2019 Director: Céline Sciamma Starring: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami, Valeria Golino Words – Rhiannon Topham Historical dramas can be stuffy, can’t they? Just describing a film as a ‘historical drama’ conjures particularly priggish dress, dialogue and narrative, none of which is typically original or disruptive to the staid all ways of the genre….
Tag: drama
Marriage Story
2019 Director: Noah Baumbach Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta Words – Rhiannon Topham Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story opens with a couple of sickly sweet voiceovers from a couple listing everything they love and admire about their significant other. One leaves cupboard doors open and personal belongings strewn around the…
Babyteeth
2019 Director: Shannon Murphy Starring: Eliza Scanlen, Toby Wallace, Ben Mendelsohn, Essie Davis Words – Rhiannon Topham Ah, young love. Our first flame is usually a clumsy affair defined more by how awkward the whole thing is than any real or lasting affection. The majority of these ‘relationships’ end swiftly with the heartbreaking realisation that…
Thunder Road
Director: Jim Cummings Starring: Jim Cummings, Kendal Farr, Nican Robinson, Jocelyn DeBoer Words – Toni Stanger Thunder Road opens with Officer Jim Arnaud (Jim Cummings) delivering the eulogy at his mother’s funeral. It’s a 10-minute scene shot in one long, unbroken take, which is the perfect way to introduce us to this unravelling character. Jim…
Beautiful Boy
Director: Felix Van Groeningen Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Steve Carell, Amy Ryan, Maura Tierney, Jack Dylan Grazer, Zachary Rifkin, Kue Lawrence Words – Rhiannon Topham When I came out of the screening for Beautiful Boy, I overheard a woman behind me say “when he [Steve Carell] is fretting about where his son is at the beginning,…
The Favourite
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Starring: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Mark Gatiss, Joe Alwyn, Jenny Rainsford Words – Rhiannon Topham The Favourite is horrible. By horrible, I mean the filthy, wicked kind of horrible which makes prudes feel queasy. By horrible, I mean the sort of crude material that forces my mum to…
Shoplifters
2018 Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda Starring: Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka, Jyo Kairi, Miyu Sasaki Words – Joe H. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Shoplifters is an exploration of relationships from director Hirokazu Kore-eda, known for exploring similar themes in previous features such as the acclaimed 2015 film Our…
Must See Movies: November
At Reel Steel we want to make sure you’re getting the most of your cinematic enthusiasm, so each month we put together our short list of some of the best new releases, from popcorn munching explosion fests to the often weird and wonderful. Take a look at the trailers below and see this month’s recommendations……
The Little Stranger
2018 Director: Lenny Abrahamson Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, Will Poulter, Charlotte Rampling Words – Carly Stevenson Faithfully adapted from the 2009 gothic novel by Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger is an elegant haunted house drama set against the backdrop of postwar Britain. Beginning in the summer of 1948, the story is narrated by Dr…
A Prayer Before Dawn
2018 Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire Starring: Joe Cole, Panya Yimmumphai, Pornchanok Mabklang, Vithaya Pansringarm Words – Joe H. Based on the international bestselling memoir of the same name, A Prayer Before Dawn tells the true story of Billy Moore, a young boxer from Liverpool who is imprisoned in Thailand for drug offences. We are introduced to…
