Film

By Michael McNulty Bronco Bullfrog was the first of only three features directed by Barney Platts-Mills. He was 25 and working with a group of largely non-professional actors, some of whom were sourced from Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop. Produced on a modest budget of £ 18,000, the film featured at Cannes as part of the parallel competitive section, Semaine de la Critique, where it picked up rave reviews. However, its distributors were unsure how to handle the film and it...

By Wyndham Hacket Pain Set in the ‘Vegas of the North’, Away follows Ria (Juno Temple) and Joseph (Timothy Spall) who have both escaped to Blackpool in an attempt to distance themselves from the problems in their lives. Ria is hiding from her abusive boyfriend, while Joseph is trying to cope with the death of his wife, and as the story progresses they form an unlikely friendship. The film is told in a split time frame in a poor attempt...

By Linda Marric Hope Dickson Leach’s brilliant first feature The Levelling is a fantastically accurate and highly authentic look into the flood-battered West-country regions. This beautifully acted film, not only manages to tell a touching story of despair and isolation in rural England, but also succeeds in making a valid social commentary about those who lost so much in the floods a couple of years ago. Last week I had the chance to meet with both Dickinson Leach and the...

By James McAllister Confronting us with the devastating divisions that helped provoke last year’s Brexit vote, here is a shatteringly sombre social-realist drama that moves away from the traditional inner-city environment regularly frequented by the likes of Ken Loach, and rests its focus on rural Somerset’s stark landscape. Set mere months after the winter floods that decimated the Somerset Levels back in early 2014, The Levelling follows Clover (Ellie Kendrick), a trainee vet who returns home to the family farm...

By Wyndham Hacket Pain Looking at the premise of Jawbone you’d be forgiven for sighing and thinking not another boxing film. In the last couple of years alone Bleed for This, Southpaw, Creed, Grudge Match, and Hands of Stone have all been released, with mixed success. Cinema’s love of the sport is evident but means that each subsequent release finds it more difficult be original. It can be hard to know what can be added to the genre when classic...

By Michael McNulty We’ve seen it before in the forms of The Odd Couple, Due Date, Trains, Planes and Automobiles and a million others. An at odds pair with a strong dislike for each other, possibly even hatred, are forced together through circumstance only to slowly come together, become the ying to the others yang and form a long lasting relationship based on friendship and mutual respect. Set against the backdrop of the 2006 St. Andrews Agreement, Nick Hamm’s The...

By Linda Marric Averaging around a film a year for the last two decades, Francois Ozon has proven himself to be one of most prolific filmmakers of his generation. From the brilliant 8 femmes (2002) and Swimming Pool (2003), to the highly acclaimed French Belgian farce Potiche (2010), Ozon has managed to excel himself every time by bringing something new and precious, all the while paying homage to some of his favourite European cinematic heroes. His films have managed to...

By Linda Marric After the disappointment felt by most on the release of the long awaited Alien Prequel Prometheus, waiting for the next instalment proved to be a nerve-wracking affair. Fans and aficionados of the franchise will spend weeks, months or even years picking the latest instalment apart, but luckily for the casual consumer, all you need to know is that Alien: Covenant is a true and decisive return to form by Ridley Scott. Covenant not only makes up for...

By Linda Marric They say, never work with children or animals, but in the case of A Dog’s Purpose that old adage can safely be left at the door. Initially marred by controversy relating to a now debunked animal abuse accusation during filming, the film was later exonerated by a third party investigation which found that there was no foul play. Despite suffering from bad reviews, which one suspects were mostly associated with the scandal, the film is way more...