Director: Elfar Adalsteins
Starring: John Hawkes, Logan Lerman and Sarah Bolger

Following the loss of his wife, Frank Fogel (John Hawkes) embarks on a journey to spread her ashes in the remote countryside of her native Ireland. Her last (and only) wish also stipulates that their son Sean (Logan Lerman) joins him for the journey. Fresh out of prison, Sean is full of attitude and pain; he misses his mother and he has been estranged from his father for years following a falling out as a teenager. The pair have never had the chance to heal, to forgive or move on. What comes next is a drama-filled road trip which forces them together while they navigate new cultures and people - including a hitchhiker they pick up in Dublin, the charismatic Jewel (Sarah Bolger) who is looking for a new start in life. It becomes pretty clear that they all share that in common.

The feature film directorial debut of Elfar Adalsteins, and written by Michael Armbruster, the film is a sensitive exploration of a father-son relationship when both are grieving. The road around Ireland becomes more then the pair bargained for as they come face to face with the pain of their shared past while facing up to a future without Mrs Fogel to guide them.

Plenty of deliciously dark comic moments punctuate the piece - Frank is the very image of a buttoned-up, shy man who is unable to embrace adventure which is completely at odds with his son. Mysteries also unfold around Mrs Fogel's history in Ireland, proving that there is more than meets the eye - even within your own family.

This is a brilliant film with a lot of heart and central performances that transcend the script to lay bear the complexities of failed relationships, the heartbreak that they bring and the importance of forgiveness. It's also an uplifting film, with many surprising moments of sheer delight. Sometimes we need to leave home to feel free. It was, for this reason, my favourite film of Edinburgh Film Festival this year and I hope that many more get to see it.

Director: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle Macdonald, Daniel Henshall, Bill Camp

Based on a true story, Skin follows the dramatic early life of Bryon Widner who was adopted from homelessness on the streets as a young boy by a group of 'Viking' Neo-Nazis.  Nurtured by his 'father' Fred 'Hammer' Krager (a sinister portrayal by Bill Camp) he undergoes indoctrination into the world of fascism, as portrayed by the shocking symbolic tattoos covering his entire face.

At first it's all too easy to write off yet another skinhead on our screen, without either a conscience or an ounce of empathy. However, it's in the careful performance from the older Bryon (Jamie Bell), where we understand quite early on in the film that he is making tentative steps to resist the behaviour of his fascist family and look for a way out. Doubts about their motivations come to a head with a violent clash with protesters - with Bryon opening a wound that is not easily healed. It isn't until he comes across Jules (Danielle Macdonald) and her three daughters that he finally sees another way of life open to him.

The struggle is in leaving the old life behind, especially when it doesn't want you to leave it. There is a stand-out scene where his family turn up in his new home, waiting for him in the living room - they are physically and symbolically inhabiting a space in his life that they will fight to keep. Both Bryon and the audience feel this claustrophobia acutely.

Alongside the film's narrative, there are painfully visceral moments documenting Bryon's laser tattoo removal from his face and body. Punctuating the story, we see him writhe under the pin-sharp lasers, offering him a freedom from the racist imagery he thought would imprison him forever.

Skin is a nervy, well-thought out film with terrifying and unsettling moments. It has enough light, though, to show that hope can persevere in the darkest of moments. Bell and Macdonald go all-in, taking on the world and their roles with gusto and proving to be some of the most sensitive and versatile actors of the moment.

Blumhouse productions, founded by Jason Blum, has become renowned for making low budget horror movies that change the zeitgeist and, usually, appeal to an audience more mainstream than the normal horror crowd. Following films like The Purge, Happy Death Day, and the incredible Get Out and Us, they present Ma, a suburban thriller-psychological horror hybrid.

Octavia Spencer stars as ‘Ma’ or Sue Anne, a lonely woman who befriends some local teenagers, opening up her basement for them to party. Her rules include one of them staying sober to drive the others home and they don’t tell anyone that they come to her house. And don’t go upstairs…

All seems innocent until Ma starts getting interested in the kids' lives to the point of obsession. Flashbacks tell Sue Anne’s own story of what life was like for her at school, and we start realising that her intentions aren’t as innocent as they first seem. Maggie (Diana Silvers), the new girl at school, is the only one to start picking up on the weird vibes, and starts keeping a close eye on her.

Octavia Spencer is brilliant as Ma. She clearly relishes the chance to play someone who isn’t as sweet as she seems - although her doe eyed smile keeps you enchanted throughout. The cast boasts Juliette Lewis and Luke Evans as parents and Allison Janney as Sue Anne’s boss, who all clearly wanted to work with Spencer and didn’t mind taking on small supporting roles. The script seems a bit timid and uncertain of what it really wants to achieve - the horror part of the film is reserved for the end of the third act with the build up lulling you to the point where you actually forget it’s meant to be a thriller and start enjoying the suburban teenage drama. The age old tropes of ‘don’t go up the stairs’ and ‘get out of the house’ are a bit tired but still raise some hairs.

The best thing about the film is how delightfully ‘B-movie’ it is. The epic soundtrack and references to John Hughes movies start making sense, this is really a high school movie meant to scare kids out of drinking too much in a strangers basement. It is however hugely enjoyable; the cast is ace and do their best in carrying a film where not a lot happens and yet is still surprisingly entertaining. It’s definitely one to see on a Friday night at the cinema.

Review: ★★★★

Brutal. Unflinching. Hard to watch, even harder to digest.
Brilliant. Brave: Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale.

Writer and director Kent was the mastermind behind one of my favourite horror movies to date, The Babadook. I loved it so much I even purchased the handmade pop-up book from the film, where it sits proudly on my bookshelf at home. A gifted story-teller, I couldn’t wait to see what she was up to next. Following it's premiere at Venice, Sundance London picked it up to share with UK audiences ahead of it's release later this summer.

The first thing to say about her second feature is that at first glance it seems far removed from The Babadook, and yet in many ways it isn’t. The Nightingale isn’t a horror movie but the film deals with significant acts of horror. In both films we are led by the mother figure, we see things through her eyes and beyond, we follow her tortured journey. Her narrative is weaved with a sense of unease, of pain.

The film takes us to 1825 Tasmania, Australia, where Aisling Franciosi plays Claire, a beautiful, talented wide-eyed young lady hopeful for a fresh start after serving her three years of indebted servitude to the Colonial British Army. Originally from Ireland, she’s married with a newborn baby she is devoted to. As a convict she is forced to serve an Officer of the British Army, Hawkins (Sam Claflin). Hawkins, bored and frustrated by his position in what he sees as his forgotten position in the Australian Countryside, sinks low, and is determined to bring those around him down with him. In a night of rage, he commits a terrible act of violence to Claire and her family. Made determined by her overwhelming anger and need for revenge, she follows him north - enlisting the help of an Aboriginal tracker, Billy (Baykali Ganambarr), putting her life in the hands of someone even more marginalised than she.

Race, class and gender all play their part here. Kent takes painstaking care to show us exactly who comes off better in every situation - the violence of the ‘big scene’ at the opening continues throughout - often without fanfare, the monstrosities becoming the new norm across the land.

There are significant moments in my life when I’ve watched a movie that has had such an impression, such an impact, that I remember all of it from start to finish. It travels with me, for years, forever embedded in my memory where I will take it out and ponder on it every once in a while. Usually these are narratives that surprise or shock, something as yet unseen. It gives the brain a little jolt of surprise and something shifts. I don’t think it’s too melodramatic to say that these films often change me. The Nightingale is 100% one of those films. It will stay with me.

Review: ★★★★


A film by Brian Welsh, Beats was a passion project he felt like he just had to make. Based on the play of the same name, he actually teamed with the playwright Kieran Hurley to co-write the screenplay. Together they bring to life the illegal party scene of 1994 Glasgow.

Best mates Johnno and Spanner are on the cusp of leaving school, living in a small Scottish town. The film follows their ‘coming of’ age journey, both along very different paths. Johnno has a new father figure he doesn’t trust, a police officer full of rules, who plans on taking the family off to live in the suburbs. Spanner lives with his violent, temperamental older brother. Their friendship is based on the release and passion they get from listening to dance music. Having found a pirate radio station which streams recordings of the infamous free parties, they finally have the chance to join one. Stealing money from his brother, Spanner convinces Johnny to join him on the adventure of their young lives; meeting an eclectic cast of supporting characters and getting into scrapes on the way.

Welsh was fascinated with the legislation of the Criminal Justice Act, specifically the infamous ‘repetitive beats’ wording. The film documents the youngsters desire to form their rave community, and does so sympathetically. The quest for this freedom in broken Britain is made harder with police breaking up their meetings constantly. There is a real sense of isolation for the characters, of suffocation. It’s an artfully told story, with the relationship of the protagonists at the very core of it. The performances are at times intimate, dialed down but sharp. Lorn Macdonald as Spanner is a particular treat.

Welsh’s episode for Black Mirror (The Entire History of You) had caught the attention of Steven Soderbergh who is an executive producer on the film. ‘Everyone was very nervous about shooting in black and white’ explained Welsh at the BFI preview screening on Monday night. ‘We kind of just did it and then showed them the dailies but it took some persuading - they didn’t want the film to look like a niche art house movie.’ The black and white is intoxicating; at times nostalgic, and at others poignant. In contrast there’s a dreamy, surreal party scene which sparks with colour and life.

Safe to say that Beats feels like a breath of fresh air for British Cinema right now, with a killer soundtrack and honest, sensitive performances. A must see.

Director: Tom Harper
Production Companies: Fable Pictures; Creative Scotland · Film4 Productions · British Film Institute
Review: 'It's a must-see' ★★★★★ 

Wild Rose had its debut at the BFI London Film Festival and opened across cinemas in the UK this month. An absolute delight of a film, the narrative follows Rose-Lynn 'Rose' (Jessie Buckley) as she follows her dream of becoming a country music star.

Set in Glasgow, Scotland, Rose is fresh out of prison and keen to continue working on her 'craft' in becoming a musician outside of her home town. Her cell walls are covered in maps, postcards and images of Nashville: it's her mecca. Her journey hits an almost immediate roadblock as she arrives back home - we find out that she's lost her job at the country-themed bar she's been singing in since her teens, and she has two young children who have been living with her mum (Julie Walters). They all greet her cautiously; it seems that her priorities haven't always aligned with that of being a good mother or daughter. Soon she's having to face her reality of being a single mother to estranged children and working for minimum wage as a 'daily woman.' Rose is not a delicate flower by any means - she's spontaneous and passionate and her frustration is palpable.

Sophie Okonedo as Susannah, Rose's new boss, offers support and encouragement. She has money and connections. Rose can finally see her way out, but faces disappointing her family yet again.

My absolute favourite thing about the film was the energy and love for Country music that the filmmakers obviously have in spades. Buckley performs with so much care and attention for the fans and the music is top-notch. The soundtrack seeps into every major sequence, reminding up even in the most desperate of times who Rose really is and how talented she is. The music swings from joyful, uplifting, to devastating.

I also adore the relationship with Rose and her mother. Jessie Buckley plays the working class Glaswegian as an incredibly vulnerable and yet vivacious woman in a role that seems to have been written for her. While Jessie is charismatic, Julie Walters is captivating. Every scene between them fizzles withe electric energy - for me it's the most important relationship arc in the film and it's dealt with sensitively and with intelligence.

Wild Rose is a spell-binding film told with a huge amount of tenderness and love for its unconventional heroine. Jessie Buckley is a huge talent and I for one can't wait to see what she has in store next (she was born to play Janis Joplin, please make this happen!)

Director: Dan Gilroy
Production Company: Netflix
Review: ★★★★

Velvet Buzzsaw, a film about the upper echelons of the critics, curators and dealers in the artistic society of Las Angeles, is a brilliant piece of stylish, well-written, self-satirizing and intentionally superficial cinema.

I was absolutely captivated by the trailer before the film's release on the streaming platform - it suggested absurdity, horror, beauty and caricature performances from the art world. I wasn't disappointed.

So much of what cinema tries to do now is to over complicate a plot, bloat a story line and try to please everyone until your audience is mainstream and the film is mundane. I haven't written a blog piece about a film for a few months, so uninspired by cinema recently (my fault for missing my beloved Berlinale this winter.) However, here I am, already excited about a re-watch. That's also the great thing about watching film on a streaming service. Hit replay.

Netflix took a chance on Dan Gilroy's follow-up to Nightcrawer -  the brilliantly grotesque, neon-seeped tale of the bottom feeders of LA. Here he turns his attention to the elite society of the very same city. The film debuted at Sundance 2019, describing itself as a horror-thriller hybrid and boasting a cast of genius character-actors led by Jake Gyllenhaal as Morf, an unapologetic art critic with ruthlessly discerning taste and the very best lines, delivered in hilarious deadpan. Rene Russo is punk princess turned art dealer to the rich, practically running the town. Toni Collette, complete with art house blonde bob, is pitch-perfect as Gretchen - a curator of the people turned sell-out art dealer. British actress Zawe Ashton is Josephina, full of delicious melancholy and carefully calculating, who longs to be part of the crowd.

It is Josephina who discovers the dead body of her neighbour on the staircase. Shaken, she learns that he was an artist who demanded that all of his paintings be destroyed when he died. Intrigued, she enters his home and is mesmirised by what she finds; dark imagery painted by an obviously unhinged mind. She knows immediately that her crowd will love it.

As these paintings begin to gain popularity, something very strange is happening to those who spend too much time around them. The thriller turns to old school horror as we are treated to a variety of scares; both creative and fascinating - one of my favourite scenes is where the art consumes the human, literally.

At times, it is true that the film struggles with it's identity, swinging from horror to comedy to melodrama - but that's what I find so interesting about it. The film is also very shallow, but it is a pastiche of a shallow world. Art for money, money for art.

I'll leave it there. As Morf states, critique is so limiting and emotionally draining. I hope you enjoy.

Director: Adam McKay
Review: ★★

Christian Bale is unrecognisable as 46th Vice President of America, Dick Cheney, the controversial figure in US Politics and arguably the most powerful Vice President in history. Bale thanked 'Satan' for inspiring him to play this role at the Golden Globe's this month; he wasn't a nice guy. The film, which is not really a biopic - more of a dark comedy - covers almost six decades of Cheney's life and it's a fascinating one. From flunking college, landing a couple of DUIs, becoming a political insider before taking on the role of CEO for Halliburton - an energy management company - and this is all before becoming Vice President. The VP role is, as he says in the film, a 'nothing job, a symbolic job.' Director Adam McKay (The Big Short) argues the Cheney made it so much more than that.

Bale put on 18kg of weight for the role, added false teeth and neck rolls; relishing the chance to sink into this devious character at the centre of the war with Iraq. It gets off to a pretty entertaining start as we trace him from college to his first job in Washington D.C. as an intern; with the usual McKay tropes of still frame introductions to characters including Steve Carell's Donald Rumsfeld. However, when you finally do get an insiders taste of the Capitol, the frenetic energy that creates such intrigue is dropped, and McKay focuses on educating the audience about the political landscape in detail, much to it's detriment. The film comes in at 2 hours, 20 mins - surely we don't need to be spoon-fed every single conversation Cheney has with his colleagues. Tighter editing would have kept the fluency which is lost throughout the last two thirds of the piece.

The supporting cast show sparks of wit and intrigue - from Amy Adam's portrayal of the driven wife Lynne, to Sam Rockwell's delightfully green George W. Bush. However the star is Cheney and the camera soon find it's way back to him, unfortunately. Bale is great; he is a method actor at heart and it's a role he clearly relishes and plays with gusto, which should indeed be celebrated, but the script lets him down time and time again.

The film is a satirical comedy - but not one that punches above The Big Short - or even comes close. Suffice to say, Vice's pace is bloated and frustrating.

Stan & Ollie was destined to cause a lot of buzz; the film tells the story of comedy greats Laurel & Hardy, and closed the 2018 BFI London Film Festival to great critical acclaim.

Directed by J.S. Baird (Filth), the actors take, well, centre stage; with modern-day comic actors Steve Coogan (Stan Laurel) and John C. Reilly (Oliver Hardy) breathing life to the script by British writer Jeff Pope.

The film is absolutely magic. It's easy to forget that you aren't seeing the duo back on the big screen in the opening, as Coogan and Reilly joke around before their famous dance on a Western cowboy set in Hollywood; captured on fuzzy black and white film. In 1937, the stars were the biggest names in film throughout the world. We don't focus on their booming film careers of the Golden Age but fast forward to 1953. With fading popularity, and the hopes of having a film produced, they agree to a tour of variety halls in Britain, starting in a rain-drenched forgotten B&B in Newcastle.

The two had different priorities early on in life - Laurel was incredibly driven and hated not owning his own material (the pair were under contract with their studio during their film career) whereas Hardy was content with his role as an actor and a steady wage. Eventually Laurel left the studio and hoped that Hardy would join him, which didn't come to pass. After many years apart, the two have to bond again on a tour spanning over a month before they hit their last destination - London's West End. Now in their 60s, they aren't the youthful actors from the world of vaudeville anymore but they still have that certain 'je ne sais quoi'. Watching the pair come back to life on stage is an absolute delight. The first few venues are empty bar a few who still remember them and the sad truth comes to light - they aren't at the top of their game anymore. But bringing joy and laughter to the world was their strength and if anyone could make a come back, it surely would be they.

Coogan and Reilly were born to play together, that much is certain. Reilly, in full prosthetic make-up and fat suit, is Hardy - the unmistakable twinkle in his eyes. Coogan inhabits the little quirks and nuances that made Laurel so charming on-screen. It's in the close-up scenes off-stage that the pair really get the chance to inhabit their roles; the film is a love story between Laurel and Hardy and the partnership that they enterred so many years ago. With Hardy's health in jeopardy, and Laurel's commitment to see the tour through, the pair conjure scenes that are both heartbreaking and joyful; making Stan & Ollie a magnificent film and study of great comedic and dramatic acting from both leads.

I can't believe another year has passed; and what a year for film. As usual I've added a few films that I've seen at festivals, so they will be out on general release early 2019 - something to look forward to seeing on the big screen, maybe for a second time for some of you. There are also a few that I wish I could add, but do not fall under the 'indie' umbrella - Into the Spider Verse was one of my favourite films of the year, as was A Star is Born - both extraordinary in their own way. The year 2018 very much demanded escapism; so you'll see comedies, documentaries and period pieces of cinema about the weird and wonderful world we live in. I don't know what next year will bring, but I know that these films bought joy, inspiration and wonder into my life. Here's to more happy cinema trips in 2019 - Happy New Year film fans!

8. Annihilation

This year, Alex Garland was back - this time for the sci-fi horror film Annihilation for Netflix. I had no preconceptions, having never read the source material by Jeff VanderMeer, but it was a film that kept me guessing at every turn. With a strong female-led cast of greats (Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny ...and Oscar Isaac) it follows Portman’s Lena, a biologist and former soldier, on a mission to uncover what happened to her husband inside Area X - a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. In my real-life job, I work in VFX and it has to have some of the wackiest, beautiful and disturbing visuals that I’ve seen for a long time. It’s at once terrifying and mesmerising; and the marvel Jennifer Jason Leigh absolutely steals the show. With so many layers to it, I think it’ll stand-up for quite a few more viewings over the coming years.

7. Wildlife

For Paul Dano’s directorial debut, we find ourselves immersed within a 1950s melodrama set against the Montana suburbs during risks of the forest-fires spreading. Teenager Joe (Ed Oxenbould) lives with his parents whose marriage is on the rocks: volatile father Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Jeanette (Carey Mulligan). Mulligan plays a woman unhappy with her lot; keen to make something of her life and live up to her potential but trapped in a stressful marriage. It’s a mesmerizing performance; with resentment simmering deliciously, until her behaviour begins to alienate her son. It's a very strong debut for Dano, who had proved that he can get the best out of his cast and produce a thought-provoking narrative as told through the son's eyes.

6. Searching

Having been shot entirely from the point of view of devices; laptops, phones, even CCTV, it’s easy to write this film off as a gimmick from the trailer alone. However this tense thriller works because it has an emotional core and exceptional performances that hold your attention and continue to keep you guessing. David Kim (John Cho) becomes desperate when his 16-year-old daughter Margot disappears and an immediate police investigation leads nowhere. He soon decides to search the one place that no one else looked- her laptop, where he discovers that he didn’t know his daughter at all. It was a hugely entertaining thrill-ride which kept me on the edge of my seat.

5. Skate Kitchen

Filmmaker Crystal Moselle met the cast of the Sundance London's favourite, Skate Kitchen, on the subway. She documented their hangouts, developed friendships and immersed herself in the world of skate-boarding. The result is this fictional feature that is more of a doc-narrative hybrid, following the talented skater Camille, who befriends a group of girl skateboarders. As she journeys deeper into this raw New York City subculture, she begins to understand the true meaning of friendship. This is a subtle, low-key drama with an emotional core.

4. Green Book

The surprise film at the 2018 BFI London Film Festival, Green Book is a passionate story of the coming together of proud, stubborn individuals from different walks of life in 1960s America. The film is based on the true story of Dr Don Shirley, a world-class African-American concert pianist, and Tony 'Lip', an Italian-American club bouncer from the Bronx. The unlikely pair team up for a tour of the Deep South, with Dr Shirley playing for the well-to-do socialites who want to appear cultured but at the same time bound by societal rules when it comes to race and the north-south divide. With Lip employed as a chauffeur / body guard, the pair form a bond when they are both forced to confront racism and discrimination at the various venues they travel to; despite their different natures. Director Peter Farrelly has created a delightful character-study, with stunningly down-to-earth, visceral, emotional performances from Mahershala Ali as Dr Shirley and Viggo Mortensen as Tony; both men have lessons to learn in this road trip filled with drama at every turn; but also touching humour in the face of adversity.

3. A Quiet Place

John Krasinski (of The Office fame) directs this astounding modern horror movie which hits all the right notes. Mysterious creatures that hunt by sound have taken over the country, leading to a family of four struggling to survive. Emily Blunt also stars as the mother to two children, and heavily pregnant with the third. A Quiet Place artfully plays on elemental fears with a ruthlessly intelligent creature feature that's as original as it is scary -- and establishes director John Krasinski as a rising talent.

2. Wild Rose

Wild Rose had its debut at the BFI London Film Festival and, although it isn't out on general release until 2019, I loved it so much that I couldn't leave it out. Set in Scotland, Rose-Lynn is fresh out of prison and on a quest to become a country music star, while resenting her reality of being a young mother of two children. With a stellar supporting cast (Julie Walters plays Rose-Lynn's mum and every scene between them fizzles withe electric energy) Wild Rose is a spell-binding film told with a huge amount of tenderness and love for its unconventional heroine. Jessie Buckley is a huge talent and one to watch for 2019.

1. Isle of Dogs

If you know me in person, this choice should not come as a surprise. Isle of Dogs won my heart time and time again this year. Revisiting the charming, old-school approach to animation Director Wes Anderson utilisied to great acclaim in 2009’s Fantastic Mr Fox, the film follows a motley crew of dogs who have, by executive decree passed by Mayor Kobayashi, been exiled onto ‘Trash Island;’ a veritable wasteland of paper, leftover food and garbage. The main squad are all voiced by Anderson-regulars: Bryan Cranson, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Edward Norton and Bill Murray. Indeed it’s hard not to assume that Anderson had the actors in mind for each role as they are perfectly suited; from Cranson’s embittered ‘stray’ with heart, Chief, to Edward Norton’s neurotic and argumentative turn as Rex.

With over 200 sets built for the film in total, it takes more than one viewing to catch everything that Anderson wants us to see. On Trash Island, every piece of strewn paper has detailed writing in Japanese hand, the sets are full to the brim of references to Anderson’s favourite Japanese objects. A film with heart, soul and generous amounts of quirky personalities, Anderson has created yet another masterpiece, bought alive with a fantastic medium that both children and adults will enjoy. A work of art.

Directed by: Ed Lilly
Starring: Connor Swindells, Emily Taaffe, Fola Evans-Akingbola

My best kept secret – I’m actually from Essex. Not fancy TOWIE Essex, but what we call ‘London overspill’ which actually translates to ‘the part of Essex no one knows about.’ This is why I found myself at the opening screening of VS., hailed as the ‘Southend version of 8 Mile’ at this year’s BFI London Film Festival; I couldn’t resist a visit home.

Adam is a foster kid who has had to be re-homed numerous times due to his struggle with anger management and behavioral issues. The film opens with him moving back to his birthplace of Southend-On-Sea. It turns into quite a poignant coming-of-age tale about searching for identity; starting with his intense obsession with finding and confronting his birth mother (Emily Taafe) and developing in his rite of passage through the world of rap battles and inclusion in the close-knit social group.

Connor Swindells plays Adam and it’s a bold task which he faces fearlessly – the troubled teen finds solace in writing rap material and soon starts using it as an outlet for his complex frustrations with life. Throughout the film he teeters on the edge of self-destruction; his behaviour is explosive, he is riddled with demons (often using his physicality to depict changes of mood) and he seems to be constantly on edge; adding a delicious tension throughout the story as it unravels.

The rap battle scenes shine a unique light on life in the suburbs. The film is striking in its choice not to be based in London, there’s something that feels fresh in the neon of the arcades and the seafront strip looks eerily beautiful, with an ever-present, claustrophobic grey expanse of the sea penning in the youth living there.

Fola Evans-Akingbola (Game of Thrones) plays Makayla; an arcade worker by day and rap battle producer by night. She acts as a guide into the underworld of rap and brings weight and energy into the role. The cast is very diverse; and made up of a mix of established and rising talent.
It’s engaging, thoughtful and delicate; a great debut from Director Ed Lilly and one that seems to have been made with a lot of love, care and attention. It’s exciting to see what he brings to the table next.

Directed by: Joe Penna
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Maria Thelma Smáradóttir

An expanse of white as far as the eye can see, gently sloping mountains in the horizon, a polar bear pads silently across the snow, pausing briefly to gaze back at the watching man across the valley.

At first Arctic reads as a classic survival narrative; the basic man vs. nature conundrum. I’d recently seen The Mountain Between Us, which draws some very obvious similarities; plane crash, hostile snowy environment, a great expanse needing to be crossed for a chance of survival. However, unlike relying on the pairing of Kate Winslet and Idris Elba for context,  Arctic’s dialogue is bare. This is largely due to the fact that there is only the protagonist for the first third of the film, played by Mads Mikkelsen.

It appears to lull you into that false sense of security of knowing exactly how this works out; he sticks to a routine of catching fish, laying out black rocks spelling ‘help’ against the snow and signalling for nearby aircraft. However, crucially, we don’t know who he is. He speaks very little, in both Danish and English. He offers no information to help us piece together a backstory and remains an enigma throughout, which feels fresh. The character becomes more than a person; he becomes the flicker of hope for survival, the spectrum of emotions that occur in the darkest of hours.

There is plenty of drama to keep us on the edge of our seats; he has a chance of escape quite early on – a small helicopter has spotted him and attempts to make it’s way towards him in strong winds leading to a crash. There are two people on board; one is killed with the other, a woman (Maria Thelma Smáradóttir), who survives but is badly hurt and must be cared for. Suddenly the odds of both surviving are halved; the danger is intensified.

Here is a tale of endurance over survival. This is where Mikkelsen excels; he digs deep to portray every possible emotion through a gruelling and ice-cold journey. He is silent but his face says everything. I laughed in delight, I wept quietly. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing this role.
It’s a feat for Joe Penna, directing his feature film debut. See it for Mikkelsen, stay for the sensitive direction and the stunning cinematography.

Real-life stories sell. We’re intrigued by the impossible, the gritty survival story. Unconsciously drawn to the fear of nature taking over (and winning.)

Adrift is the adaptation of one such real-life tale of horror. Based on the book written by survivor Tami Oldham (played by Shailene Woodley who also as a producer credit on the film), it follows her sailing trip with partner Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin) as they veer directly into one of the most catastrophic hurricanes in recorded history. In the aftermath of the storm, Tami awakens to find Richard badly injured and their boat in ruins, drifting across the vast expanse of the Pacific ocean.

With no hope of rescue, 24 year-old Tami has to look deep inside herself to conjure the strength and determination needed to save herself and the only man she has ever loved.

The film was screened on Monday to an audience who held their breath at every twist and turn of the film. The cinematography is gorgeous, the ocean at once breathtaking and horrifying.The joy that came with the freedom of sailing out into the open was swiftly replaced with the terror of being stranded out of sight.

In places, a weak script was held up by two powerful central performances. Woodley is mesmerising as a woman who is forced to grow significantly over a short period of time as the will for survival kicks in. Claflin is enigmatic and devastating, bringing gravitas to his scenes. Once the pace of the film takes hold, Woodley runs with it and carves out a naturalistic approach to what is a very physically demanding and emotionally charged role.

Attending the screening for a conversation on the film was Claflin along with the director, Baltasar Kormákur (Everest). Although having hired several VFX outlets to help work on some key sequences including the storm, Kormákur assembled a skeleton crew and shot most of the film on the open water. ‘I’d never sailed before’ admits Claflin, who talked about the intense sea-sickness that plagued him for the first few weeks of the shoot. ‘I definitely didn’t have my sea legs.’

The crew had to pitch in to get the shots they needed in a short timeframe, ‘we had to consider where the sun was, where the wind was blowing, how blue the water was in the shot. It was a real learning curve to work with nature. Mother nature was the third main character in the film, definitely’ explained Kormákur. ‘It was a group effort to get the shots,’ added Claflin, ‘everyone would help the others out, whether the DOP, catering or wardrobe. There was no trailer to escape to, you’d be passing equipment over your head to get it to where it needed to be.’

The real Tami was on set for two weeks of the shoot, having consulted on the script during preproduction. ‘I was very nervous’ admitted Kormákur, ‘you’re always a bit worried that they’ll come to set and want to meddle. But Tami understood what we were trying to do with the story and she appreciated the film we were making.’

Adrift is in cinemas now.