Not many indie films get sequels, but Joanna Hogg’s semi-autobiographical drama following grieving film student Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) was a story that demanded continuation. It’s a compelling tale that will make a profound emotional connection with many, and many more will appreciate the playful way Hogg looks at the filmmaking process and soulful expression through the medium. Hogg has expressed desire to do a musical somewhere down the line, and a scene here where Richard Ayoade’s entertainingly abrasive filmmaker is busy shooting one makes this a particularly enticing prospect. Julie’s frustrated creation of her final graduation film, inspired by her personal life and helping her search for explanations to life’s great unknowns, makes up the majority of THE SOUVENIR II’s runtime to captivating effect, semi-fantastical vignettes and warm domestic interludes with her nice but posh and out-of-touch parents (Tilda Swinton and James Spencer Ashworth) providing added emotional heft along the way. SSP
A Christmas Carol Films Ranked
Review in Brief: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Despite a few laboured franchise references and a script that’s not always firing on all cylinders, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME serves as a crowd-pleasing and fittingly ambitious third part of the Jon Watts/Tom Holland trilogy. Peter’s (Holland) secret identity has been exposed to the world, so in order to avoid the wrong kind of attention for himself and especially his friends MJ and Ned (Zendaya and Jacob Batalon) he goes to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to cast a corrective spell that goes spectacularly wrong. As gleefully fun as all the universe-hopping and brawls with multiple returning villains is, when the film is at its strongest is in the less flashy moments when Holland can really flex his dramatic muscles and wrestle with the dilemmas of what it really means to be Spider-Man. Destined to be picked over by diehard Spidey-fans for a long time to come. SSP
Review in Brief: Limbo (2020/21)
Black comic immigration drama LIMBO couldn’t have a better backdrop than the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, literally removing displaced people from the rest of the world and placing them in a state of purgatory. Syrian musician Omar (Amir El-Masry) and a group of other migrants including Freddie Mercury-obsessed Farhad (Vikash Bhai) have been placed on an isolated Scottish island to agonisingly wait for their immigration applications to be processed by a sluggish Home Office and are given time to reflect on the homes they were forced to leave and happier times. It’s a bittersweet little film with plenty of deadpan comedy and raw emotion, even transitioning from grounded and low-key storytelling to something more metaphorical, even spiritual as time passes. Judging by this, Scottish director Ben Sharrock is definitely one to watch, a filmmaker of empathy and vision highlighting a harrowing experience too many millions experience every day. SSP
West Side Story (2021) Review
Review in Brief: Passing (2021)
PASSING, following former childhood friends Irene (Tessa Thompson) and Claire (Ruth Nega), two African-American women living very different lives in 1920s New York, highlights a number of interesting debates about being black in this period of American history. If you are lucky enough to be a lighter-skinned African American, do you choose to live a lie to improve your lot, constantly fearful of exposure? Do you educate your children on the struggles of being a black American early before they encounter prejudice in the real world? Why were white Americans so willing to enjoy black culture and yet so fervently hateful towards the people who created it? Rebecca Hall’s feature directorial debut comes from a very personal place, hits you hard on an emotional level and impresses with a simply elegant beauty. SSP
