handcrafted film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
This Norwegian family drama, tinged with fantasy and horror, depicts a teen girl’s emotional turmoil through fantastical, yet oddly pragmatic, reveries. Newcomer Ylva Bjørkaas Thedin is heartbreaking.
A rote crime action thriller — very car chase! such gunshots! — that drains its protagonist of much of the raw power that has made her so fascinating in the past.
Excruciatingly suspenseful and unexpectedly moving portrait of the on-court rivalry between the two great tennis players… and the intriguing secret layer to the public dynamic between them.
