The Beast

A salutary lesson in how not to take a very short story and turn it into a very long film. It’s certainly one to swerve if you’re the least bit tired (which I was). Henry James’ source novella was barely 30 pages long when it first surfaced in 1902 and it’s hard to fathom just…

There’s Still Tomorrow

A splendid one-off debut from Paola Cortellesi which confounds expectation in the final scenes, making you realise that the film you thought you were watching was not the one she had been making. There will inevitably be comparisons made with Alfonso Cueron’s awards ladened Roma. Each is filmed in black and white and examines the…

The Dead Don’t Hurt

Viggo Mortensen writes, directs, produces, stars in and composes the music for this elegiac and endearingly old fashioned western. And, all things considered, I thought he did a pretty good job (or should that be jobs?) The score in particular was beautifully modulated; often featuring piano and cello in haunting unison. He sets the bulk…

Two Tickets to Greece

About three quarters of the way through Marc Fitoussi’s ridiculously contrived odd couple road movie, a man going about his normal business in a local taverna, is smashed over the head with an empty wine bottle…….and I knew just how he felt. The assault is carried out by Magalie (Laure Calamy). She’s an insufferably irrepressible…