Larry Oliver Film Reviews

  Pictured : Best friends but unsuitable for marriage, cousins  William Rodney ( Jack Whitehall , left) and Katharine Hilbery ( Haley Bennett , right) in the film adaptation, ' Virginia Woolf's Night and Day ', scripted and produced by Justine Waddell and directed by Tina Gharavi . Still courtesy of Vue Lumiere (UK) Of all the films I have so far covered in this volume, Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day adapted by writer-producer Justine Waddell and directed by Tina Gharavi is by far the least satisfactory. I am loathe to describe it as a film, more a set of well-intentioned impulses that chew the cud in various corners of an enormously large field. Look over there, we have some suffragettes. Directly opposite, a suppressed same sex romance only acknowledged after one of the party has died. There’s a woman fascinated by the stars who wants to be admitted to the Royal Astrological Society and, when that doesn’t work out, applies to study at Oxford. There is a comedy subplot ...

  Officially in the United Kingdom, we are not supposed to talk about Brexit – the decision made in a referendum in 2016 to leave the ‘ever closer’ European Union. When discussing economic difficulties, even the absence of certain vegetables in our shops, it is not to be mentioned. Sold as an opportunity to ‘take back control’, Britons in their millions voted for it, swayed by the argument that an elected institution in Belgium should not be interfering in their lives to create a fairer society. Following this logic, but never acknowledging it, millions of Britons would much rather have a government closer to home cultivating an unfair society without the protections afforded by the EU. For the vast majority of people in the United Kingdom, there is nothing good about Brexit. The post of Minister of Brexit Opportunities – a non-job – has been quietly abolished under new Prime Minister Liz Truss. The UK government uses the English characteristic of never discussing shame against its...

  Making a difference – what does it mean? It could be a random act of kindness, or else an intervention to stop a person making a terrible mistake that would otherwise hurt themselves or others. It could be throwing oneself in front of a bullet that might otherwise hit someone else. It could be using your skills to help people. However you define it, making a difference is active, taking a decision that affects people in the real world. Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas), the protagonist of writer-director Sally Potter’s new film, The Party , is a politician who has been promoted to Shadow Minister of Health in the official opposition to the British Government. She is told by her friends that, at last, she can make a difference. It is inferred that, up until this point, she has been a passionate campaigner. Reality check: if she joins the opposition front benches, she can basically do the following:  Table an Early Day Motion   Deliver the second speech in a debate about...

Still courtesy of Studio Canal (UK) Wicked Little Letters , a 1920s fact-based comedy about two neighbours who have fallen out, pits two acting greats against one another. In the blue corner, carrying one Best Actress Oscar for The Favourite and the good opinion of the British viewing public for a body of work on television ( Peep Show , Broadchurch, The Crown ) and cinema ( Tyrannosaur, Empire of Light ), wearing a demure toothy smile, Ms. Olivia Colman. In the red corner, talent show contestant turned forthright screen lead, a young woman more likely to say ‘bog off’ than boo to a goose, Ms. Wild Rose herself, Jessie Buckley. The title refers to poison pen letters – the mean tweets of their day – received by Littlehampton spinster and devout Christian, Edith Swan (Colman), whose father, Edward (Timothy Spall), a steaming brass kettle of a man, insists were sent by the Irish-born single mother next door, Rose Gooding (Buckley). After Edith receives the 19 th letter, which she reads ...