Critical Week: Under pressure

It's been another lightish week film-wise, and we have three big weekends up ahead. First is the May Day holiday, followed by the three-day Coronation weekend, and then there's Eurovision, which Liverpool is hosting on Ukraine's behalf. Meanwhile, I've been watching movies and writing about them this week. Filmmaker Ari Aster is back with Beau Is Afraid, an unhinged three-hour odyssey starring an astonishing Joaquin Phoenix. It's ambitious, indulgent and fairly impenetrable, and its packed with moments of genius. Big George Foreman is a by-the-numbers biopic about the great boxer. Its sanitised, anecdotal, relentlessly inspiring approach is frustrating, but Foreman's story is riveting. And Khris Davis is solid in the demanding role.

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And then there's Last Sentinel, a nicely contained thriller set in 2063 on an isolated outpost where Kate Bosworth and three men grapple with paranoia and other dangers. It's engaging but a bit thin. From Greece, the drama Broadway looks great, and has a fascinating premise that involves quirky outcasts surviving with a performance art/crime scam. But it's superficial and aimless. For contrast, there was dancer-choreographer Siobhan Davies' mesmerising autobiographical film Transparent, which screened at the Lillian Baylis Studio at Sadler's Wells, followed by a terrific Q&A with Davies. Also at Sadler's Wells, I covered this spring's stunning performance by the exceptionally talented Nederlands Dans Theater.

This next week, aside from enjoying some downtime over the three-day weekend, I'll be watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, Jim Parsons in Spoiler Alert, the small-town comedy-drama 5-25-77, Irish drama Lakelands, French drama Mother and Son and Tunisian drama Harka. And there's also the stage show Supernova at the Clapham Omnibus (review here soon).

Critical Week: Starry starry night

Organising an event like the 43rd London Critics' Circle Film Awards, which took place on Sunday at The May Fair Hotel, takes me about seven months. Although since this was the first in-person ceremony in three years, the process felt a bit steeper this year. The main challenge was sourcing new sponsors as, aside from our wonderful venue sponsor, we had to start from scratch. But our organising committee came together and brought in a group of terrific partners who we hope to work with in years to come. And with our event in the middle of both Bafta and Oscar voting periods, the stars turned out to celebrate. It was a fantastic night. For more photos, see the Insta posts below. And there's also a full list of winners...

Of course working on this has meant skipping quite a few films, so I've only seen a few over the last two weeks. Magic Mike's Last Dance with Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek is enjoyable for what it is but frustrating for what it could have been. The Locksmith with Ryan Phillippe and Kate Bosworth is such an overfamiliar crime thriller that watching it is almost enjoyably relaxing. From Italy, Amanda is a bracingly original portrait of a prickly but endearing slacker. And the indie drama The Way Out has a fascinating edge that kind of vanishes into a genre thriller. I also revisited Baz Luhrmann's Elvis because it was a chance to see it again on a big screen, with an added one-hour Q&A with Austin Butler that was strikingly intimate.

This coming week I'll be watching Paul Rudd in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Alexander Skarsgard in Infinity Pool, Paul Mescal in God's Creatures, Alison Brie in Somebody I Used to Know and the Italian drama Nostalgia.

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43rd LONDON CRITICS’ CIRCLE FILM AWARDS
Full list of winners • 5th February 2023, The May Fair Hotel

FILM OF THE YEAR
Tár

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR (tie)
Decision to Leave
The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin)

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

The Attenborough Award:
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR
The Banshees of Inisherin

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR sponsored by The House of Koko
Todd Field - Tár

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Martin McDonagh - The Banshees of Inisherin

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR sponsored by Nyman Libson Paul
Cate Blanchett - Tár

ACTOR OF THE YEAR sponsored by The House of Koko
Colin Farrell - The Banshees of Inisherin

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Kerry Condon - The Banshees of Inisherin

SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Barry Keoghan - The Banshees of Inisherin

BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR for body of work
Florence Pugh - Don't Worry Darling, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Wonder 

BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR for body of work
Bill Nighy - Living

The Philip French Award:
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER sponsored by MetFilm
Charlotte Wells - Aftersun

YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER
Frankie Corio - Aftersun

BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR
A Fox in the Night - dir Keeran Anwar Blessie

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - Guillermo del Toro and Brian Leif Hansen, animation

DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM
Michelle Yeoh