Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

1960 has been described as The Year of Africa, as a wave of political change spread across the continent and led to 17 nations declaring independence. Among the most contentious of these was the case of the Congo, which announced its determination to emerge as a free nation under the leadership of the charismatic Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba on June 30th. Three days before losing control of its colony, Belgium privatised the Union Minière mine, the prime source of the country’s enormous potential wealth, and within seven months Lumumba would be assassinated following a Belgium-backed coup d’état. So much for independence.

Read the rest of my review at Little White Lies

Silent Sherlock: Three Classic Cases

Numerous actors have portrayed Sherlock Holmes on the big screen over the course of the past century, but nobody comes close to Eille Norwood, who starred as Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary sleuth in 45 shorts and two features for Stoll Pictures between 1921 and 1923. The entire Stoll Collection of Sherlock Holmes films is currently being restored by the BFI, and the first fruits of that invaluable effort were screened at this year’s London Film Festival Archive Gala, which took place in the suitably Victorian surroundings of Alexandra Palace.

Read the rest of my review in Sight & Sound

The Crime is Mine Review

When you churn out features with François Ozon's regularity, it’s inevitable you can sometimes be caught coasting. The Crime is Mine is a fun but forgettable screwball pastiche in which a high-profile murder trial sparks a media frenzy, with echoes of Roxie Hart (1942). Struggling actress Madeleine (Tereszkiewicz) sees the courtroom as the ultimate stage to showcase her talents. She falsely admits to killing a lecherous impresario, enlisting her similarly penniless roommate Pauline (Marder) as her lawyer, in the hope that this will be the break they both need.

Read the rest of my review at The Skinny

A Beginner's Guide to Marielle Heller in the London Film Festival

The London Film Festival is around the corner again, and I'm excited to be a part of the programme this year. I'm a great admirer of Marielle Heller's films The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and on October 15th I'll be presenting The Beginner's Guide to Marielle Heller, in which I'll be talking through the different qualities she has shown in each of her films to date. This is an opportunity to get acquainted with Heller's work ahead of the UK premiere of her new feature Nightbitch, and as it's part of the LFF For Free programme, it won't cost you a penny! More details of the event can be found here.

Blink Twice Review

Blink Twice begins with an apology. Frida (Naomi Ackie) is watching disgraced tech CEO Slater King (Channing Tatum) express remorse in an interview for his past actions. We never learn what transgressions he committed, but Tatum nails the performatively humble delivery and therapy-speak of the celebrity mea culpa. He has established a charitable foundation in his name and will retreat to his private island for reflection, although Zoë Kravitz’s film is the product of a post-Epstein world, where billionaires retreating to private islands will surely raise suspicious eyebrows.

Read the rest of my review at Sight & Sound