americana that doesn t exist and isn t real. and here s the thing it s basically the stepford wives. the difference is the stepford wives at the beginning of the stepford wives, you think, ok, you know, is there something off kilter? you can t quite figure what s wrong with it. in the case of this, from the beginning, it is absolutely clear that this is an artificial world, that none of this can be what it seems, that somehow, they re in a bubble or an illusion. now, florence pugh works wonders making the character of alice engage you, so that even though she s in this completely artificial environment, you believe in her character and you engage with her character. harry styles, he s fine. there ve been some sort of cruel things said about his performance. it s ok. it s staggeringly unremarkable. the problem is that you very quickly figure out there s one of a number of possible scenarios that are the solution to how this is all happening, and then when it s revealed. 0k,
i mjane hill, and taking us through this week s cinema releases as ever is mark. hi, mark. very interesting week we have. don t worry darling we have blonde, which may be a marilyn monroe biopic, or maybe not. and catherine called birdy, a mediaeval tale birdy, a mediaeval tale with a difference. oh, i thought it was a biopic, but anyway, more on that later. ok, so don t worry darling, which is a new film by olivia wilde, who made booksmart, which i loved. florence pugh and harry styles are alice and jack chambers. they live in a kind of absolutely rarefied, dreamy, late 50s, early 60s americana, you know, glistening cars, mad men suits, fabulous dresses. the wives stay at home and prepare the house and cook the meals and wait for the return of their husbands, who are out doing work which cannot be spoken of when they come back. and florence pugh s character seems to think this is idyllic and wonderful. and then, one of her friends and neighbours becomes suicidal after le
as twin peaks fire walk with me, which critics didn t like when it came out, it was the best horror film of the year. this is a horror movie. has a great score by nick cave and borealis that leavens all of that, that gives it some heart and gives it some soul. but it s a gothic melodrama and then some. is it clever? is it a hard watch or.? it s not an easy. no, it s certainly not an easy watch. it s in cinemas now. it s on netflix from wednesday, but it s proved pretty polarising. and i can see why. the thing everyone s agreed on is ana de armas is terrific. but i think i like it more than some critics because i m a horrorfan, and it is pretty horrifying. 0k. wow. goodness. and lena dunham, catherine called birdy. yes. so this is an adaptation of karen cushman s novel, which i haven t read. medieval setting, very modern sensibility. bella ramsey is birdy. that s a nickname. she is a teenager. she s a vibrant spirit. she s rebellious. we first meet her, you know, rolling in mud and caus
the thing everyone s agreed on is ana de armas is terrific. but i think i like it more than some critics because i m a horrorfan and it is pretty horrifying. 0k. wow. goodness. and lena dunham, catherine called birdy. yes. so, this is an adaptation of karen cushman s novel, which i haven t read. medieval setting, very modern sensibility. bella ramsey is birdy. that s a nickname. she is a teenager. she s a vibrant spirit. she s rebellious. we first meet her, you know, rolling in mud and causing chaos. everything s fine until her father, played by andrew scott, realises that he s run out of money. here s a clip. disrupting cottage raisings. causing mischief in the village. who stole my chickens? and listening through doors i should not listen through. well, how has this happened? after all, you re paid - to prevent things like this? in essence, my lord, you have ignored me. you have spent properly and without censure.
she is a teenager. she s a vibrant spirit. she s rebellious. we first meet her, you know, rolling in mud and causing chaos. everything s fine until her father, played by andrew scott, realises that he s run out of money. here s a clip. disrupting cottage raisings. causing mischief in the village. and listening through doors i should not listen through. well, how has this happened? after all, you re paid - to prevent things like this? in essence, my lord, you have ignored me. you have spent properly and without censure. nonsense. i can t have spent so much. give me one example of. ..of an expense not strictly necessary for the survival l of my family. really? my tiger has arrived. it s dead. the travel was harsh from siberia, my lord.