Review archive
Film reviews, read slowly
Written reviews on contemporary and classic cinema, organised chronologically. Each piece follows story, performance, and direction, and sets out one reviewer's considered response.
The Banshees of Inisherin Makes a Break Feel Final
When Colm ends his friendship with Pádraic, a small island becomes the setting for an increasingly painful dispute. The film’s dark humour works best when it stays close to the hurt beneath the absurdity.
Aftersun Finds Memory in the Gaps
A holiday remembered through fragments becomes a portrait of what a child can see, and what an adult only understands later. The film’s most affecting details are often the ones that seem incidental.
Past Lives and the Weight of What-Ifs
Two old friends meet again in New York, but the film is less interested in reunion than in the lives that might have unfolded. Its quietest pauses carry the most weight.