Upon her death just over a decade ago, no one other than her family and friends (or what few she had left) knew the name Audrey Amiss, since despite being a gifted artist and someone who strove to make an impression, she lived most of her life in obscurity, oscillating between her squalid flat in…
Category: Drama
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
“Hollywood: the only place in the world where a man gets stabbed in the back while climbing a ladder.” William Faulkner, one of the greatest novelists and social critics to ever put pen to paper, famously said this on the subject of the film industry, which he had some experience with as a screenwriter, but…
Dance First (2023)
The act of paying tribute to some cherished artist or public figure in the form of a film is a pretty challenging endeavour, particularly because it requires a writer or director to stand at a structural crossroads, choosing their preferred approach to examining their life’s story. Do you explore it from start to finish (the…
It Is In Us All (2023)
Once someone has been through a traumatic incident, they are likely going to return to the place in which it happened, either physically or psychologically. This is a phenomenon that has been observed among many individuals who have suffered some kind of trauma or tragedy, either witnessing something horrifying or experiencing anything that could cause…
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
There are few names that evoke the same kind of passionate reaction in terms of capturing the very spirit of theatricality than Tennessee Williams, who wrote his final play over forty years ago, but whose spectre still lingers in the culture. This is particularly true since his work tackles themes relating to American life, exploring…
Mysterious Skin (2004)
The art of provocation is one that not many filmmakers have been able to successfully achieve without coming across as overly forced. Some filmmakers court controversy as a means for artistic expression, whereas others do it because they are genuinely fascinated by the reaction from the audience and how they observe particularly unsettling stories. There…
Fancy Dance (2024)
For many of us, family and culture are amongst the most vital aspects of our identity, since without them we would likely be adrift in a confusing world without any clear direction. However, life tends to be quite unpredictable, and challenges are bound to emerge at the most inopportune moments, when fate begins to encroach…
Hard Labour (1973)
Mike Leigh is quite simply one of the greatest filmmakers of his (or any) generation, and for over half a century, he has been at the forefront of politically charged, socially resonant storytelling that has shattered boundaries and positioned him as arguably the greatest social critic to ever work in the medium. Yet, much like…
Lost on a Mountain in Maine (2024)
The story of Donn Fendler has captivated readers for years, with many being enthralled by his accounts of being a young boy who went hiking with his father and two brothers on Mount Katahdin in the late 1930s, but somehow found himself separated from the group, leading to nine gruelling days in the wilderness of…
Small Things Like These (2024)
Some artists set out to explore cultures and their people, while others are more focused on defining events and how they changed the course of history. Claire Keegan has shown herself to be fascinated by both concepts, with her small but substantial body of work being some of the most brilliant writing on the subject…
The Postmodern Pelican 