Tag Archives: Drama
Review in Brief: Black Bear (2020/21)
There have been plenty of meta, reality-bending films about writing a screenplay, many from this century made by Charlie Kaufman. BLACK BEAR boasts a wonderful performance from Aubrey Plaza as an actor turned-writer-director looking for inspiration, but asks you to … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Nomadland (2020)
Arguably no filmmaker since Agnés Varda has blended elements of documentary and fiction together as effectively as Chloé Zhao. NOMADLAND’s narrative is loose and meandering, but only to reflect the Nomad on-the-move, purposeful and yet purposeless lifestyle. Following industrial collapse … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Promising Young Woman (2020)
With PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN writer-director Emerald Fennell has crafted one of the most challenging and keen-edged debut films in years, and it’s making just the right kinds of people mad. Cassie (Carey Mulligan) spends her evenings pretending to be blackout … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Judas and the Black Messiah (2020)
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH tells a heightened version of a story that everyone should know, and tells it with righteous anger. Unfortunately some elements of the film’s abundant style do admittedly get in the way, like the depiction of … Continue reading
Review in Brief: Minari (2020)
There’s no debate, MINARI is an American film – what could be more American than a tale of a family buying a farm and dreaming of living off the land? It’s astounding that the film features two of the first … Continue reading
MANIFF Review in Brief: The Catch (2020)
This film was watched at a Manchester International Film Festival Virtual Screening. Gritty family drama THE CATCH is firmly rooted in a distinct sense of place. The plot steadily drifts but the raw emotionality frequently spills over in this tale … Continue reading
Malcolm & Marie (2021) Review
Review in Brief: Babyteeth (2019/20)
With a premise that could have either been maudlin or saccharine (teenager with cancer falls for a bad boy) BABYTEETH instead ends up being bittersweet, often joyous and lyrical. This is musical filmmaking without actually being a musical with its … Continue reading
Review in Brief: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
Aaron Sorkin’s greatest strengths as a writer and a filmmaker are also his greatest weaknesses, but he’s probably the kind of idealistic voice the world needs right now. This is never truer than in watching THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 