
weekend watchlist: is it good to be the queen?
Plus a teenage con artist, a skewering of late-night comedy, and more… (First published September 18th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.)
film criticism by maryann johanson | handcrafted since 1997
Plus a teenage con artist, a skewering of late-night comedy, and more… (First published September 18th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.)
Jessica Hausner directs and writes, with Géraldine Bajard, Little Joe, starring Emily Beecham; more… [This post is for Patreon patrons only for the first month.]
Kasi Lemmons cowrites and directs Harriet, starring Cynthia Enrivo; more… [This post is for Patreon patrons only for the first month.]
Intense, uncomfortable family drama morphs into psychological suspense in a challenging tale of racial and cultural identity eliding the biases and delusions of its characters with the viewer’s own.
Whitney Hamilton writes, directs, and stars in historical drama Union; more… [This post is for Patreon patrons only for the first month.]
Lila Avilés directs and cowrites drama The Chambermaid (La Camarista), starring Gabriela Cartol; more… [This post is for Patreon patrons only for the first month.]
A disappointing downfall from the previous films, the appealing metaphor for nonconformity giving way to dull good-vs-evil battle and dumb plot conundrums.
Despite allusions to the careers of the two main female characters, they are primarily adjuncts to their men, whose stories are all about their work. [This post is not behind the paywall.]
This stinging GenX midlife meltdown is a bit strained in its plot, but that’s balanced out by lots of melancholy wisdom and bittersweet wit.
Sneakily undercuts tropes of the young-adult hero’s journey. But in a more adventurous movie environment, this wouldn’t feel this fresh as it does.