Overshadow film review by UK film critic Patrick Foley. Starring Sushant Vasishth, Sukhmanee Lamba directed by Fareed Kairon. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Overshadow Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Patrick Foley | Posted on: Jun 27, 2024 Directed by: Fareed Kairon Written by: Fareed Kairon, Mohammad Emroz Starring: Sushant Vasishth, Sukhmanee Lamba Director Fareed Kairon adds to his growing list of short psychological dramas with Overshadow, a weighty film about the pain of memory, the cost of mistakes and self-introspection undertaken by a protagonist who has never truly confronted his past. Sahil (Sushant Vasishth) reflects on his former relationship with Meghna (Sukhmanee Lamba). Her suicide many years earlier still haunts him, and he struggles to cope with the signs he ignored of her mental health issues – believing that he could have prevented the tragedy if he had been more attentive. Struggling is difficult enough, but when he starts to be haunted by visions of Meghna, it pushes him to the brink. Overshadow is a slick, visually pleasing short addressing themes of mental health and trauma that does a solid job of recognising and symbolising the impact of suicide on the lives of friends and relatives, but one that struggles to really maintain a coherent plotline for its themes to wrap around. The impact of a suicide on Sahil is hauntingly powerful – even before the visions of his former lover begin, and the recreation of the events leading up to it give additional power to the later attempts of coming to terms he experiences. However Sahil’s narrative arc isn’t entirely convincing, with his personal journey and development feeling rushed in parts. Whether it is Meghna’s ethereal spirit that pays him visits years after her death, or his own subconscious that is making him imagine her is never fully confirmed. But his conversions throughout the film feel somewhat convenient and hurried, and her justifications for targeting him similarly feel muddled. It is clear that the film is more of a vehicle for exploring the impact of trauma and regret rather than a logic-driven plot, but Sahil’s own story would be more powerful if some of the plot holes were filled. Kairon drapes the film in a moody, dusky overlay to match the dark vibe. It’s appropriate given the heavy tone and subject matter, and the exploration with shadow helps add to the fear factor when Meghna’s apparitions begin. By the end it does feel like the director has used it beyond its potential, and the visuals lack stimulation outside of this. But it does help immersion once Sahil’s story is underway. Overshadow is a solid short, deserving credit for tackling heavy subject matter with tact and taking an engaging stance on important issues. But it is narratively lacking, and its initially solid visual style does risk becoming tiring as the film roles on. It is worth checking out for fans of Fareed Kairon’s previous work and style, and at least brings some worthwhile ideas to the table. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Patrick Foley Digital / DVD Release, Short Film, World Cinema < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Eric LaRue film review by UK film critic Hope Madden. Starring Judy Greer, Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Sparks directed by Michael Shannon. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Eric LaRue Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Hope Madden | Posted on: Apr 2, 2025 Directed by: Michael Shannon Written by: Brett Neveu Starring: Judy Greer, Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Sparks The film Eric LaRue pairs two of modern cinema’s most talented and least appreciated actors: Judy Greer and Michael Shannon. Intriguingly, Shannon doesn’t appear onscreen. Instead, he makes his feature directorial debut with this emotionally raw drama about a mother’s spiral after her son murders three of his classmates. As we meet Janice (Greer), she’s struggling just to make it through a grocery store when she runs into Pastor Steve (Paul Sparks, pitch perfect). The dynamic these two actors and their director develop in this crucial scene sets the tone for a movie unafraid to get messy and stay there. Pastor Steve wants to help. He sincerely does. He doesn’t want to think about what happened, doesn’t want to blame anybody for anything, doesn’t want to rehash the ugliness of the incident. He wants to help this woman clean her wounds and end the infection, but definitely does not want her ripping off any scabs to get there. Likewise, across town at the more evangelical Redeemer church, Janice’s husband Ron (Alexander Skarsgård) is being wooed into an even cleaner and more complete erasure of his pain by giving his burden to Jesus. Janice is just not sure any of this helps. And even if it does, it’s not the help she wants. Shannon directs a script by Brett Neveu, the screen adaptation of his own stage play. It’s a tough story, and one that’s been covered by some outstanding indie films: Fran Kranz’s 2021 chamber piece Mass , and Lynne Ramsay’s 2011 masterpiece We Need to Talk About Kevin ranking among the best. Eric LaRue leans closer to Mass in that it examines the influence of religion on the grief, shame, and anger left after such a crime. But Shannon mines his material for a different outcome. A single moment of surreal absurdism (in a booth at Cracklin’ Jane’s restaurant) underscores the film’s cynicism concerning the good-faith efforts of religion to end suffering. Skarsgård breaks your heart as an awkward, broken man trying desperately to move past his pain. A supporting cast including Tracy Letts, Lawrence Grimm, Kate Arrington, Nation Sage Henrikson, and especially Annie Parisse, delivers precise and authentic turns. But it’s Greer whose powerful performance—full of anger, shame, regret, longing, disappointment and most of all weariness—plays across her face in ways that seem achingly real. Not everything works, but every performance is remarkable and there is bravery and power behind the message that life and death are messy things. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Hope Madden Theatrical Release, Indie Feature Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Spider-Man: Brand New Day film review by UK film critic George Wolf. Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Spider-Man: Brand New Day Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: George Wolf | Posted on: Jul 29, 2026 Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton Written by: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink Looks like our boy has gone and grown up. It happens. When Tom Holland stepped into the Spider-Man suit nearly a decade ago now (!), he was 21 but looked 15, which was perfect. Peter Parker was a kid again, and that fact alone grounded the new franchise with a freshness and naïveté that was utterly charming. It also gave the young man and his super alter ego plenty of room to grow. Spider-Man: Brand New Day raises the stakes with both familiarity and surprise, delivering a more adult-themed adventure that will thrill , satisfy and occasionally frustrate. Peter has settled into his life as a friendly neighborhood hero, helping Detective DeWolff (Liza Colon-Zayas) bust bad guys even as she advises him to take some time off and quit being married to his job as a super friend. But, of course, the work takes his mind off of the fact that girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and BFF Ned (Jacob Batalon) don’t even know him anymore. And much like plenty of Superheroes before him, Peter begins to show sides of himself that even he doesn’t recognize. Severe headaches grow more frequent, and parts of his high-tech spider suit begin to malfunction as a very dangerous, and very elusive new villain emerges. And just when Peter needs to know who he can trust, everyone from Frank Castle/Punisher (Jon Bernthal) to Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to a couple other recognizable names I won’t mention may have conflicting loyalties. Director Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , Short Term 12, Just Mercy ) takes the franchise helm from Jon Watts, providing a winning pace and engaging visual style. After some well-placed nods to the youthful Spider-Verse aesthetic early on, Cretton buoys the maturation of the character with a more streamlined, focused approached to some really terrific action sequences. And while plenty of the CGI is appropriately super, Hulk’s facial features seem to have taken a curious step back. Franchise screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers return, giving credible weight to the introduction of themes that should be plenty familiar to superhero fans. Yes, some of the dialog banter lands as a bit forced and the humor is understandably downplayed this time out, but a few good moments of laughter find their mark – including a turn of the phrase “meager potatoes” which I now plan to work into daily conversation. Holland still provides the heroic anchor, and he’s just so good with this character appears effortless. His chemistry with Zendaya (duh) and Batalon is warm and real, and he makes Peter’s journey to becoming his own hero an organic and rewarding one. He’s still friendly, but now there’s a sense of loss and inner turmoil that makes the victories more sweet and well-earned. With Brand New Day , calling him Spider-Man doesn’t feel like a kid playing dress up anymore. And those are good-sized potatoes. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic George Wolf Theatrical Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Rumpus film review by UK film critic Isaac Parkinson. Starring N/A directed by Kamal Krishna. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Rumpus Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Isaac Parkinson | Posted on: Mar 18, 2022 Directed by: Kamal Krishna Written by: Kamal Krishna Starring: N/A Rumpus takes video game aesthetics in an interesting direction to explore the potency of childhood imagination. We are dropped into the world of Rumpus without warning. I say ‘we’ because the film is almost entirely shot using first-person perspective. This is an experimental style more commonly utilised in vlog or video game formats. Several films, such as 2015’s Hardcore Henry, have taken this approach to better immerse their audience, but formally this style is not widely accepted. Using this in a short makes it much more accessible, not committing the viewer to an inertia-driven onslaught of nauseating camera movement, while still allowing a more inviting entry into a new world of exploration. Like nature vlogs, we’re welcomed into the meditativeness and peace of the outside world. I would be perfectly happy gently exploring that calm without any further complication, but Rumpus takes a step further, soon introducing incongruous elements like a turtle floating in the sky. A swarm of fish appear above our avatar, changing the sky to sea. The playfulness of nature is quickly replaced with something more threatening however, as familiar animals are replaced with larger-than-life creatures accompanied by pulsing tense music. Environmental changes proliferate further, moving from a motorbike to a car to a race car. Quick pans and turns on a race track move us from one locale to another. For such a short film, and with such creative ambitions for its incongruous elements of fantasy, the effects are sufficient, although they do occasionally disrupt immersion in their reality. One shot in particular of the burning race car by the side of the road, has been very quickly rendered and appears completely detached from the space around it. The clash of video game aesthetics with the crisp images of nature is generally positively provocative, however, pushing the viewer to consider boundaries beyond our reality. A series of quick transitions from a bike jump to a skydive to a seadive is particularly powerful in transcending the assumed limits of action. The chaotic movements make sense of themselves as our first-person perspective fades away in a dark tunnel and is replaced by an omniscient view down upon a child’s play area. All the incongruous and disorderly components are re-contextualised as merely toys in a fantastical sandbox. “When children pretend, they’re using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero.” - Fred Rogers As the Fred Rogers quote the film closes with suggests, childhood imagination is imperative to the imagined rendering of real elements alongside the fantastical. The freedom and liberation of ideas lets us move at a moment’s notice from one adventure to the next. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Isaac Parkinson Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

The Electricity In Me film review by UK film critic Swati Verma. Starring Ellora Torchia directed by Matt Sheldon. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS The Electricity In Me Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Swati Verma | Posted on: Nov 4, 2022 Directed by: Matt Sheldon Written by: Matt Sheldon Starring: Ellora Torchia The title of the short film - The Electricity In Me has the connotation of a form of positive energy and a spark possessed by all mothers in the form of motherhood. The writer-director Matt Sheldon showcases how strong, protective, and lovable a woman can become once she transforms into a mother. Sheldon through Joan (Ellora Torchia) pays tribute to all the ladies who endure a lot of mental and physical hardships to bring a child into this world. The plot of this movie revolves around a young woman who confronts her trauma and memories of the man she calls my monster years after giving up her newborn son for adoption. The Electricity In Me opens with a series of mid-shots and close-up shots from a video in the hospital and a long shot of small paragraphs from the diary of Joan Stockdale. The close-up shot of the hand and extreme close shot of the woman without revealing the whole face is an interesting way to introduce the central character in the narrative to engage the audience with the content of the dramatic piece. The Electricity In Me has an office set-up with a combination of a white, black, and brown colour palette. The lighting, dialogue, sound, music, costumes, hair, and makeup elevate the subject matter of the film effectively. Ellora Torchia plays Joan Stockdale, who revisits her memories and trauma related to the birth of her son. Torchia brings out the love, fear, anger, pain, and disgust in a 10-minute monologue wonderfully. The body language and voice modulation used by the actress helps express the varied range of emotions as per the demand of the screenplay. The Electricity In Me highlights the intricacies of the relationship between a mother and a child as well as a father-daughter duo. It advises the audience to make efforts on building up bonds as it can help fight any rough patch. It also talks about the importance of emotions when it comes to making efforts towards maintaining the various ties in life. The short film is all about the hope of the mother for her son that he would perhaps understand her and forgive her and live together as she wants to make up for the lost time. The short film depicts how in earlier days English society believed in taboos like pregnancy without marriage. The story also provides the son a medium to express gratitude to his birth mother for everything she has done for him and also allowing now the grown-up man to grant an opportunity for her voice to be heard by the audience as she wanted to communicate what she felt when she lost her son. Audiences will appreciate writer-director Matt Sheldon’s dedication to the art of filmmaking and his courage to share a true story based on his personal experiences in life. He has delivered a cinematic piece that enhances people's knowledge about emotional subjects with deft skill. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Swati Verma Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

My Autopsy film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Gareth Tidball, Dave Stishan, Devin Armel, Alexis Schneider, Serenity Valle directed by Holly Mollohan. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS My Autopsy Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Jul 26, 2022 Directed by: Holly Mollohan Written by: Holly Mollohan Starring: Gareth Tidball, Dave Stishan, Devin Armel, Alexis Schneider, Serenity Valle A woman's life deteriorates after she gets involved with the wrong man. Rachel (Tidball) is a young woman who does not know what to do with her life. One day, she meets Vince (Stishan), who performs in a rock band and the two of them begin a romantic relationship. However, Vince turns out to be a vile person and mistreats Rachel and gives her drugs. Eventually, the relationship ends in tragedy and Rachel, who is now emotionally damaged, tries hard to get on with her life. This feature is a rather dark psychological thriller that focuses on the life of woman who goes through very serious misfortunes and being unable to cope, she ends up falling deeper and deeper into her own personal abyss. The narrative follows her as she goes through terrible ordeals that involve being tormented by Vince, suffering the loss of a friend and dealing with the inner damages that are caused by her experiences. Although she is supported by Jill (Schneider), she seems unable to leave Vince behind and move on. The film appears to show the negative sides of men, as the main male characters have immoral characteristics. Vince is shown to be the worst one as he is aggressive, controlling, violent and worse, and other men in the story are presented as being deceitful, disrespectful, inconsiderate and looking at women primarily with sexual intentions. Rachel falls victim to all these elements, which shows how such behaviour can ruin a person. As the protagonist, Tidball is very dramatic as an individual whose mental state goes from bad to worse as she goes through harrowing experiences that include violence and loss. Stishan is menacing as the dominating and violent Vince and Schneider is great in her role as a person who cares about Rachel and wants her to find happiness. There are nightmarish scenes and there is voice-over that reads the poems that Rachel writes in her notebook, which contain dark and upsetting subjects. The nightmares and the poems reveal the emotional pain that she is going through. Mollohan also worked on the editing and creates wonderful montage sequences that make effective use of fast cutting. Director of photography JP Fulks does a great job in developing cinematography that generates a melancholic atmosphere and Sean Mollohan makes a significant contribution with the score and the interesting soundtrack includes numerous songs by a variety of artists. This is a distressing story that explores the life of an individual as she goes through terrible suffering and finds herself lost in despair and sadness. It is an intriguing story about the devastating effects cruelty can have on a person and about discovering one's inner strength. It is not a pleasant viewing, it is a viewing with heavy drama that takes a hard-hitting look into some of life's harshest issues, such as wickedness, trauma, desperation and loneliness and how they affect people. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Indie Feature Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

In Pain Season film review by UK film critic Swati Verma. Starring Raja Aryan Shaddat, Leon Keayz, Kieran Rees directed by Shayaan Ahmad . HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS In Pain Season Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Swati Verma | Posted on: Jan 3, 2023 Directed by: Shayaan Ahmad Written by: Shayaan Ahmad Starring: Raja Aryan Shaddat, Leon Keayz, Kieran Rees The writer-director Shayan Ahmad builds up the intriguing screenplay around two major elements conflict and drama to address a very important issue through the two protagonists Raja Aryan Saddat and Leon Keayz. The plot of the short film - In Pain Season revolves around two male best friends involved in several thefts to avenge all the wrong done to them in the past. The film opens with a long shot of the city at night time with dim lighting and eerie sound along with the noise of the car engine running providing a sense of mystery and thrill so that the filmmaker keeps the audience hooked to the content from the very beginning. The camera closely follows the characters quickly switching to a series of mid-shots followed by a series of close-up shots showcasing the details of the conversation to establish the subject matter of the movie. The shaky camera work denotes how rocky and unpredictable the lives of the main leads have been and the efforts they are making in hope of a better future for themselves are commendable. The combination of white, black, and blue colour pallet depicts the range of emotions experienced by each character as the narrative flow smoothly making the viewers eagerly wait for the climax. In terms of performance, Raja Aryan Saddat plays the Asian person who had to go through hard times because of belonging to a particular community. Saddat brilliantly portrays the pain, the anger the disappointment with his body language and voice modulation but also illustrates the strength of character to stand by what he believes in to achieve the set goal. Leon Keayz plays the best friend of the Asian man and is like a partner in crime and also wants to fight and set an example for people like him. Keayz brings the needed light-hearted comic relief to the script heavy on emotions, action, and conundrum. Kieran Rees plays the police officer who has been assigned the case. Rees showcases the dedication towards work and determination to catch those responsible for the theft. Even though the audience is sympathising with the two protagonists also wish for the result of this cat and mouse chase to be favourable for both parties. In Pain Season reiterates the fact that revenge cannot be the solution to every problem in one’s life. The cinematic piece tells us that the policy of what goes around comes around is true so we shouldn’t worry about the fruitful result and only concentrate on our karma. The movie talks about the need for emotional support from loved ones at the testing time of crisis. The dramatic piece discusses that having a lot of money isn’t directly proportionate to happiness or peace of mind so the decisions should be made with the long-term well-being of self and others in mind. In Pain Season restates that life gives varied opportunities to choose the best option and people should not fall for shortcuts or a wrong path as it initially feels like a rose bed till bigger problems begin to surface. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Swati Verma Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Oh, Canada film review by UK film critic Hope Madden. Starring Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman directed by Paul Schrader. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Oh, Canada Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Hope Madden | Posted on: Dec 12, 2024 Directed by: Paul Schrader Written by: Paul Schrader, Russell Banks Starring: Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman Paul Schrader has made a career of solitary, perhaps unforgivably damaged men seeking final redemption through self-sacrifice. The stakes and damage change from project to project, but the themes remain consistent. You can see what drew him to the Russell Banks novel Foregone , in which a lauded documentarian now dying of cancer sits for an interview determined to confess his fictionalized mythology to his wife. Retitled Oh, Canada for the screen, the film sits with Leo Fife (Richard Gere), wheeled out in a sour mood to his living room, which has been transformed quickly into a film studio. His former students Malcolm (Michael Imperioli) and Diana (Victoria Hill) intend to film a final farewell with the famous American draft dodger turned Canadian documentary provocateur. Leo just wants to tell his wife Emma (Uma Thurman) who he really is. As Leo reminisces, Jacob Elordi takes on the younger self moving through marriage and back to high school, to youthful indiscretions and less youthful betrayals. Periodically, Gere will walk out of a scene as Elordi walks into it, Schrader reminding the viewer that memory is a tricky thing, sometimes as fanciful and artificial as fiction. This artifice becomes the film’s undoing. There’s a staginess to the dialogue, a theatricality to the aging and de-aging, the way one actor will take on multiple personas. It fits with the theme of memory and truth but is at odds with what Schrader does best, and that’s brutal truth. Gere delivers exactly that in the film’s most blistering and uncomfortable scenes, almost hateful in his regret, in his desperation to come clean—as clean as this rather dirty man can come. His contempt for himself extends to his students, some for being like him, some for having been weak for him. When the opportunity arises, Gere and Schrader are on a different level than the balance of the cast and the rest of the film. It seems Schrader exposes something of himself as this character, this filmmaker, commits his own deterioration and death to cinema. The last Banks novel Schrader adapted, 1997’s Affliction , generated two Oscar nominations, including James Coburn’s win. And while both novels fit the Schrader canon, neither film seems like his creation, something sprung from the folds of his own brain. Schrader’s greatest screenplays—Taxi Driver, First Reformed, The Card Counter —find hope in the hopeless resolution. Oh, Canada lacks the cohesion of story and the poignant irreversibility that Schrader’s best films boast. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Hope Madden Theatrical Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

On The Third Step film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Daniil Gazizullin, Sergey Grab, Aleksander Lymarev, Michael Gor directed by Anastasia Norenko. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS On The Third Step Film Review average rating is 5 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Feb 14, 2023 Directed by: Anastasia Norenko Written by: Anastasia Norenko Starring: Daniil Gazizullin, Sergey Grab, Aleksander Lymarev, Michael Gor A group of criminals meet in order to discuss what went wrong with an assassination attempt. Three gangsters known as Kid (Gazizullin), ABC (Grab) and Sleeve (Lymarev) were ordered to kill a murder witness in Moscow, whose knowledge threatened to put crime boss Brute (Gor) in prison. The mission was a failure and now it is believed that there is an informer among them. Brute has summoned the three accomplices to a building, with the intention of finding out who among them is the traitor. Once the three of them are inside a room, Brute informs them that they have a short amount of time to figure out who betrayed them, or they will all be killed. This twenty-minute-long thriller from Russia has a plot that bears similarities to Reservoir Dogs : Following a ruined criminal act, a bunch of outlaws gather at a certain location and try to determine who among them is the double-crosser. Like Tarantino's film, the majority of the narrative takes place inside a room, with the protagonists questioning each other and attempting to discover the snitch among them. Also, like Tarantino's movie, there are flashbacks of the crime being committed ( in this case that is the murder attempt) and it is shown from the perspective of each of the three collaborators. The screenplay does a great job in building tension and suspense, and just when it seems that everything has been revealed, a clever plot twist arrives. All the actors deliver strong performances. The three assassins consist of characters who are quite different from each other. The Kid is the least determined of the trio, ABC is the hothead, while Sleeve appears to be the most reasonable. Gor is the one who steals the show as the menacing and bad-tempered crime lord. Praise goes to Dmitriy Gorevoy for the beautiful cinematography and the soundtrack includes a selection of interesting songs and a dramatic and tense score. This short thriller is filled with suspense and tense moments and never fails to be gripping. It is a crime story that contains mystery, confrontations, murder, betrayal and shootings and all these features, along with great acting and an intriguing plot make this film an admirable achievement. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Short Film, World Cinema < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Shirin Ebadi: Until We Are Free film review by UK film critic Amber Jackson. Starring Shirin Ebadi, The Dalai Lama, Parvin Ardalan directed by Dawn Gifford Engle. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Shirin Ebadi: Until We Are Free Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Amber Jackson | Posted on: Nov 7, 2022 Directed by: Dawn Gifford Engle Written by: Dawn Gifford Engle Starring: Shirin Ebadi, The Dalai Lama, Parvin Ardalan Telling the story of Shirin Ebadi’s fight for justice against Iran’s human rights violations, Dawn Gifford Engle’s documentary Shirin Ebadi: Until We Are Free provides a necessary context to the historical, cultural and political changes inflicted upon Iran. This documentary comes at a perfect time, as potential uprisings fighting for the rights of women are ongoing with even more velocity in Iran and around the world in protest of the country’s human rights violations. Ebadi’s efforts, along with her upbringing in Iran, are the central focus with her personal testimony and her journey to becoming the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. This film is a tribute to her life’s work and its legacy. The eighty-minute film speaks on civil unrest and protests from the people of Iran up until the present day and the wrongdoings of the Iranian Islamic Republic and dictatorship. It provides a political lesson, as well as a historical one, of Iran and the First Persian Empire founded by Cyrus the Great (circa 550 BCE). Gifford Engle’s work muses on the history of Persia as being a kind culture, where all religions and cultures were respected, and women were treated as equals. This context is told with animations and drawings edited into the narration and is a fantastic history lesson as UK schools do not tend to teach these topics frequently. It assists in providing a really thorough historical background and context for Ebadi’s work and her Persian background. Within the film, Ebadi muses that “no society is absolutely ideal.” She speaks of a nostalgia for her childhood of growing up with her family in Tehran and Hamedan and how suddenly her innocence was interrupted by Mosaddegh (Iran’s first democratically elected leader) being removed from government by a coup organised by British and American intelligence in 1953 and replacing him with the Shah. She speaks of the pain it caused her family, among other supporters of democracy, in a raw way that offers viewers insight into how she became the woman that she is today. From attending law school to better understand her country’s history, to becoming one of the first women judges, to having a political voice and seeking to secure the national rights of women and children, this documentary truly cements the legacy and positive impact of Shirin Ebadi. The film does an amazing job of summarising these events in a way that is accessible for all viewers. Archival footage portrays the reality of the Shah’s autocracy and how the general public were angry and protested for a pro-democracy state. 1970s footage of chaos in the streets and people hoping for a ‘free Iran’ is powerful to watch especially in the present day. Along with the edited and animated footage, it is incredibly compelling and adds an extra dynamic to the feel as though it is more interactive. Ebadi’s legal work to rectify human rights violations, as well as opening free schools for street children in Iran and changing child custody laws under Shariah law, could be considered just some of her many achievements. This documentary sheds light on her true courage in how she used – and continues to use – her platform to better the lives of others. It has led to a huge movement of women’s rights and pushing back against violence and fighting for a better future for Iran. It also speaks of what the world is currently seeing from Iran and how this fight has become a greater global movement. On this herself, Ebadi says: women have a better situation in countries where there is democracy and part of campaigning for change is making women aware of their rights and of the toxic culture/s that persecutes them. This is one of many ways that Gifford Engle’s film further legitimises Ebadi’s pure strength and perseverance. What stands out the most is Ebadi’s interviews where she talks about educating young people properly about the realities of war and its damages and the importance of the younger generations for Iran today. Her interrogation of laws and atrocities in Iran, as well as women’s rights being threatened worldwide, speaks to her point of the fragility of human freedom. It is topical given the current turmoil in Iran and this documentary successfully documents a struggle to end injustices especially for women and a hope for peace. Ebadi now lives happily with her two daughters and a close-knit family in London. Yet, there is still a sadness as she remains apart from her husband. She travels across the world to speak about current events in Iran and other human rights atrocities. She continues to refuse to be silent and hopes to be able to return to her homeland one day. Currently, women are leading thousands of protestors in Iran and around the world in the hopes of bringing the current Iranian government to an end. They speak with hope and confidence that one day they will be victorious – and Dawn Gifford Engle’s film supports just that. This is a very powerful watch and one that all viewers will enjoy. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Amber Jackson Documentary, Indie Feature Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Hierophany film review by UK film critic William Curzon. Starring Andrew Grayson, Craig Andrew Mooney directed by Tom Alner. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Hierophany Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: William Curzon | Posted on: Apr 13, 2026 Directed by: Tom Alner Written by: Craig Andrew Mooney Starring: Andrew Grayson, Craig Andrew Mooney Hierophany follows Samuel (Andrew Grayson), an introverted man in his thirties, obsessed with extraterrestrial life. Each night, he is tormented by a mysterious presence that leaves him desperate for answers. Samuel seeks therapy with a counsellor, Matthew (Craig Andrew Mooney), who offers a unique and insightful perspective on what may be causing these nightly visitations. One of the most impressive aspects of the piece is its engaging material; although most of the runtime is condensed into a single therapy session, the dialogue is consistently enthralling thanks to many of the technical aspects and the two central performances. Firstly, Luis Maurizzio serves as the film's cinematographer, primarily framing the two characters from either fixed camera shots or extreme close-ups to convey the protagonist's inner turmoil. During dialogue that appears evasive as the central character opens up about his trauma, an understated and melancholic musical score accompanies these scenes, effectively conveying the emotional resonance. It's a deeply haunting showcase of how different people cope with grief and how opening up to another can heal your wounds through acceptance of yourself. The piece tackles thought-provoking themes and ideas such as guilt and trauma, feelings that have haunted Samuel most of his life. This is showcased through steady editing as he recounts his childhood experiences. Despite the film's incredibly brisk runtime, the pacing flows exceptionally well due to the provocative dialogue and deliberate formal choices. Sadly, the film doesn't really explore Samuel's current lifestyle, and a deeper characterisation could have fleshed out more recent events that have led to his nightly visitations. While the film does explore Samuel's childhood experiences through his opening up about his neglect, particularly from his father, a more nuanced dive into why he is so closed off from the world would have been more memorable. The central performance from Andrew Grayson in his portrayal of Samuel is deeply moving, as he conveys the haunted nature and introverted side of his personality with astounding accuracy. Samuel is more closed off as he tries to understand if what is happening to him is real or not, and his expression of grief and guilt is deeply moving. Craig Andrew Mooney, on the other hand, in his portrayal of Matthew, is a calm and collected presence who tries to offer insightful methods on how to express his feelings to move on. He doesn't judge Samuel’s actions and chooses to be patient and understanding of what may have caused the force that is haunting him. Both performances play off one another profoundly, and they are ultimately the heart and soul of the film's central ideas. While the overall conclusion to the narrative is fairly minor and somewhat open-ended, it still manages to connect on a deeper level due to the moving ideas and themes present. The conclusion doesn't offer any easy resolutions to self-acceptance and grief, simply leaving these ideas open for audiences to discuss after the credits roll. Hierophany is a thought-provoking exploration of guilt and trauma that leaves room for interpretation of how each person deals with grief. Anchored by director Tom Alner’s formalism and two terrific performances from Andrew Grayson and Craig Andrew Mooney, Hierophany is a deeply engaging experience. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic William Curzon Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Blonde film review by UK film critic Hope Madden, George Wolf. Starring Ana de Armis directed by Andrew Dominik. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Blonde Film Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Critic: George Wolf | Posted on: Sep 27, 2022 Directed by: Andrew Dominik Written by: Andrew Dominik, Joyce Carroll Oates Starring: Ana de Armis Andrew Dominik felt like an odd choice to bring Joyce Carol Oates’s epic fictionalization of Marilyn Monroe’s life to the screen. His films up to now, though excellent, wouldn’t necessarily suggest an aptitude for a female-focused biopic. Most recently, the filmmaker’s crafted two magnificent documentaries on singer/songwriter Nick Cave. Prior to that, he made two woefully underseen Brad Pitt dramas (Killing Them Softly, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) after his Aussie breakthrough, Chopper . Each of these films is excellent, and each of them is broodingly, tenderly, decidedly masculine. If Dominik was an unconventional pick, Cuban performer Ana de Armas seemed a downright peculiar choice for the lead role. She’s no doubt beautiful enough to play the legendary stunner, and her work in Knives Out and Hands of Stone have shown her versatility as an actor. And why not get a little nutty? Monroe’s story has been told more times than Dracula’s – at least seven features and TV movies have been made about Marilyn, and she’s figured prominently in countless other flicks. Can they give us something we haven’t seen? Yep. They give us nearly 3 hours of NC-17 wallowing. Dominik’s film, which he adapted himself from the source novel, does little more than fetishize Monroe’s suffering. De Armas fills the role well enough. Yes, her accent takes you out of scenes from time to time, but that’s not really the trouble with the character. Monroe gets a single opportunity to stand up for herself in two hours and 46 minutes. It’s fun. It’s great to watch the character who’s been abused and misused the entire film finally feel a quick surge of pride. This one sequence – the one moment of agency given Monroe in the film’s entire running time – becomes the catalyst of her downfall, of course. Prior to this moment, de Armas is asked only to hover on the verge of tears. Nearly every instant after is degradation for a character rendered nearly inhuman by broadly brushed daddy issues and mental instabilities. While the film’s visual style is often intriguing, Dominik’s aggressive approach feels borrowed. He channels Lars von Trier with wave upon wave of punishment, then recalls Gaspar Noe through extended takes featuring shock-value POVs. And the irony of that NC-17 rating is that it’s not earned the old-fashioned way. The scene that almost certainly drew the most ire from the ratings board does not feature one second of nudity, yet lands as excess most wretched. If it all doesn’t add up to an abuse of de Armas, then it amounts to abuse of an audience. The point of Blonde seems to be that the almost global objectification of Marilyn Monroe meant an unendurably tragic life and death. To prove the point, Dominik objectifies Marilyn Monroe to a point that is nearly unendurable. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic George Wolf Netflix < All Reviews Next Film Review >