The Son review | A reasonably affecting family melodrama
★★★☆☆
High-flying businessman Peter (Hugh Jackman) struggles to get through to his son Nicholas (Zen McGrath) in Florian Zeller’s family drama, The Son.
London Film Festival
Blue Jean review | Impressive, but flawed debut
★★★☆☆
In Blue Jean, Georgia Oakley’s impressive, but flawed debut, a PE teacher faces a personal crisis in Thatcher’s Britain.
Women Talking review | A moving ode to solidarity between women
★★★★☆
In Sarah Polley’s gentle Women Talking, a group of Mennonite women debate whether they should leave their colony after a series of brutal attacks against them.Â
The Whale review | Compassionate, triumphant filmmaking and a winning performance from Brendan Fraser
★★★★★
Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale has the ingredients for a deeply problematic film, but it's a profoundly moving, triumphant drama.
Enys Men review | Weird for weirdness' sake
★★☆☆☆
Enys Men is Mark Jenkin’s attempt to repeat the success of Bait but it’s a disorienting, alienating tale of isolation and memory.
Empire of Light review | A deeply confusing film about cinema, race and mental health
★★★☆☆
Sam Mendes’ latest effort, Empire of Light, is a messy film about love, mental health, cinema and racial tensions in Margate in the 1980s.
Till review | A powerful film about the aftermath of Emmett Till's murder
★★★★☆
Chinonye Chukwu’s deeply devastating Till is a story of grief, loss and resilience in an unequal world.Â
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery review | A thoroughly entertaining whodunnit sequel
★★★★★
Daniel Craig returns as master sleuth Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, a riotously fun sequel to Knives Out.Â
White Noise review | A chaotic satire about the modern human experience
★★★★☆
If Covid analogies must bombard us over the next few years, let them all be as entertaining as White Noise.
She Said review | A strong adaptation of one of the biggest scandals in Hollywood
★★★★☆
She Said tells the story of two New York Times journalists who eventually brought down Harvey Weinstein with their investigation.Â
Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical review | Dynamic dance sequences and not much else
★★★☆☆
The film version of the hit West End show is getting its world premiere at BFI London Film Festival and Matilda is still as naughty as ever.
Bones and All review | Cannibal tale lacking bite
★★☆☆☆
Luca Guadagnino reunites with Timothée Chalamet in a tender cannibal romance that lacks bite, and its themes aren't fleshed out enough.Â
Lady Chatterley’s Lover review | Uneven, yet steamy
★★★☆☆
In Netflix's version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell indulge in a steamy, forbidden affair.
Living review | A beautiful adaptation of a man trying to find joy
★★★☆☆
Bill Nighy plays an elderly public servant in Oliver Hermanus’ touching but stiff Kazuo Ishiguro adaptation, Living.Â
The Wonder review | Florence Pugh shines in this exploration of science vs. religion
★★★★☆
The Wonder follows an English nurse summoned to an Irish village to observe a girl who is alive despite not having eaten for months.Â
Causeway review | Welcome back, Jennifer Lawrence
★★★★☆
A US veteran (Jennifer Lawrence) returns home and struggles to adapt to the world as a civilian in Causeway, a touching meditation on living through trauma.
BFI London Film Festival closes with audiences returning to pre-pandemic highs
The 66th BFI London Film Festival closed last Sunday, after welcoming more than 750 filmmakers, 167 feature films and 23 world premieres.
BFI London Film Festival announces competition winners
BFI London Film Festival is drawing to a close and it has just handed out some pretty prestigious awards ahead of the Closing Night Gala.
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio review | Detailed, marvellous stop-motion animation
★★★★☆
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio is a charming and detailed take on the classic tale of a wooden boy coming to life.
My Policeman review
★★☆☆☆
In 1950s Brighton, PC Tom Burgess (Harry Styles) struggles with his sexuality in Michael Grandage’s romantic drama, My Policeman.
Decision To Leave review
★★★★☆
In Park Chan-wook's Decision To Leave, an insomniac detective (Park Hae-jun) gets tangled up in the affairs of a murder victim’s widow (Tang Wei).
The Banshees of Inisherin review | An absurdly amusing parody of male friendship
In Bruges stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson reunite in Martin McDonagh’s pitch-black comedy of male angst, The Banshees of Inisherin.
Bros review | The feel-good film of 2022
★★★★☆
In Bros, Billy Eichner and Nicholas Stoller have created an overly cheesy gay romcom that is full of brilliant one-liners.
Triangle of Sadness review | Surface-level exploration of the super-rich and feminism
★★★☆☆
Two models find themselves on a superyacht with some unsavoury characters in Triangle of Sadness, the bodily fluid-filled satire from Palm d'Or winner Ruben Östlund.
Emily The Criminal review | Aubrey Plaza's finest hour
★★★☆☆
Emily The Criminal boasts an impressive performance by Aubrey Plaza, but the film never overcomes its genre trappings.
Bardo review | Self-indulgent, too long, but oddly compelling
★★★☆☆
Acclaimed journalist and documentarian Silverio (Daniel Giménez-Cacho) returns home to Mexico after a long absence in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s semi-autobiographical Bardo.
Klokkenluider review | Neil Maskell's assured directorial debut
★★★★☆
Klokkenluider is actor Neil Maskell’s directorial debut, and we deem it to be a very assured one indeed.
My Father's Dragon review | Move over Pixar, Cartoon Saloon is the animation studio to beat
★★★★☆
Cartoon Saloon’s My Father’s Dragon continues the animation studio’s focus on stories about kids on fantastical adventures.
The Origin (retitled: Out Of Darkness) review | A compelling, intoxicating horror
★★★★☆
What Andrew Cumming’s survival horror The Origin lacks in originality, it makes up for in world building and tension.Â
The Eternal Daughter review
★★★☆☆
The Eternal Daughter has atmosphere aplenty, but the corridors of its stately home setting hold few surprises in this spooky mystery/drama.
