Priscilla Review 3.5/5
by SHEILA MUTUA
Beloved filmmaker Sofia Coppola returns with Priscilla, an adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s autobiography Elvis and Me.
Somebody said that this is Barbie for the girls who love Lana del Rey and I certainly believe that it starts off as such. Coppola’s iconic visual style and impeccable music choices initially produce something akin to a coming-of-age romance. The chemistry between Spaeny and Elordi is equally charming and chilling, to the point where I consciously had to catch myself when I felt like smiling. It’s unexpected and slightly jarring, yet so rewarding. We’re presented with Priscilla’s illusion of agency without neglecting the ways in which she was disconnected from her own life, and prevented from forming her own identity independent of Elvis.
However, the film paradoxically loses a lot of its momentum as it approaches the tumultuous parts of their marriage. The second half finds itself stuck in a monotonous cycle of heated arguments and partial resolutions. This may have been purposeful, but it results in something less layered and ambitious.
I still believe that Sofia Coppola was the perfect person to tell Priscilla’s story, but I can’t help but feel that limited time and resources prevented this pretty good biopic from being great.
All of Us Strangers 5/5
By VANESSA HUANG
There’s nothing quite like the gentle weeping of a packed cinema audience early on a Sunday morning. And who better to induce the waterworks than writer and director Andrew Haigh, known for his modest tales that ache with the melancholy of humanity.
Andrew Scott plays Adam, a gay man in his forties living an utterly isolated life – when new love and ghosts from his past, twinned with one another, shatter this everyday banality. Magical realism features here, though not in a way that detracts from the film’s intimacy: it’s an astonishing story of missed connections, unhealed wounds, and words that will forever remain unsaid.
Saltburn 4/5
by RUDI GOODMAN
“Lots of people get lost in Saltburn” and I’m afraid I didn’t heed that warning. Saltburn is so gorgeous, so twisted, so joyfully perverse that I found myself yearning to step back into its world just as quickly as I was immersed in it.
Having seen Saltburn’s trailer, I must say it expertly reserves shocks and surprises whilst frustratingly underselling the film. I imagine many could be deterred by the uncommon 1.33:1 aspect ratio and moody atmosphere. However, the film is by no means the sombre coming-of-age drama for cinephiles that the trailer would have you believe. In fact, Saltburn is a hilarious dark comedy – the most fun I’ve had in a cinema for quite some time.
Unsurprisingly, Barry Keoghan is fantastic as our fish out of water in Jacob Elordi’s world of riches and excess, whilst Rosamund Pike’s dry line delivery is an absolute highlight. However, the real heart of Emerald Fennell’s all-star team is Linus Sandgren. His captivating cinematography drags you into Saltburn’s absurd and beautiful world, which I expect many will never want to leave.
Saltburn may not be particularly groundbreaking nor as clever as it wants us to believe but it’s an absolute joy to watch and a must-see when it hits UK cinemas on the 17th November.
Killers of the Flower Moon 5/5
by TRISTAN JOSEPH ESPINOZA
Based on the historical thriller of the same name by David Grann, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon fully brings awareness to the Osage Nation’s troubled history while respecting the culture of the subject matter. From the very first scenes, audiences not only get to hear the Osage language for the first time on-screen, but witness a renaissance in Osage art, fashion, and customs. Following this, the Osage history is perfectly laid out through Ernest Burkhart’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he arrives in Osage County, Oklahoma. While most of the film is spent with Robert De Niro and DiCaprio’s stellar performances as an unforgiving, crime-ridden uncle and son, the real scene stealer and soul of the film is Lily Gladstone’s performance as Mollie Burkhart. Gladstone by far surpasses her costars by displaying an acting range for the ages and accomplishes something that no performance has ever made me do before: leave the theater in tears.
As a proud Osage Native myself who has heard whispers of this story for as long as I can remember, it’s surreal to see my tribe’s culture and history finally be represented in such a powerful way. For anyone interested in learning more about the Osage Nation after this film, I implore you to research with kindness as this story is still very real and heavy for many of us Osages, and to learn more about how you can support the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. Finally, if you take away anything from this experience, I hope that the last scene will always stay with you as a reminder for generations to come – that we’re still here. 𐓏𐓘𐓻𐓘𐓻𐓟 forever.
May December 3.5/5
by JACK BEECHING
Natalie Portman plays a TV actress seeking “complexity, moral grey areas” in her next role. She finds it in the suburban home of Gracie (Julianne Moore), a housewife who seduced a middle-schooler at 36, briefly went to prison, then had his children. Their relationship survived the tabloids: 20 years later, only the occasional anonymous delivery of faeces disrupts their idyllic life. All, of course, is not as it seems. Family, friends, and neighbours do what they can to placate Gracie’s delusions, but who is manipulating who? Just as Portman’s character tries to understand, then embody, Gracie, the satisfaction in watching Todd Haynes’ film is in trying, and failing, to work out what makes these people tick.
