Scribe (La mécanique de l’ombre) movie review: all tapped out
This would-be faux-70s paranoid thriller piles on too-obvious intrigue and embarrassing clichés, and lacks suspense, thrills, and a protagonist to care about.
Paris
The Midwife (Sage femme) movie review: the birth pangs of midlife renewal
The chemistry of two formidable actresses fuels an extraordinary yet subtle clash in a nuanced, unsentimental story about how women’s friendships shape our lives.
Lost in Paris (Paris pieds nus) movie review: French kicks
An exquisite miniature puzzle-box pop-up-book of a movie. All is color and light and exhilaration here, a fantastical lark that is sheer mischievous joy.
Wonder Woman movie review: women’s work
Everything about this joyful, sincere origin story feels like a retort — a very welcome and much needed one — to traditional male-centered superhero stories.
Personal Shopper movie review: shadows of sorrow
Strange and melancholy, this genre-defying portrait of grief and loneliness puts Kristen Stewart’s onscreen persona of restive reluctance to very effective use.
Frank & Lola movie review: the pain of men (it’s all women’s fault)
Ridiculous coincidence drives the plot, but a reliance on outdated notions of gender expectations is what makes this neonoir such an infuriating experience.
#LFF2016: Spaceship, Divines, Lupe Under the Sun
Quick takes from the 60th London Film Festival, with public screenings from October 5th-16th, 2016.
Our Kind of Traitor movie review: ordinary everyday spies
Smartly elegant; the fantastic cast makes it worth your time. But it does feel as if it belongs on the small screen spread across six or eight hours.
Bastille Day (aka The Take) movie review: French toast
A fake movie busted out into reality! But this not-even would-be jokey riff on Hollywood doesn’t know how to fill the air between car chases and punchups.
Marguerite movie review: is ignorance bliss?
A bravura dramedy that beautifully balances tragedy and comedy and asks a tricky question: Is it better to be cynical about art, or happily undiscriminating?
