News

The Room Next Door wasn’t the only Sigrid Nunez adaptation to premiere at fall festivals last year. David Siegel and Scott McGehee’s Montana Story follow-up The Friend finds Naomi Watts as a woman in NYC who looks after the dog of her friend (Bill Murray) after he passes away. The Telluride, TIFF, and NYFF selection was picked up by Bleecker Street who have now released the trailer ahead of a March 28 release in NYC and a wide release on April 4.

Here’s the synopsis: “In The Friend, adapted from the bestselling novel, Iris (Naomi Watts) finds her comfortable New York life upended when her friend and mentor Walter (Bill Murray) bequeaths her his Great Dane, Apollo. The regal yet intractable beast is a constant reminder of Walter and causes various problems—yet as Iris bonds with Apollo, she begins to cope with her past, her lost friend, and her own creative inner life.

Accomplishing the rare feature of premiering two features this year, Anthony Chen’s Cynthia Erivo-led and -produced refugee drama Drift premiered at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, then a few months later he debuted The Breaking Ice at Cannes Film Festival. The former was picked up by Utopia and now ahead of a February 9 release, the first trailer and poster have arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “Jacqueline (Two-Time Academy Award nominee Cynthia Erivo), a young refugee, lands alone and penniless on a Greek island, where she tries first to survive and then to cope with her past. While gathering her strength, she begins a friendship with a rootless tour-guide (Alia Shawkat) and together they find the resilience to forge ahead.”

Michael Frank said in his Sundance review, “Coming from a script by Susanne Farrell and Alexander Maksik, Drift rarely individualizes its main character, quietly watching her as she struggles to survive.

One of the most striking directorial debuts to come out Sundance Film Festival last year, Francisca Alegría’s gorgeously haunting The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future takes a mysterious journey of magical realism through Chile. Revisiting themes from her short And the Whole Sky Fit in the Dead Cow’s Eye, the film centers on the long-deceased Magdalena (Mia Maestro), who appears from the water, bringing with her old wounds and a wave of family secrets. Her daughter Cecilia (Leonor Varela) returns home to the family’s dairy farm with her own children, as they reconcile this strange occurrence in a bid for healing. Ahead of a release beginning on May 19 in New York City, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the U.S. trailer from Kino Lorber.

Michael Frank said in his review, “Chilean filmmaker Francisca Alegria’s The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future...

If you spent much of October delving into a horror-movie marathon, November presents the perfect opportunity to catch up on new releases from last month you may have missed and are now expanding or in wider circulation—including Decision to Leave, Aftersun, TÁR, All That Breathes, Armageddon Time, The Banshees of Inisherin, and The Novelist’s Film. This month has its own formidable slate, from late-period auteur offerings to ambitious gambles to striking first-time features. Check out our picks to see below.

15. Causeway (Lila Neugebauer; Nov. 4)

Jennifer Lawrence’s sole outing this year is Causeway, which comes from first-time director Lila Neugebauer. As C.J. Prince said in his review, “It comes as a bit of a surprise to see how jarring Jennifer Lawrence’s presence is in Causeway, her new film directed by first-time filmmaker Lila Neugebauer. A subdued character drama about a soldier recovering back home after suffering a brain injury in Afghanistan,...

Hot off Inland Empire and Lost Highway restorations, Janus Films have continued their well-reasoned associations with David Lynch by acquiring Alexandre O. Philippe’s Lynch/Oz, a documentary mixture of archival footage, interview snippets, and vast collection of movie scenes, to chart clear parallels between the man’s work and The Wizard of Oz, nearly all of which bear dramatic and literal gravity.

While particulars of Janus’ release are not yet public, British distributor Dogwoof has released a preview for their December 2 opening. Being that its appropriately enigmatic, we’ll turn you to Michael Frank’s (quoted) review: “For a Lynch diehard, Lynch/Oz will be catnip. For any average moviegoer, it digs into the well of American cinema history with enough fascination that it’s worth a watch. As said in the documentary by David Lowery––whose final section acts as a love letter to Lynch and the secret...

Closing out the summer movie season, August probably won’t repeat last year when it comes to including the release of the eventual Best Picture. But there are still a number of worthwhile offerings, including the most essential at the very end of the month. See our picks to watch below.

10. Emily the Criminal (John Patton Ford; Aug. 12)

Taking part in ten Sundance premieres over the last ten years, Aubrey Plaza’s niche in the world of independent cinema has been well-carved. Reaching into darker territory as of late, from Ingrid Goes West to Black Bear, her latest film, Emily the Criminal, takes things to a logical next step, placing the actress in strictly thriller territory as her character’s job prospects dwindle and she’s faced with getting into a dangerous, underground world of illegal activity. John Patton Ford’s debut as writer-director is simplistically crafted in both plotting and form,...

As with most events this year, the Fantasia International Film Festival is heading back to theaters for its 2022 edition, the 26th year of its existence. From July 14 to August 3, Montreal, Quebec, will fill its screens at Concordia Hall Cinema, the Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cinéma du Musée, and the McCord Museum with the best genre fare the industry has to offer. If you’re in town there won’t be a better ticket this summer.

The festivities are bookended by the world premiere of Kc Carthew’s eco-action fantasy Polaris on opening night and, as closer, the North American premiere of July Jung’s Cannes alum Next Sohee. Between them comes the usual mix of festival favorites heading to Canada for the first time and eagerly anticipated titles making their debut. From a special screening of Bodies Bodies Bodies to Neil Labute’s House of Darkness or Wai Ka-Fai’s Detective vs.

Marking her first feature since Tiny Furniture (now more than a decade old), Lena Dunham’s Sharp Stick debuted at Sundance to an expectedly divisive response. A nakedly honest, humorously messy, and overall daring look at a young woman’s journey as a caregiver who then embarks on an affair with her married employer, it pulls no punches. Led by Kristine Froseth, Jon Bernthal, Luka Sabbat, Scott Speedman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Taylour Paige, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Dunham herself, the film will now roll out starting next month––ahead of her next feature, the medieval comedy Catherine, Called Birdy this fall––and the first trailer has arrived.

Michael Frank said in his review, “Dunham pulls out committed performances across the film, each performer finding laughs in sometimes meaningless dialogue; Froseth is strong, though restricted by the one-lane nature of Sarah Jo. This cast put together a special blend of comedic abilities,...

Produced by Sigrid Dyekjær and Darren Aronofsky, Alex Pritz’s directorial debut The Territory, partially shot by the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau people, examines the Indigenous community’s struggle in the Amazon to fight encroaching deforestation brought by farmers and illegal settlers. A winner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, National Geographic Documentary Films will now release the film in theaters on August 19 and the first trailer has arrived.

Michael Frank said in his review, “There are about 180 Uru-eu-wau-wau people left in the Brazilian Amazon. This community lives off the land, protecting the Amazon from deforestation, constant threats of violence, and an expanding base of anti-Indigenous sentiment, streaming from the far-right emboldened by President Jair Bolsonaro. Over three years, filmmaker Alex Pritz spent time with these native Brazilians for The Territory, a collaborative, vérité documentary that’s both engaging and terrifying. Pritz even hands over the camera to the Uru-eu-wau-wau at one point,...

Introducing our look at the year that defined the modern era, the veteran writer recalls the extraordinary collision of politics, culture and social upheaval that he witnessed as a student

Was it a prefigurative year? I think so. Not that one thought of it as such at the time or even a few years later, when it was totally forgotten in the turbulence that engulfed the world. I am trying to recall that year, to find deep down some memories, even a few impressions on the basis of which I could reconstruct a misted-up past without too many distortions.

When I arrived to study at Oxford in October 1963, the bohemian style was black plastic or leather jackets for women and black leather or navy donkey jackets for men. I stuck to cavalry twills and a duffle coat, at least for a few months. The Cuban missile crisis had temporarily boosted...

In 1982, the then archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, infuriated Mrs Thatcher by striking a note of reconciliation at the Falklands war memorial service, asking the congregation to pray for families on both sides of the conflict who had lost loved ones. Is it too much to hope that a similar note of reconciliation might be struck at Mrs Thatcher's funeral in the same cathedral? In our deeply divided country, many communities hold Margaret Thatcher and her government responsible for enormous suffering.

Whatever views are held, surely here is an opportunity for the established church to once more ask the nation to remember in prayer all who now suffer from the blight of poverty and unemployment. The listeners can make up their minds as to its cause and Mrs Thatcher will have to plead her case to a greater judge.

Rev Canon Adrian Alker

Wetherby, West Yorkshire

• With reference to your...

David Cameron has 'a hilarious sense of humour', according to Helena Bonham Carter. Perhaps so, but who were the really funny rightwingers?

Are Tories funny? Of course, with the exception of Jim Davidson. Expressing amazement that they might be funny is like saying that because someone has different political views from us they can't have a sense of humour. Yet this appears to be exactly what Helena Bonham Carter did in an interview at the weekend, when she insisted her friend David Cameron was "not a rightwing person", citing his "hilarious sense of humour, which nobody really knows about".

Bernard Manning was funny. And racist and misogynistic too, but the jokes were good even if the laughter died on your lips. Peter Cook spent much of his life savaging Labour politicians, but there's no doubt that he was funny. You might recall the Tory rally in 1983 when Kenny Everett spoke for Margaret Thatcher.

Phyllida Lloyd's film gives us Thatcher without Thatcherism, writes Xan Brooks but Meryl Streep is astonishing

Was it a dream or is it a nightmare? In the early years of the 21st century a frail old woman totters around her London home, assailed by memories that rise up unbidden. They tell her that her husband still lives, and that she remains the prime minister, the cherished daughter of a nation of shopkeepers, called upon to save Britain from ruin. For the old woman, these ghosts provide reassurance, a sunny remembrance of days gone by. Others, by contrast, may be hard pressed to keep the horrors at bay.

While one doubts whether Baroness Thatcher would wholeheartedly approve of any large screen biopic, it seems likely that she'd have a certain, sneaking affection for The Iron Lady, which prints the legend and keeps the dissent on spartan rations. Yes, the film...

Alexandra Roach left Rada only last year but the young Welsh actress has had five big parts opposite Hollywood names

Being chosen to appear in a film months after leaving drama college is the dream of every aspiring actor. For Welsh actress Alexandra Roach it is a reality. She is on the brink of international stardom, having been cast in five leading productions just a year after leaving the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada).

Aged 24, Roach's potential has been recognised by some of the industry's foremost directors and producers. She has lead roles in four forthcoming films, and a supporting role in another.

Her break came after she was spotted by Nina Gold, a casting director, in a Rada production, leading to an invitation to audition for one of the most sought-after roles for a young actress – playing the young Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, the much anticipated...

Streep has Margaret Thatcher's plummy tones down to a T, as the film trailer reveals – but what's with her sense of humour?

So that's how Meryl Streep is going to sound when she appears on our screens as Margaret Thatcher. On the basis of the clip newly issued by 20th Century Fox (yes, I know it's Murdoch-owned, but he's hard to avoid) I'd say the great Us actor is not going to disappoint the Iron Lady's fans (though she does have a problem; I'll come to that).

But why not give it her best Hollywood shot? Playing a well-known public figure in an age when – thanks to multi-media platforms – everyone knows exactly how they sound is a formidable challenge. Like many things in life, it didn't used to be a problem. I think there are fragments of that great Victorian orator William Gladstone, recorded before his death in 1898, fewer...

This brilliant, urgent documentary revives dormant fears of the nuclear apocalypse. By Peter Bradshaw

When Lucy Walker's throat-grabbingly brilliant documentary about nuclear weapons first surfaced last year at the Cannes film festival, it seemed like the best horror film of all time. I spent most of it softly bleating with fear. Walker wakes us up to our willed, consensual torpor about nuclear weapons, and the unexamined post-cold war fiction that they somehow don't matter, that the threat doesn't exist and that worrying about it is passe.

On the contrary, Walker makes a stomach-churningly plausible case that a nuclear explosion could still be caused by terrorists or rogue states with stolen material, or by an old-fashioned Strangelove cock-up. These two ideological halves of the Armageddon-argument mean that she has secured interviews with heavyweight commentators from both left and right; including Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter and Tony Blair, who, remarkably, appears...

The new film The Iron Lady looks to capture the image of a woman capable of deploying sexual allure politically

Ever since French president François Mitterrand suggested that Margaret Thatcher had "the eyes of Caligula, the mouth of Marilyn Monroe", we've had to get used to the unbelievable truth that Margaret Thatcher was made of more than iron.

The publicity still of Meryl Streep released to promote her forthcoming performance in the film The Iron Lady continues that counterintuitive narrative. Not Thatcher, Milk Snatcher. But Thatcher, Seducer. The image ideally realises what Tory makeover people wanted Thatcher to be – not just the hard-as-nails Conservative who destroyed a nation's industrial base, but a woman capable of deploying sexual allure politically.

Streep, I feel sure, will be able to modulate that psychic transition subtly if her career as an actor and the photo of her as Thatcher are anything to go by.

Biopic about Britain's first female Pm by Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd also stars Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher

Last week, the new Man of Steel was revealed. Today, it's the turn of The Iron Lady, the Margaret Thatcher biopic that marks the latest collaboration for Meryl Streep and her Mamma Mia! director, Phyllida Lloyd.

The film, written by Abi Morgan (Sex Traffic, Brick Lane), started shooting at the end of January. Jim Broadbent plays Denis Thatcher, with Olivia Coleman as their daughter, Carol, and Alexandra Roach and Harry Lloyd as the couple in younger days. Anthony Head is Geoffrey Howe, Richard E Grant plays Michael Heseltine, Julian Wadham is Francis Pym and Michael Pennington Labour leader Michael Foot. Roger Allam rounds off the cast as television journalist-turned-political strategist Gordon Reece.

The film is billed as the story of "a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class...

The Observer's film critic reflects on The King's Speech – and how his own speech impediment has contributed to his life and character

From as early as I can remember until 1952, when I left home at the age of 18 to go into the army, there was an annual ritual on the afternoon of Christmas Day. Dinner, which meant turkey and all the trimmings followed by plum pudding, began around two o'clock and was carefully timed to end so that everyone could sit there beneath the paper decorations, wearing the hats that came out of the crackers, and earnestly, reverently listen to the king's Christmas message on the radio.

This hallowed national tradition, initiated by Sir John Reith in 1932, was not five years old when George V, who'd given four of them, died. His successor Edward VIII's landmark contribution to broadcasting was his 1936 abdication speech: there was no Christmas message that year.

Originally published in the Guardian on 17 November 1980

The Conservative Party will get rid of Mrs Thatcher in about three years' time and Lord Carrington will probably become party leader, according to Sir Harold Wilson in a television interview to be screened tonight.

Speaking on the BBC Panorama programme, Sir Harold says that Mrs Thatcher will be consigned to Tory mythology. "If they (the Tories) decide they're going to lose the next election with her there, she'll be ditched and it will be as though she's never been. She'll become a non-person."

He describes Mrs Thatcher as "the best man" the Tories have got and praises her for her success over Rhodesia, attributing her achievement to Lord Carrington, the Foreign Secretary. "I think he would be a very formidable leader. I think he would take an awful lot of beating."

On the Labour Party leadership, Sir Harold says he voted for...