Category Archives: Historical Drama

Emily review — Brontë biopic unpacks gothic myth

March 5, 2023 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Frances O'Connor | 130 min | ▲▲▲△△ A fresh literary biopic has washed up on our cinematic shores, and I confess walking into the screening room I wasn't altogether excited about it. The conceit that something essential about the canon of classic lit can be gleaned by watching a fictionalization of…Read More

Marlowe (2023) review — Liam Neeson’s softboiled noir

February 14, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Neil Jordan | Written by William Monahan, based on the novel by John Banville and the character created by Raymond Chandler | 110 min | ▲▲△△△ What we have here is a breathless effort to do a straight-ahead 1930s Hollywood private eye thriller, and a movie deeply indebted to the 1970s classic Chinatown —…Read More

Ikiru and Living reviews — Elegant remake gives Bill Nighy a career-best role

January 26, 2023 flawintheiris

The Pale Blue Eye review — Heart of gothic procedural tells a tale

January 5, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Scott Cooper | Written by Cooper, based on the novel by Louis Bayard | 128 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Netflix Scott Cooper is a director of gritty genre pictures. Some, like the western, Hostiles, deliver a potent brew of desperate characters in an unforgiving setting, while others, like the gangster drama Black Mass,…Read More

Blonde and Babylon reviews — Two Tinseltown epics, but only one has the goods

December 29, 2022 flawintheiris

Empire of Light review — A flawed but gorgeous film

December 28, 2022 flawintheiris

Empire Of Light | Written and Directed by Sam Mendes | 119 min | ▲▲▲▲△ A version of this review appeared on FITI in September from the Toronto International Film Festival Here's another semi-autobiographical drama from a garlanded filmmaker, following Belfast and The Fabelmans, both of which were lovely and intimate, if not exactly world-changing…Read More

Top 10 New-To-Me Movies of 2022

December 18, 2022 flawintheiris

A few days ago on the hellscape we all know as Twitter, someone posted a list of the older films they'd discovered this year. Movies from the past they'd never had a chance to see before but had sought out or stumbled upon in the past 12 months and were glad they did. Since I'm…Read More

The Fabelmans review — Saving Young Spielberg

November 25, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Steven Spielberg | Written by Spielberg and Tony Kushner | 151 min | ▲▲▲△△ A version of this review appeared in September on FITI during the Toronto International Film Festival Considering this picture, Kenneth Branagh's Belfast from last year, James Gray's recent Armageddon Time, and the forthcoming Bardo and Empire of Light, there's…Read More

The Wonder review — See it for Flo

November 19, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Sebastián Lelio | Written by Lelio and Alice Birch, based on a novel by Emma Donoghue | 103 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Netflix A version of this review was posted on FITI during the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Just as Florence Pugh's Don't Worry Darling scene partner Harry Styles has a less…Read More

Armageddon Time review — A moment of change in America

November 14, 2022 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by James Gray | 114 min | ▲▲▲▲△ Last year we had Belfast, and coming soon are two more large-scale autobiographical movies from prominent filmmakers: Empire Of Light from Sam Mendes, and The Fabelmans from Steven Spielberg. A more intimate, perhaps more personal reminiscence is out now from filmmaker James Gray (Ad Astra,…Read More