Eiffel movie review: Gustave’s erection
Comfortably unchallenging French romantic drama, though it does Freudian-slip into implying that the engineer was only inspired to erect his soaring tower when an old flame reawakened his, er, heart.
reviews by genre
The Princess documentary review: look back in anger
A portrait of Diana’s depiction in the press that is incendiary, incisive, and transfixing. A litany of horror, in retrospect, and an incredibly valuable look at how public stories are shaped by media.
Wild Men (Vildmænd) movie review: mild men, more like
This Danish black comedy is a meandering exploration of masculinity in the 21st century, and though it’s more miss than hit, it’s charming and bittersweetly heartfelt in its bumbling and bungling.
Bullet Train movie review: total derailment
The cast is, on paper, terrific, but there’s nothing engaging in their bloody savagery. A misfire of a supposed action comedy, this mind-numbing mess is by turns grating, tedious, and infuriating.
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris movie review: a fashion for kindness
This 60-year-old story of pursuing a dream with resolute kindness could not feel more fresh in its knowing class clash. Lesley Manville is an absolute treasure, her command of comedic pathos supreme.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande movie review: come as you are
Full of honesty and humanity, utterly lacking in shame over a basic human need, the female experience of which is almost universally ignored onscreen. Light, funny, diverting. So why was I bawling?
The Book Keepers documentary review: a road trip through love and sorrow
A book is born; its author dies. Her husband takes up her work in a process of gentle, active mourning. Honest and hopeful, this journey through grief is beautifully structured for maximum poignance.
Nude Tuesday movie review: nonsense, not quite inspired (Tribeca Film Festival 2022)
The wacky-yet-heartfelt comedy just about works; the gibberish dialogue, not so much. But this could be the makings of a crowdsourced cult fave, if playful viewers end up creating their own subtitles.
Men movie review: if it walks like misogyny and squawks like misogyny…
A “critique” of misogyny that is outright misogynist, even before it goes down a gorefest rabbit hole of infuriating contempt for women. What the hell is going on with this would-be-mythic mishmash?
The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) movie review: sweet summer child
One of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. It is impossibly small, and emotionally immense, full of the most bittersweet of pathos that the coming-of-age genre offers. A treasure, and a gift.
