lizzy Gardiner, editor Sue Blainey and composer Guy Gross. New to the team are hair and makeup designer Rick Findlater and cinematographer Brad Shield. It’s…
Steven Spielberg’s latest drama, The Post, looks at the Washington Post’s publication of the Pentagon Papers. These leaked documents showed the full extent of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War over four decades. They also revealed how successive administrations had lied to the public and covered up the truth. This is a tense thriller about government…
Darkest Hour is a kind of backgrounder on Winston Churchill’s “never surrender” speech. It also touches on the flotilla dispatched to fetch the British troops from the beach at Dunkirk (as to which, see Dunkirk). But this showy biopic has too much emphasis on levity. Joe Wright (Atonement) directs from a screenplay by Anthony McCarten (The…
Melodrama is amped up in Wonder Wheel, a period piece set in the hustle and bustle of Coney Island amusement park. Woody Allen has always had a special fondness for Coney Island. He set the childhood home of Annie Hall’s Alvy Singer under the clattering Cyclone roller coaster. Set in the 1950s, like so many of Allen’s…
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has fascinated and delighted readers for almost two centuries. In fact, it set a new standard for the holiday, inspiring the spirit of the traditional Victorian Christmas and beginning a host of customs that are still popular today. But while most readers are familiar with the beloved tale, few know the story…
If there’s one thing Hollywood loves to celebrate, it’s the artistic process. Doing that is fairly easy with things like theatre (see: Birdman) or movies themselves. Painting however is a rather different proposition. Since it’s a largely internal process, it doesn’t really lend itself to the visual medium. That hasn’t stopped actor-turned-director Stanley Tucci from…
The Dancer is an unusual story about achievement, heartbreak and pain. This period film concerns a dancer who rewrote the rule book. Born in the American Midwest, nothing in her background destined farm girl Loïe Fuller (Soko) to become the toast of Europe’s Belle Epoque cabarets. But – hidden behind metres of silk, her arms…
