Thursday 4 April 2024

Critical Week: Another nosey novice

Hot on the heels of Sydney Sweeney in Immaculate, here comes Nell Tiger Free investigating another sinister female-centred Catholic conspiracy in The First Omen, a 1971-set prequel that's strong on atmosphere and gothic grisliness but never feels hugely original. The events around setting up the notorious 2019 Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew is dramatised in Scoop, an interesting if straightforward account starring Gillian Anderson, Billie Piper and Rufus Sewell.

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And then there's Woody Allen's latest, the sparky French comedy-thriller Coup de Chance, which maintains an entertaining tone even when it gets rather dark. Viggo Mortensen wrote, directed, composed the score for and stars alongside the always-superb Vicky Krieps in the Western dramatic thriller The Dead Don't Die. It's gorgeously shot and strongly involving. The faith-based drama Someone Like You is sunny and beautiful and almost painfully sudsy and predictable. And the Mongolian drama If Only I Could Hibernate is a fascinating glimpse into a complex culture, through the eyes of a stressed-out teen.

This coming week I'll be watching the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black, the biblical epic The Book of Clarence, Irish horror All You Need is Death, Spanish mystery Close Your Eyes, Congolese thriller Omen and the Japanese anime Spy x Family: Code White.


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