Larry Oliver Film Reviews

  Pictured : Sisters Agnes ( Judy Davis ), Luke ( Miriam Margolyes ) and Mary Clare ( Jacki Weaver ) take a road trip with young Brian ( Elijah Tamati ) in order to recover the deeds to their convent in writer-director Nat Boltt 's New Zealand-set family-friendly comedy drama, ' Holy Days ', adapted from the 2013 novel by children's author, Joy Cowley . Still courtesy of Lightbulb Film Distribution (UK) Holy Days , the directorial debut of South African-born Nat Boltt, is the kind of road movie we’ve seen a bajillion times before. You take a group of characters with no aptitude for travel, much less with each other, put them in a car on a mission with a deadline and see what happens. Boltt is better known by her full first name, Nathalie, credited as such in seven seasons of Riverdale . Her film, set in New Zealand in 1974, is based on a 2013 novel by children’s author Joy Cowley, whose work Boltt had adapted before (the 2012 short film, The Silk , which she co-directe...

  Pictured : Paul ( Viggo Ferreira-Redler , centre) shows his unhappiness towards his mother, Clémence ( Vicky Krieps , left) in a scene from writer-director Anna Cazenave Cambet 's film, ' Love Me Tender ', based on Constance  Debré 's 2020 novel. Still courtesy of Tandem (France) / Peccadillo Pictures (UK) After two viewings, I still don’t know what to make of Love Me Tender , writer-director Anna Cazenave Cambet’s adaptation of Constance Debré’s 2020 semi-autobiographical novel, featuring Vicky Krieps in the lead role as Clémence, a lawyer turned novelist who reveals her lesbian identity to her ex-husband, Laurent (Antoine Reinartz) and finds herself separated from her eight-year-old son, Paul (Viggo Ferreira-Redler) as a result. It is a film that respects Debré’s first person narration; there is no attempt to understand or justify Laurent’s response, psychologically or socially. This is a film that explores Clémence’s victimhood and how it impacts her relationship...

  Pictured : Angela ( Olivia Wilde , centre) and Joe ( Seth Rogen , standing) listen to their guests with interest in a scene from the marital comedy, ' The Invite ', adapted from the 2020 Spanish film, ' Sentimental ' by screenwriters Rashida Jones and Will McCormack and directed by Olivia Wilde . Still courtesy of A24 (US) / Black Bear (UK) The Invite , adapted by screenwriters Rashida Jones and Will McCormack from Cesc Gay’s 2020 Spanish film, Sentimental (English title ‘The People Upstairs’), feels like a personal project for actress-turned-director Olivia Wilde. Wilde was publicly humiliated by or on behalf of her estranged husband Jason Sudeikis in the run-up to the release of her 2022 psychological thriller, Don’t Worry Darling , whose request for child custody was served to her while she was on stage at Comic Con. Wilde knows something of the pain of a relationship that has run its course. She channels this into her filmmaking. The bulk of The Invite is set ...