Category Archives: Drama

All Of Us Strangers review — Love, death, and dreams

January 27, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Andrew Haigh | Written by Haigh, adapting a novel by Taichi Yamada | 105 min | ▲▲▲▲△ This is a story about loneliness and people haunted by the tragedies of the past, and seeing it within 24 hours of watching Memory it delivers a genuine wallop. It probably would anyway since it's one…Read More

Memory review — Chastain and Sarsgaard are unforgettable

January 26, 2024 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Michel Franco | 99 min | ▲▲▲▲△ A story about two fragile people hanging on to each other for dear life, Memory is an intense, discomfiting drama. As a showcase for its performers it's never less than impressive. Those performers are Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard. Chastain is Sylvia, a social…Read More

American Fiction review — Hilarious, slashing satire and family drama FTW

January 16, 2024 flawintheiris

An alternate version of this review appeared on the blog during my coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023 Directed by Cord Jefferson | Written by Jefferson from the book Erasure by Percival Everett | 117 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Amazon Prime American Fiction is a warm-hearted satire, which I’d generally say…Read More

Good Grief review — Dan Levy’s romantic, melancholy debut sparkles

January 15, 2024 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Daniel Levy | 100 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Netflix The first project I've seen in ages — aside from Maestro — where the writer-director also takes the lead role. With respect to Bradley Cooper's effort, especially the astonishing talent of Carey Mulligan, I think I liked this one a little more.…Read More

The Iron Claw review — Tragic tale, but a terrific movie

December 25, 2023 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Sean Durkin | 132 mins | ▲▲▲▲△ I came to this movie with a small personal investment: I watched World Class Championship Wrestling for about a year when I was about 13 or 14. I cheered the three Von Erichs who were wrestling when I watched — David was already gone…Read More

Monster review — An affecting, bittersweet tale of children’s secrets and adult lies

December 19, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda | Written by Yûji Sakamoto | 126 min | ▲▲▲▲△ Hirokazu Koreeda, or Kore-eda, is the veteran Japanese filmmaker behind art house hits Broker and Shoplifters, two movies I liked in parts, but too often found they felt dramatically underwhelming, meandering character studies that gradually reveal truths but demand a lot…Read More

Carbon Arc Cinema review: Rose

December 14, 2023 flawintheiris

I am the Artistic Director at Carbon Arc Cinema, part of a group of programmers who choose the films we screen. This weekend we're screening Rose, a Danish film set in France, on Friday, and an encore screening of Fallen Leaves on Saturday. Written and Directed by Niels Arden Oplev | 106 min | Carbon…Read More

May December review — A movie doing a lot of things well

December 5, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Todd Haynes | Written by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik | 117 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | On Netflix Early on in the film the camera dollies in as Gracie looks in the fridge, accompanied by a dramatic, doomy piano score flourish, and Gracie says, "I don't think we have enough hotdogs." If that…Read More

Saltburn review — Gorgeous and lurid, fascinating and flawed

November 23, 2023 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Emerald Fennell | 127 min | ▲▲▲▲△ Best Original Screenplay Oscar-winner Emerald Fennell made a big splash with Promising Young Woman, has written and directed a follow-up that disguises its genre for much of its running time in a series of narrative lock boxes and red herrings. Is it a romance?…Read More

Fingernails review — It’s a vibe

November 10, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Christos Nikou | Written by Nikou, Sam Steiner and Stavros Raptis | 113 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Apple TV+ For a lot of us secular folk, love is the last vestige of spirituality in our lives — if you don't count astrology. This movie imagines an alternate but completely recognizable world where a…Read More