It is a limited comparison, and arguably strained by the content of the film, but Josh Safdie’s filmmaking in Marty Supreme reminded me of Nagisa Oshima. The connection is one that reveals a fascinating approach to art, especially art that will speak on a national stage. The period, underdog skeleton of Marty puts it into ‘great American movie’ territory, conversant in the themes of that very specific genre. In a similar way, Oshima’s wider known films play knowingly in the…

The kind of effortless cool that can only come from precise, controlled and immaculate filmmaking. This diamond is a heightened, impressionistic James Bond pastiche and wider ‘60s espionage tone piece. An associative, surrealist thriller with giallo inflections and indelible style. 

In a way, this almost feels like a credits sequence of a Bond film made into a feature film. It is all imagery and archetype, a montage of genre codes presented in what feel like infinitely imaginative ways. The direction…

An exaggerated parable of marital complacency. It evocatively and resonantly tackles relationship doldrums, the idea of settling and sunk cost fallacies living out as relationships. For all its hyperbole and extremity, this socially cutting core makes it work. You believe these people, this relationship and there’s an actual horror to the central idea.

Performances really help, further pushing this as lives in and grounded. The film also balances hyperbole and relatability well. Many of the conflicts and concerns are grounded,…

Britain for Americans. That’s the concept here. Take two British people — notable actors — place them in America and surround them by American actors and that’s the contrast the entire film relies on. It is a trite idea of Britishness, a new kind of stereotype, presented as a gag. That’s the film. 

There’s almost nothing more. The apparent idea is it is a war of the roses retelling as an excuse for comedic chaos. Husband and wife turn on…

Soren Kierkegaard wrote that 'life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards'. Aftersun is an impressionistic portrait of this truism, an intricate web of framing devices that comes across as effortless.

In fact, describing Aftersun makes it sound so much more complicated than it is. The film presents three narrative perspectives, all adopting the lens of Sophie (Frankie Corio), the daughter of Calum (Paul Mescal) (the father and daughter relationship that the film entirely revolves around).…

I like to think that if this was released now, it would be torn apart by audiences, rather than just a few critics. I like to think it would be roundly rejected and would inspire frequent think pieces that were also full of recommendations of what you should watch instead.

But then I remember Green Book won best picture and that this film’s overt popularity is because it gives the people what they want. It gives them the stereotype of…