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About SSP
Sam Sewell-Peterson
Writer and film fanatic fond of black comedies, sci-fi, animation and films about dysfunctional families.
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Fresh Thoughts on Film
Archived Thoughts on Film
Tag Archives: Historical Drama
Review: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
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
Chernobyl: Audience Adulation vs Critical Consenus
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
Posted in Film, Film Review, Television
Tagged Chernobyl, HBO, Historical Drama, IMDb, Jared Harris, Paul Ritter, Sky, TV
2 Comments
Review: The Favourite (2018)
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
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Biopic, Black Comedy, Drama, Emma Stone, Ex Machina, Historical Drama, Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, The Favourite, The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos
2 Comments
Review in Brief: Outlaw King (2018)
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
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Braveheart, Chris Pine, Florence Pugh, Historical Drama, Historical Epic, Outlaw King
1 Comment
Review: Peterloo (2018)
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
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Historical Drama, Maxine Peake, Mike Leigh, Neil Bell, Peterloo, Rory Kinnear, Vincent Franklin
1 Comment
Review in Brief: Churchill (2017)
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
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Brian Cox, Churchill, Historical Drama, John Slattery, Movies, The Darkest Hour
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Review in Brief: Their Finest (2016/17)
Yes, it’s probably destined to be a perennial Sunday afternoon favourite along with all the other cosy feelgood historical fare, but THEIR FINEST has a fair bit of bite to it as well. It has what SUFFRAGETTE (dignified as it … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Bill Nighy, Comedy, Gemma Arterton, Historical Drama, Suffragette, Their Finest
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Review: Darkest Hour (2017)
DARKEST HOUR left me cold. Yes, Gary Oldman will probably win the Oscar for portraying Winston Churchill. Yes, he probably should. And yet, something about the presentation of the film around him left me feeling pretty empty and disconnected. May … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Ben Mendelsohn, Biopic, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Gary Oldman, Historical Drama, Joe Wright, John Lithgow, Lily James, Netflix, Oscars, Ronald Pickup, The Crown, War Film
2 Comments