One Battle After Another

 

This review may contain spoilers!

One Battle After Another is an American action-thriller epic loosely adapted from Thomas Pynchon's novel: "Vineland". Follows Bob (formerly Pat), an ex-revolutionary of the far-left French 75, and his daughter Willa, who have been hiding out for years after the arrest of Bob's former revolutionary partner. When a militant force bears down on them in a bid to take Willa, a resulting tooth-and-nail fight for survival ensues.

Art often reflects the world around us; that's a simple outlook, but it tends to ring true. In One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson holds up protagonists from a far-left revolutionary group, criminals who plant bombs and rob banks to stick it to billionaires and a system that actively works against minorities and the disenfranchised. This group is set against a peppering of antagonists - the bizarre satirical parody of the Ku Klux Klan referred to as the Christmas Adventurer's Club, and the far-right militant Colonel Lockjaw. The early conflict of this film is not only foundational but presents a cycle of conflict, an epic and sadistic struggle that neither side ultimately triumphs within. We are left with a child who has a vague parentage and a former revolutionary who was already halfway out the door. The film cuts forward just over fifteen years, and we see how the former revolutionary, Bob, has regressed into a paranoid stoner figure. He has had some triumphs, like supporting the city he lives in becoming something of a 'Sanctuary City' for illegal immigrants. In spite of this, his relationship with his daughter, Willa, is rather frayed. Yet when Lockjaw reignites the conflict, we get a more personalised story of revenge in the form of a manhunt for Willa. But this is no redemptive story about a father rescuing his teenage daughter. Bob barrels along throughout the film in an effort to save his child, but the strength of the film lies elsewhere. We get to watch Willa constantly fight against the path she has been put upon. This protagonist is a fighter due to the skills she has as a result of her father's training or support, yet she never asked for this battle. Willa is her own hero ultimately, but she rescues herself from a conflict she never began. Willa becomes answerable for the sins of her parents, irrespective of whether or not she had a choice. Watching her still choose to continue that cycle at the end of the feature, as Bob definitively moves away completely from the life of the revolutionary, is an incredibly well-rounded conclusion to this masterful script.

Paul Thomas Anderson is a master of the craft, one of the true filmmaking greats, and this can be seen in every technical element of One Battle After Another. This film is wide-spanning and often in motion too; the camera glides through scenes with the intention to pull you directly into the world of the scene. The final car chase sequence is one of the most tense sequences of the year. I found this film felt almost choreographed; every moment felt entirely considered and was cut together very neatly. The score also played to this strength, accompanying the moments of anxiety, tension and fear superbly as guitar strings were frantically plucked. I also really adored the film soundtrack toying with political stance as moral action, The Jackson 5's 'Ready Or Not (Here I Come)' was ringing through my head walking away from this.

Teyana Taylor, who played Perfidia, is a force to be reckoned with; Taylor is a woman born to fight for her own brand of justice in this. Sean Penn, who played Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, is one of the players well and truly worth watching in this feature; Penn and DiCaprio are battling it out for best performance across the whole piece. Chase Infiniti, who played Willa, is a phenomenal up-and-coming young actress; Infiniti's descent into a world of high stakes and violence is so gritty and real. Benicio Del Toro, who played Sensei Sergio St. Carlos, portrays a tired yet professional air as his world goes to hell in a handbasket; I loved Del Toro's incredibly dry wit in this. Tony Goldwyn, who played Virgil Throckmorton, has an incredible ability to draw forth a charismatic character; the part that really made this thing sing was that he also managed to bleed a sense of danger into his line delivery. James Raterman, who played Danvers, was such a quiet scene stealer; Raterman's interrogation scenes were a highlight of the film in my eyes.

However, the best performance came from Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Bob. This was a character who was spellbound with the thrill of revolution in his youth. He wanted to rebel less for the cause but for the thrill and the pleasure. DiCaprio and Taylor together are fiery; it's a hot relationship that feels consuming. Watching Bob transition from free-wheeling freedom fighter to concerned Dad was an appropriate turn. Across the rest of the film, DiCaprio paints Bob as a paranoid, stoned man who is caught in the limbo of his past life and his desire to be a good father. It's often hilarious watching Bob fail at being the hero of this story; he barely comes out ahead in his pursuit to save his daughter. Yet, DiCaprio presents Bob's love for his child as impassioned and frantic, a huge drive to reunite. Bob is a figure who burned bright but left a lot for others to answer for; his inability to recapture the image of the heroic revolutionary shows the burden he has left for his daughter to carry.

Paul Thomas Anderson knows how to chase a colossal and compelling script that often reflects heavily on our current state of being. One Battle After Another has a lot of lofty and accurate statements to make about the political divisiveness and conflict we see in the world right now. But it also gets more chaotic than it really needs to at times. This is a film that skates right along the edge of the absurd in a few scenes, making for moments where you wonder the intention the film has or where it might go next. Sometimes this method results in a loss of focus, and the film's throughline is lost.

Regina Hall, who played Deandra, is quite a tame character amongst the main revolutionaries; she never really feels as driven, which is strange considering the nature of the role. Eric Schweig, who played Avanti, is just so flat in this role; Schweig seems almost lifeless throughout the feature. John Hoogenakker, who played Tim Smith, is one of the more outlandish characters in this film; Hoogenakker's role being such a bent out of shape hitman seemed a tough sell at times.

Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those great film director maestros who knows how to pull a piece together into something chaotic and artistic. I would give One Battle After Another a 9/10.

Swiped

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Swiped is a biographical film about Whitney Wolfe Herd, the co-founder of Tinder and the founder of Bumble.

Swiped worked best when it let us sit within Whitney's story in a more personal manner, the raw moments and not just the climb of her success. The challenges this character faces are really relatable to a lot of women in any given workforce; seeing Whitney navigate a male-dominated environment, or fail to be protected by her boss from sexual harassment from a co-worker, is really confronting. There's no better scene than watching Whitney spiral into quite a distressing moment when she is still facing abuse from her former employer and ex at the same time, her public image is being ruined; watching Whitney receive open death threats while having a panic attack is a tough watch. These scenes are all made to be confronting and expose a difficult truth; it's a powerful feminist message that the film does a good job of delivering.

Mary Neely, who played Beth, has quite a minor role, but she makes a strong impact; I really bought into her strong objections around becoming a moderator for the Tinder platform and all that entailed. Ben Schnetzer, who played Sean, really gives James a run for her money in this role; Schnetzer oozes shallow charisma that you entirely want to buy into. Jackson White, who played Justin, is quite unhinged as the abusive boyfriend; White really has a dangerous edge in a few of his scenes that is quite convincing. 

However, the best performance came from Lily James, who played Whitney Wolfe Herd. As a leading performance, this character offered the most variety, the most range to be bared onscreen. James really introduces Whitney as being full of exuberance and drive; she is her own self-righteous force for good on the tech scene. It is really interesting to see James play this role as both intuitive and ambitious enough to be a real ladder-climber. The character of Whitney also faces increasing harassment from her boyfriend and as such, challenges within Tinder which creates some decent conflict for James to really sink her teeth into. Watching James portray Whitney's spiral as her reputation gets dragged through the mud is a tough watch, but one of the absolute best moments of the film. James sculpts the final act into a final showing of Whitney's resilience. This is another leading performance from James that she handles with ease, Whitney Wolfe Herd adding another notch to the belt.

Swiped is a film that will never really stand out in the crowd. We've had biopics galore lately, all pushing hard to be recognised for awards season. Swiped is yet another business biopic that is chasing the long distant smoke of giants like The Wolf of Wall Street or The Big Short. This is a film that you can kind of guess at from the very first few minutes. Whitney is going to start out as our sort of underdog, face some conflict and then come out on top. Sadly, this is as much as the movie seems to be, and the scenes where she is performing her job or the conflicts she engages in are relatively superficial. This film lacks a sense of reality and the attention to detail just is not there. Even when Whitney is at her lowest, she is bailed out relatively easily. Perhaps dramatising this story has killed the intriguing elements, or perhaps the story that exists isn't all that interesting to begin with. Swiped moves at a very gradual pace and the fact it is so predictable doesn't help matters.

The most glaring problem Swiped has is that a lot of technical elements expose just how poorly imagined and light on budget this film really is. The cinematography is entirely boring, and there doesn't seem to be a steady visual style showcased throughout. The way this film is cut together is mostly slow and simple, which really contributes to the aforementioned sluggish pace. The score isn't entirely present throughout, and the soundtrack is a really muddled mash of modern pop music.

Ian Colletti, who played JB, is one of the tech dude bros given a lot of screen time in this film; there's a push to make him the 'nice guy' in the office but Colletti tends to feel more secure playing in the background. Clea DuVall, who played Charlotte, is a lawyer character that appears quite late in the game in the final act; DuVall comes off as far more intense than her brief role really requires. Pierson Fode, who played Michael, is really here to be hot cowboy eye candy; Fode's role is boyfriend/husband, and he is not here to lean into his character much at all. Myha'la, who played Tisha, is a best friend role that is rather basic by design; the big scene where she accepts Whitney's apology is one of the worst in the film. Coral Peña, who played Marta, is a character who feels like she should cast a bigger shadow than she does; Peña is sadly quite reserved and even timid as this character. Dan Stevens, who played Andrey, comes off more as a fun accent to play than a character being portrayed; a rare misstep for Stevens. Ana Yi Puig, who played Stephanie, is a stereotypical mousey receptionist role; it is a shame this role couldn't be amalgamated into the women fighting back arc in the way Neely's role was. 

Another business biopic with little story substance and no creative vision. I would give Swiped a 4.5/10.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

 

This review may contain spoilers!

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey is a magic-realist romance film following two strangers: David and Sarah. When they both wind up with cars from a mysterious rental agency, the lives of this pair are forced to intersect. The journey this puts them on is one of healing and love, with all the messy bits.

This film is certainly one of those strange and abstract features that looks a little more tame in the trailer than it does in totality. However, there were quite a few golden moments in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey that really shone through. As a concept, I found the magic realism element of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey quite creative. There was a lot of freedom in our main characters exploring one another's memories and developing a better understanding of self through the passage of time. The moments in which David and Sarah healed were the most significant, certainly the most moving. These are deeply flawed characters, people who work their way out of narcissistic tendencies or self-destructive behaviour through the journey they go on. Watching David hold himself to a higher standard by connecting with the nature of his parents is quite beautiful. The scene between him and his Dad in the hospital might very well be the best in the film. While Sarah is constantly trying to unpack her grief over the loss of her mother, she works towards giving herself permission to feel vulnerable again. This film isn't always clear, nor is it well-constructed, but it does have a lot of good to say about the more complex nature of relationships and the baggage both individuals bring to a life of contentment.

Kogonada is an interesting director who isn't strictly conventional. Something he does beautifully is provide a clear mastery of colour, lighting and staging. This whole film feels like it has a very interesting sense of aesthetic and makes strong efforts to be unique. The score is melodic and remarkably poignant, while the soundtrack is a relatively indie sound filled with yearning and questioning.

Colin Farrell, who played David, is not in his strongest role here, but he proves a capable lead; Farrell takes David on a very personal, introspective journey. Hamish Linklater, who played David's Father, gives an absolute powerhouse performance in this feature; Linklater's hospital scene moved me incredibly and is some of his best work to date. Chloe East, who played Cheryl, is quite convincing as the high school crush who is so removed from the person who loves her; the scene where Farrell confesses his feelings for her is quite a devastating moment.

However, the best performance came from Margot Robbie, who played Sarah. This role is a bit wild and chaotic when we first meet her; she throws herself into partying and hooking up with strangers. I liked how Robbie toyed with Farrell's David at first; she was interested in him, but as another man to break herself upon. The journey Sarah goes through is one of understanding why she doesn't allow herself to feel vulnerable anymore or to be hurt. We see the raw pain and grief Sarah still feels as Robbie very steadily peels back the layers of her character's psyche. We learn that Sarah had this incredible bond with her mother and felt tremendous regret for the time her mother passed. Watching Robbie play the scene in which she is reunited with a memory of her mother is one of the strongest emotional beats of the film, and she had me hooked throughout. Robbie delivers a performance that very strongly shows a character who needs and starts to heal.

This is a very unconventional film, which allows for some creativity and themes to be celebrated, but also a storytelling approach that really didn't work well throughout. The film got off to an awful first act. The magic realist aspect was engaged almost immediately in a very confusing manner; you have to rush to get on board with what is being presented here. The magic realism across A Big Bold Beautiful Journey isn't especially viewer-friendly, often swinging into wild and varied directions. Some of these moments have some incredible imagination and impact, but they often lack coherence, which undermines the film as a whole. We also don't get that introduction element at the start of the film; David and Sarah are shoved in front of us and then promptly shoved together. We don't get a moment to catch our breath and learn who these people are on a basic level. The film zigs and zags throughout, sometimes moving fast and sometimes slow. The biggest failing this film has is that it has the basic bones of a romance film, but the romance component of this film feels the least satisfying. The characters don't connect in a way that makes you believe in their relationship; rather, it feels like the story is telling you that they have found one another and will wind up together.

As a visual film, this is such an oddity for me. Everything within the lens of the camera is gorgeous; the colour palette of this film is wonderful. But the shots themselves are so bland and simplistic, there's no creativity in how the camera itself is actually utilised. The editing also has a basic cutting style that only piles onto the pacing problems this film is rife with.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Kevin Kline, who played the Female Cashier and the Mechanic respectively, are a strange, mismatched pair who fail to serve the magic realism angle well; Waller-Bridge's German accent schtick yanked me out of the film full force. Jodie Turner-Smith, who voiced the GPS, is an unimpressive element of this film; I didn't really care for this aspect of the film and found the GPS being characterised to be quite a lacking element. Lily Rabe, who played Sarah's Mother, feels rather flat for her scenes; Rabe leaves Robbie to do a lot of the emotional heavy lifting for their scenes.

A muddled and confusing film that can't be slighted for its ability to be both imaginative and beautiful. I would give A Big Bold Beautiful Journey a 6.5/10.

The Long Walk

 

This review may contain spoilers!

The Long Walk is an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. The Long Walk is an annual American competition in which a young man from each of the 50 American states volunteers in the hopes of winning a great prize. Each competitor must walk at a set speed until they are the last one standing in the pack, a complete do-or-die situation.

I really liked that while this dystopian film felt familiar, it managed to do something altogether riskier. It just lets our characters talk. Across the entire film, this young cast of characters trek for miles and miles, occasionally encountering some high-stakes moments, like the terrain changing, weather events and moments of sickness. Yet, where this film really shines is how this young cast connects with one another; how these characters bond or fight is perhaps the most interesting element in all of this. We get to see The Long Walk play out, and the hardships the young men endure alongside the brutality. In fact, this film is very unapologetically graphic; it does not shy away from moments of ultraviolence when presenting executions. This is a dystopian movie that shows the cruelty of the punishment being visited upon the young men, which in turn heightens your immersion and convinces you of the reality being presented. I felt this film really discussed its own themes perfectly, often through the lens of conversation held by Ray and Peter as they befriended one another. These two characters picked apart the morality of the Long Walk, the injustices being visited upon them and American society, the power behind the 'wish' and even the nature of the relationships formed upon the Long Walk itself. It is a truly impressive feat letting the dialogue and static movement do so much legwork in a film like this, but it really manages to endure.

Francis Lawrence has been exceptional in the dystopian scene for a while; he is the director whom I would credit for crafting the visual language of the Hunger Games franchise. This is a film that could look repetitive visually, but Lawrence does a remarkable job of keeping things looking dynamic and involved. The scenery and changing landscape also tell their own story of desperation. The score for the film really gets under your skin, pushing into moments of melancholy or even downright terror with ease. The final song, 'Took A Walk', is quite a beautiful ballad to listen to as the film rounds itself out.

Cooper Hoffman, who played Raymond Garrity #47, is quite a unique leading performance; Hoffman's character is capable of being morally good while also hosting a deep-seated rage at those in power. Garrett Wareing, who played Stebbins #38, is a very methodical, antagonistic figure; I liked how Wareing presented the inner defeat of his role as he became overcome with sickness. Tut Nyuot, who played Arthur Baker #6, was a character often in high spirits; I enjoyed how much bravado and energy Nyuot poured into his performance. Charlie Plummer, who played Gary Barkovitch #5, was quite a psychotic and dangerous character; Plummer performed remarkably, as you could not predict what his role was going to do next. Ben Wang, who played Hank Olson #46, was a real scene stealer; Wang's sense of comedic delivery really lifted some scenes up. 

However, the best performance came from David Jonsson, who played Peter McVries #23. Jonsson is a masterclass from his very first scene, often delivering dialogue in a beautiful, very considered way. His character, Peter, is quite an approachable figure; a moral young man who has endured in spite of hardship. I found the friendship forged between Jonsson and Hoffman to be the beating heart of this film. They bonded tremendously, overcame personal conflict and triumphed through unimaginable hardships with one another. Jonsson's role is full of moral righteousness; he is incredibly sure of where he stands at any given time. I liked that he was uplifted by the goodness of others and chose to be a mirror, often reflecting that goodness.

The Long Walk is a film with a rather tight script but a limited concept. The nature of this movie is that our characters walk and talk between executions and moments of physical struggle. Often, there is a moral emboldening happening before our eyes, but it is also common for messages to be repeated in their delivery. This movie has a few pitfall moments, where the struggle is that the film comes across as repetitive. I was also dissatisfied with how vague the wider world was. There was a real minimalist approach to the worldbuilding, and some clarity around details of this Dystopian United States could have made for a more interesting watch.

The editing is often slow as there is little variety onscreen; this does mean the pacing can feel a bit slower as it moves along.

Jordan Gonzalez, who played Richard Harkness #49, was a puzzling role that never stood out much; his oddball writer schtick was about as memorable as his special effects death scene. Joshua Odjick, who played Collie Parker #48, was a bit of acting that varied in a rather confused manner; Odjick took Collie in some massively different directions that rarely worked. Mark Hamill, who played The Major, was an almost comical antagonist that brought the film down in my eyes; Hamill was giving a parody of a military dictator and not really anything resembling character work. Roman Griffin Davis, who played Curley #7, is struggling to stand out in his teenage years; this was an early death that should have felt significant, but didn't. Judy Greer, who played Ginnie Garrity, gives the stereotypical grieving mother performance but doesn't add substance to it; I really didn't feel like Greer and Hoffman had any chemistry as mother and son.

Francis Lawrence is perhaps the master craftsman when it comes to designing dystopian films. I would give The Long Walk an 8/10.

The Roses

 

This review may contain spoilers!

The Roses is a loose adaptation of 'The War of the Roses' by Warren Adler and a remake of The War of the Roses (1989). In this feature, Theo and Ivy Rose are a perfect husband-and-wife duo, with two kids and a lifestyle that they seem to love on the surface. However, when an unpredictable storm changes the power balance of their relationship forever, these star-crossed lovers start to become bitter enemies.

I really cannot praise the script for The Roses enough; it is a sharp, well-paced piece of storytelling from beginning to end. The dialogue in particular is cracking; the level of witty back-and-forth set alongside devastating insults had me in stitches throughout. This is the sort of film that understands it wants to make the audience laugh, but it never shoots for an easy joke when one that feels authentic to the material could be worked towards. At the heart of this thing is Theo and Ivy, two very charismatic and somewhat narcissistic individuals who love personal success as much as they do each other. These characters are complex individuals with their own wants and needs, and most intriguingly, their own grievances with one another. I like how this film really built the conflict from a place of nothing to a simmering aggression that you were waiting to see spill out across multiple scenes. Even the moments where our protagonists came back together and patched things over felt so incredibly toxic, temporary and tantalising enough to keep one watching. This film is likely the funniest thing I will see this year, and the ultimate punchline hits like the absolute mic drop that it is.

This is an absolutely stunning film to look at, setting the visual bar for comedies by a wide margin. The cinematography across this film highlights some stunning on-location shooting and remarkable sets. The Roses has a very refined look without ever coming off as too snobby. The editing is as quickfire as the dialogue, moving a scene with a tremendous sense of pacing. I found the score to be chaotic and even foreboding at times, with the soundtrack really doing some good legwork as well. 'Happy Together by Susanna Hoffs and Rufus Wainwright is an inspired track to introduce and conclude the feature with.

Olivia Colman, who played Ivy Rose, is an absolutely prolific leading performance; Colman and Cumberbatch together create a tangled and messy relationship that is still brimming with chemistry. Andy Samberg, who played Barry, is quite sincere as Cumberbatch's insecure best friend; Samberg is quite level with his own humour around his failing yet surviving marriage. Ncuti Gatwa, who played Jeffrey, is a very charismatic individual who works well paired with Colman; Gatwa serves as the restaurant business confidant nicely. Jamie Demetriou. who played Rory, has a deadpan delivery that lands in a very humorous way; there is almost a rivalry between him and Cumberbatch, which I quite enjoyed. Delaney Quinn and Ollie Robinson, who played the Younger Hattie Rose and Roy Rose respectively, are not only some fantastic child performances but supremely funny actors; this is a pair who bounce off one another well and actually livened up a scene with a fresh comedic perspective. Hala Finley, who played Older Hattie Rose, continues the momentum Quinn starts nicely; Finley has an almost blunt and removed way of delivering lines to her onscreen parents, which works well. Allison Janney, who played Eleanor, is a real mean-spirited fighter; I found her ability to go from vicious lawyer to cordial local amusing.

However, the best performance came from Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Theo Rose. This is a film that lives and dies on the performances of the two leads, and it is extremely tough to choose between them. Cumberbatch's role is an arrogant sort, the kind of guy who needs to flex his ego and have his self-worth validated by others. Yet, he is a very gentle family man at first glance, really caring and quite invested in the future of all members of the Rose family. Watching Cumberbatch play to the whirling chaos of his design going wrong and the collapse of his career is as gripping as it is entertaining. I liked the transition to ultra-driven stay-at-home Dad who is whipping his kids up into miniature superstar athletes. The way Cumberbatch engages with bitter conflict is just oozing with venom; I could have watched the back and forth between him and Coleman for much longer. I think Cumberbatch is the sort of actor who can really ground a role even when he is playing to an innately comedic script, and that works a treat here.

The Roses weakness rears its head in the final act, though there are smatterings of the issue throughout. The final act sees the revenge element the leads have against one another take quite an extreme turn; there's almost a sharp turn for the outlandish. More than this, it makes the conflict and conflict scenes come off as somewhat repetitive, which is a flaw in the narrative structure, too. There's a particular moment where a character holds the other's allergies against the other, which would have resulted in death. It's a grim scene that gets to the heart of the toxic relationship while also feeling quite extreme. Watching the characters shoot at one another and throw knives later is almost tamer by comparison.

Kate McKinnon, who played Amy, really feels like she is angling towards one of her SNL characters here; McKinnon isn't playing to the material and feels like she is often doing awful adlib work. Sunita Mani, who played Jane, is present in the restaurant storyline but has very little to do; Mani falls prey to a cheap 'sex in the chiller' scene and doesn't rise to much more than this. Zoё Chao, who played Sally, is bubbling with energy but not always the best at directing; her attempts at humour are quite obvious. Wells Rappaport, who played Older Roy Rose, doesn't find the humour with the same ease as Finley or even Robinson does; the son role starts to fall into the background as a result. 

One of the very best comedies of 2025, I could have walked right back into the theatre and watched it all over again. I would give The Roses an 8.5 out of 10.

Caught Stealing

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Caught Stealing follows Hank, a young bartender and former baseball prodigy, who gets asked by his neighbour, Russ, to watch his cat. Unbeknownst to Hank, Russ is caught up in some pretty intense criminal dealings, and those criminals come calling - seeking a small fortune.

This is the sort of film that really knows how to make you root for an underdog, which Hank certainly is. This young guy hasn't got an incredible life or anything, but he does have some small element of community about him and a girlfriend who cares for him a great deal. More than this, Hank is generally decent; he has a good nature by default and only leans into more morally grey behaviour when the situation demands it. Watching Hank get broken apart by forces he neither expected nor could control is miserable; you keep expecting some guardian angel moment that never comes. Hank just loses, and as we learn his backstory, it becomes clear that he has carried loss and guilt for much of his life. The final act is the more satisfying aspect of this film because our protagonist learns to show his teeth and fight back. He outsmarts and outmaneuvers those who have been working against him in a moment that feels like him reclaiming his own life.

Probably the best aspect of Caught Stealing is the music, both in terms of score and soundtrack. The entire score is this grungy rock sound that grounds us in the setting and cast of characters; it also speaks to the feelings of hopelessness and rage. The whole soundtrack feels like the seedy twang of a rock dive bar; this film felt tough, and it was not afraid to drive that home.

Matt Smith, who played Russ, is an absolutely wild scene-stealer in this; Smith is unrecognisable as the whiny gun-toting banker for the mob. Nikita Kukushkin, who played Pavel, is entirely unhinged in this performance; Kukushkin feels like the sort of enforcer who could do very real damage to the other performers. Bad Bunny, who played Colorado, is actually a seriously intimidating gangster presence in this; this antagonist might very well be Bad Bunny's first decent acting performance. Carol Kane, who played Bubbe, took a small role and really made it shine in the moment; Kane knows how to carry comedy and nuggets of wisdom in equal measure.

However, the best performance came from Zoё Kravitz, who played Yvonne. This character just feels so entirely real, in a cast of characters who feel wild and crazy; this is someone who is so entirely grounded. Kravitz's Yvonne is a hard-working nurse who celebrates saving life with lewd displays and boozy bashes. She's extremely devoted to Hank, and the chemistry she gives off with him is electric. Kravitz really knows how to charge a scene with romantic tension that has you entirely captivated. I found the way she plays agony at watching Hank destroy himself to be quite impressive; she does not want to be the caretaker. In fact, Kravitz's role is to yearn to say "I love you" and to feel it reciprocated in equal measure. She does the legwork on showing this element and demonstrating the divide between them as a result. This is one of the most tragic figures in the film, and I felt it really showed how deep Kravitz can go into a character, even with limited screen time.

I haven't watched as much Darren Aronofsky as I would like, but something I think he always falls into the trap of is the way he captures tragedy and misery. Aronofsky is a filmmaker who tells stories that lean towards the tragic, following a tortured protagonist who gets punished before they get any opportunity to turn things around. I thought Caught Stealing was a film that liked to put characters through hardship or violent execution, less out of purpose and more for the shock value of a character going through the worst possible situation every time. For this reason, I also found it quite tough when this film tried to play to comedy; it is not a funny script. The character of Russ was a neat gag, but that's how characters were treated, as punchlines. The Jewish gangster brothers didn't really feel like anything more than a novelty element to make Caught Stealing stand out. Alongside all of these novelty elements, the main antagonist of Detective Roman was about as bland as they could have gone. She felt so unimpressionable and a poor foil to pair against Hank.

One thing I had hoped to see from an Aronofsky film was a decent visual palette, but this never eventuated. Caught Stealing loves a simple wide lens, big enough to hold space at medium distance and fit two or three performers within it. There are fleeting moments of creativity stifled by inelegant framing and grey colour work. The editing also set an admittedly sluggish pace that could have livened up the brutality fest somewhat.

Austin Butler, who played Hank Thompson, is an up-and-comer whom I really don't understand the hype around; Butler lacks the range to step into the protagonist space convincingly. Griffin Dunne, who played Paul, is a cantankerous side character with little muster to give; Dunne has the beginnings of a scene brimming with conflict that just winds up feeling rather flat. George Abud, who played Duane, is an awkward comedy insert that never manages to land; the film keeps trying to push Abud as a comedy high point, and it always fizzles. Yuri Kolokolnikov, who played Aleksei, is a rather unimpressive henchman figure; I really found his presence in scenes to lack the bite or menace his co-stars had on display. Regina King, who played Detective Roman, is one of the blandest roles in the feature; King is just too stoic to really seize attention as the main antagonist. Liev Schreiber and Vincent D'Onofrio, who played Lipa and Shmully respectively, just feel like strange caricature performances presented to do something a little out of left field; Schreiber, in particular, gives no weight or energy to his performance.

A pretty turbulent and downtrodden crime story that leans on torture, novelty characters and grandiose displays of violence to stand out. I would give Caught Stealing a 6.5/10.

Eddington

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Eddington is set in the titular township during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The film follows Joe Cross, an insecure and aggrieved sheriff who harbours deep resentment towards the mayor of Eddington. He uses the igniting tensions of the pandemic to try to secure a sense of control, manipulating the radical division into far extremes of the political spectrum.

I was really impressed with the way Ari Aster caught that snapshot of the United States as a boiling pot of tension, a place where conflicts were bubbling over and fears were extremely heightened. We track alongside the sheriff, Joe Cross. Joe is quite a conservative man; he refuses to wear a mask and openly combats against people who try to force the lockdown mandates on others. He has a turbulent home life; his mother-in-law, who lives with him, is deeply troubled, and his wife is erratic and often distant. This sheriff also harbours deep resentment towards the mayor of the town, believing himself to have been aggrieved by Ted at one point in his life. This is not your usual protagonist; he's an impotent and frustrated figure who yearns for a sense of control and power. Watching him fail to gain it time and again is a phenomenal setup to his eventual descent into darkness. I also enjoyed the witty cracks at the expense of the United States in the face of several key political ideologies or events. This was a tough element of humour to balance and capture, yet this is a film that manages it early on.

Ari Aster's strength is his incredible visuals. Eddington is so stark and washed out that the very town seems drained of life. Yet, these barren landscapes set the stage for some wonderfully framed standoffs that keep the tension palpable. The soundtrack for the film is a neat blend of tracks that ground us in the town of Eddington and a couple of lighter tracks played for comedy.

Deirdre O'Connell, who played Dawn Bodkin, is one of the most immersive performances in the feature; O'Connell's internet rabbithole-obsessed character is a scary reflection on how some older people are lured in by lies online. Pedro Pascal, who played Ted Garcia, is one of the strongest performances in this cast; Pascal is entirely charismatic as the mayor, but he knows how to engage in conflict in his own strategic manner. Clifton Collins Jr., who played Lodge, just disappears into this role; I think this homeless figure is one many can recognise, and it's shocking to me that Collins is inside all of that. William Belleau, who played Officer Butterfly Jimenez, is quite a brilliant contrast as an adept police officer in the face of the Eddington police crew; watching Belleau portray suspicion is one of my favourite aspects of the back half of this film. Rachel de la Torre, who played Paula, is a really fiery presence within this ensemble; de la Torre is quite combative in her delivery, which makes for some nice light conflict.

However, the best performance came from Joaquin Phoenix, who played Joe Cross. This is such an entirely repugnant and non-typical leading protagonist. I really enjoyed watching Phoenix flesh this role out and really show all the layers to Cross. This is a deeply insecure man, one who feels small in his home and within his relationship with his wife. At every turn, he tries to show a sort of weak-willed sense of control, tantrum-like outbursts as the town sheriff in a bid to win others over to his 'side'. Phoenix plays into a figure we can kind of recognise, someone who allows extreme media to manipulate him and who pushes back against lockdown mandates in a self-destructive manner. Joe Cross is an erratic, impulsive figure who seems entirely possible to play at times and yet Joaquin Phoenix is more than up to the task.

Eddington was an almost golden movie until that last half hour, where it decided to entirely jump the shark. The film descends deeper into the American social paranoias of the early 2020s, specifically a strange angle around ANTIFA being this shadowy, clandestine organisation hunting down local police authorities. The film has already pushed boundaries at this point, but this slips into the realm of incoherence. Characters start to be killed or survive life-threatening events without much rhyme or reason. There's a colossal shoot-out scene that just takes the bite out of Eddington; it feels like the movie lost sight of what it really wanted to say. The last few minutes present Joe Cross as a mentally and physically disabled mayor, a puppet of other figures, but even this concept is rather on the nose. The movie caps off by showing Joe's life as a disabled man to be almost perverse, which feels like a strange musing to end upon before we cut to the credits. It's this last half hour that makes me wonder if Ari Aster actually had anything to say at all. The film sort of sits in the middle and lashes out at both sides of the political spectrum, like an amateur comedy roast. But it's unclear what Eddington really intends, and maybe that is simply because Aster could not come to any meaningful conclusion.

The editing for this film is a bit tired and lingering. Eddington is a long movie, and you really feel that in how it is pieced together. I enjoyed the score when it was actually used, but there isn't enough there to comment upon. The music across this film has so much empty space between it that it felt like the concept of a score wasn't really accounted for.

Emma Stone, who played Louise Cross, is a remarkably absent presence in this film; Stone didn't really do anything within this role to greatly contribute to the overall experience of the film. Micheal Ward, who played Michael Cooke, is a deputy figure who never defines himself very much; I expected a lot more emotion out of Ward in that final act, but he didn't deliver. Cameron Mann, who played Brian Frazee, is an odd role at the best of times; his entire false outrage shtick wears thin after a couple of scenes. Matt Gomez Hidaka, who played Eric Garcia, is quite nondescript as one of the teen ensemble cast; I was disappointed that he and Pascal didn't flesh out their relationship more. Luke Grimes, who played Guy Tooley, doesn't really land as the comedic piece of the sheriff department; Grimes is pushed for laughs because his character is simple, but it just comes off as a bit obvious. Amélie Hoeferle, who played Sarah, was one of the more over-the-top performances when it came to delivery; her role was also reduced down to a love interest character most of the time. Austin Butler, who played Vernon Jefferson Peak, arrives in this film but never really justifies his own presence; Butler's strange evangelical role in the face of paedophilic abuse at the end of the film just comes off as bizarre and poorly imagined.

A film with a lot of potential, but just completely jettisons anything worthy it had in the last half hour. I would give Eddington a 5.5/10