Tag Archives: Historical Drama

Review in Brief: Ammonite (2020)

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

AMMONITE is a labour-intensive, impeccably detailed and tender film, the second from tactile master Francis Lee. This is a story of passions, of the agony of being starved of them, of being kept from them. Direct comparisons to PORTRAIT OF … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: The Dig (2021)

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

If it wasn’t on Netflix, THE DIG would be destined for Sunday afternoon TV circulation in perpetuity. That’s not to disparage the craft and passion that went into it, from Simon Stone’s steady direction to Mike Eley’s pristine cinematography and … Continue reading →

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True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) Review

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

https://www.thefilmagazine.com/true-history-kelly-gang-justinkurzel-georgemackay-movie-review/ SSP

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Review: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Posted on April 10, 2020 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Well this was absolutely sensational. It was also the final film I saw in the cinema before Coronavirus closed them (cheery thought). PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE is sensual, appropriately painterly and with a huge heart. Love stories are … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: The Nightingale (2018/19)

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

THE NIGHTINGALE is a gruelling and relentlessly bleak watch, but it’s compelling stuff nonetheless. Jennifer Kent followed up her fascinatingly unique genre debut THE BABADOOK with a dark, raw and grounded historical epic. There’s a captivating core relationship dynamic: an … Continue reading →

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Chernobyl: Audience Adulation vs Critical Consenus

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

According to the IMDb, HBO/Sky’s miniseries CHERNOBYL is now the most critically acclaimed TV show of all time. It’s in all the trailers now: “9.6/10”. This does not matter. I’m not one of those “who cares what the critics think?” … Continue reading →

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Review: The Favourite (2018)

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Queen Anne is a British monarch often overlooked, dismissed, forgotten. I’m into my history and I would have struggled to tell you much about her reign before watching THE FAVOURITE. The film isn’t a history lesson, that’s not what writer-director … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Outlaw King (2018)

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Don’t compare OUTLAW KING to BRAVEHEART, compare it to IRONCLAD. This is brutal, dirty history, and there’s not a kilt in sight. Chris Pine is a softly spoken and dignified Robert the Bruce, Florence Pugh is a fiery counterpoint to … Continue reading →

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Review: Peterloo (2018)

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

I’m fully behind everything PETERLOO as a film stands for, and with individual liberties under threat ever more stories like this have become vital. Unfortunately I found the the manner in which Mike Leigh tells this story deeply frustrating. Lancashire, … Continue reading →

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Review in Brief: Churchill (2017)

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Trading showiness for human connection, CHURCHILL is far superior to DARKEST HOUR. The dialogue might range from poetic bluster (“My job is not to fight, not to die…I must exist”) to rather cumbersome exposition (“We’ve only a three day window … Continue reading →

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