Category Archives: Historical Drama

Small Axe review — Steve McQueen’s potent portrait of immigrant culture in London

January 5, 2021 flawintheiris

In 2020, the line between film and TV has been smudged by the ubiquity of streaming. There's probably no better example of the blur right now than Small Axe, an anthology series directed and co-written by filmmaker and visual artist Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame, 12 Years A Slave, Widows) that originally aired through November and…Read More

Misbehaviour review — Beauty pageant dramedy celebrates fight for equality

January 3, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe | Written by Rebecca Frayn and Gaby Chiappe | 106 min | Crave Plus With one of the year's sharpest scripts, this largely unheralded British picture hits all its targets while delivering a cheer-worthy entertainment. It tells the story of the 1970 Miss World contest in London, and how activists from…Read More

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom review — Stuck on stage, but powerful anyway

December 22, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by George C. Wolfe | Written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, adapting the play by August Wilson | 94 min | Netflix From the jump this is a straight-ahead stage-to-screen transfer that doesn't do much to free the narrative from its theatrical roots. Right away that's a strike against it — there aren't many of these…Read More

Song Without A Name review — Dark days in Peru

November 25, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Melina León | Written by León and Michael J. White | 97 min | On Demand A haunting, intense drama based on actual events that took place in Peru in 1988, reported on by the journalist father of the director and co-writer, León, against the backdrop of conflict between the Peruvian government and…Read More

Mank review — Fincher’s ode to Old Hollywood is clever, good-looking, and self-aware

November 23, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by David Fincher | Written by Jack Fincher | 131 min | In Cinemas, on Netflix from December 4, 2020 On the face of it, this is an unlikely pairing of filmmaker and subject: The master of the modern, chilly thriller, David Fincher, making a movie about the writing of the Oscar-winning script for…Read More

The Last Vermeer review — Post-WWII thriller improves as it goes

November 19, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Dan Friedkin | Written by John Orloff aka James McGee, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby, based on The Man Who Made Vermeers by Jonathan Lopez | 117 min | In Cinemas Dan Friedkin is a Texas billionaire, owner of a chain of car dealerships, with a sideline as a film producer. In The Last…Read More

Ammonite review — Lesbian love story worth seeing for the performances

November 16, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Frances Lee | 120 min | Netflix Francis Lee’s follow-up to God’s Own Country is a period drama set on a surf-swept shore featuring a romance between two women, but don’t let any surface similarity to Portrait Of A Lady On Fire lead you on. The tone here, of muted English…Read More

Sean Connery: 10 Of His Best Non-Bond Roles

November 4, 2020 flawintheiris

Sean Connery died on Saturday, October 31, at age 90. The Scottish actor was the first cinematic James Bond, and for many will always be the greatest — defining the mix of suave, stylish, sexy, and ruthless for a generation of fans. While so much of what he did with that character is easy to…Read More

Rebecca (1940/2020) review — Traditional melodrama worth seeing in two versions

November 3, 2020 flawintheiris

Rebecca | Directed by Alfred Hitchcock | Written by Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison, and Philip MacDonald, from the novel by Daphne Du Maurier | 130 min The Hitchcock original remained unseen by me until recently — all I knew was it was his first Hollywood picture, and it won Best Picture over films like…Read More

Martin Eden review — Italian melodrama mixes politics and culture to compelling ends

October 27, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Pietro Marcello | Written by Marcello and Maurizio Braucci, from the novel by Jack London | 129 min | Carbon Arc Cinema I’ve been asking myself quite a bit lately if, as movie-goers, we've all been programmed to identify, and sympathize, with the protagonist of the movie we're watching. That maybe we're not…Read More