★★★ Directed by #MatthewGoodhue Written by #MatthewGoodhue Starring #AdamHalferty #JessieRabideau #RyanKattner Film Review by Hope Madden What is it that haunts us, really? Horror has a blossoming subgenre that’s particularly spooked by that inescapable curse of heredity. The metaphorical horror of facing what your family has to hand down to you whether you want it or not fueled Relic, Hereditary, The Dark and the Wicked, and now, Matthew Goodhue’s family horror, Woe. It’s been a year since his father died, but Charlie (Adam Halferty) still hasn’t seemed to put it behind him. He toils on his dad’s old house but doesn’t ever make any real progress. Same with the backyard. Same with everything. He barely evens speaks to his family anymore, even though his sister Betty (Jessie Rabideau) is about to get married. Charlie’s not just grieving. There’s something really weird happening to him in that house, and it colors his perceptions of everyone and everything else. Mysterious phone calls and a sketchy meeting out in the woods might set things straight. Wait a minute, when has that ever helped anything? Goodhue’s script avoids easy answers or simple metaphors. He evokes an eerie atmosphere, one that seems to envelop Charlie and threatens to take in Betty, but something that everyone else appears to be immune to. That’s especially true of Betty’s well-meaning doofus of a fiancé, Benjamin (Ryan Kattner, as an endearing as any could possibly be). The three performances sell the story, the Twilight Zone weirdness, and the human pathos that underly everything. Woe is a slow burn, rushing nothing but punctuating its fog of depression and sorrow with bursts of action and brief, welcome splashes of humor. #HopeMadden

★★★ Directed by #EnricoCasarosa Written by #JesseAndrews #MikeJones Starring #JacobTremblay #JackDylanGrazer Film Review by Hope Madden It’s summertime. Who doesn’t want to look out on the bluest water as little boats rock in the breeze and kids cavort in a tiny seaside villa on the Italian Riviera? Awash in the wonder of childhood, the latest adventure from Pixar follows someone from under the sea who’s lured to dry land—against their parents’ wishes—and finds a whole new world. Wait, that last phrase evokes a different movie, but Luca – a Disney + release that doesn’t require the Premier Access fee – does share a winking resemblance to Disney’s most famous fish out of water story. Young sea monster Luca (Jacob Tremblay) finds the idea of the world above sea level equally forbidding and fascinating. He discovers, with the assistance of another young sea monster named Alberto (It’s Jack Dylan Grazier), that as long as he stays dry, he can pass for human. Good thing, since the whole villa where they hide from Luca’s parents (Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan) is obsessed with finding and killing the elusive sea monsters of lore. Writers Jesse Andrews (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) and Mike Jones (who co-wrote last year’s Oscar winner for Pixar, Soul) essentially turned The Little Mermaid into a buddy comedy. Rather than digging into a lot of angst, self-sacrifice or villainy, director Enrico Casarosa— longtime animator and writer/director of Pixar’s lovely 2011 short La Luna—keeps things light and harmless. The water here is shallow but bubbling with activity. Luca and Alberto make a friend in the feisty Giulia (Emma Berman), make an enemy of the conniving Ercole (Saverio Visconti), learn a trade, discover a love of pasta, develop a longing to learn, and take part in an Italian triathlon (the middle leg is pasta eating) so they can win enough money to buy a Vespa and see the world. It’s busy. It looks pretty. The message – embrace who you are – is worthy, but there’s just not much in the delivery for the film to call its own. From any other animation studio, Luca would be a solid summer release, but for Pixar, it’s a middling effort on par with Onward or Finding Dory. It’s a forgettable if lovely time waster. #HopeMadden

★★★★ Directed by: Robert Hiltzik Written by: Robert Hiltzik Starring: Felissa Rose, Johnathan Tiersten, Karen Fields, Mike Kellin and Christopher Collet Throwback Film Review by: Rachel Pullen Sleepaway Camp (1983) Film Review I don't know if you know this but I kinda dig Friday the 13th, I mean, it’s iconic, I love everything about it, so much so I have had Friday 13th birthday parties, Jason dolls in my bed, and watch the movies over and over every year. But how much of a bad film critic would I be if I only loved one film, and not only that, but neglected the many films that became, because of Jason and his mommy's boy ways? “What!” you may be screaming is the film that tears me away from sexy Jason, what movie possesses such pull power? Need you even ask my silly ducklings, strap in, because we are about to talk about the one, the only: Sleepaway Camp. This 80s gem opens with a tragic boat accident, after a father takes his son and daughter out on the lake, only one child returns, a young girl called Angela, and she is sent to live with her insane aunt, who packs Angela and her son off to camp for the summer. Angela hates chit chat, in fact, she says nothing, well welcome to hell Ange, because kids are gonna bully you for that shiz, and bully they do. Angela, being a total mute becomes somewhat of a punching bag for the bitchy girls at the camp... help ya self Ange, just make some light talk, maybe about your dad’s untimely death...you know, keep it fun. But wait, people start getting killed at the camp, because that's what happens at every summer camp if you watch horror films in the 80s, and although you would think, ok send the kids home, call the cops, the peeps in charge are like...Nah, let’s go swimming...and then they go swimming. It was a simpler time. If you have not seen the end of this movie then great, don't read any more, because the end of Sleepaway Camp has one of those twist endings that horror fans always talk about, for you see it turns out that the crazy aunt decided she wanted a daughter and after the father’s death she raises the son as...Angela! Could explain why she is a little weird, you know, hiding her penis all the time. This movie is teeming with B-movie feels, its low budget vibe is iconic of the slasher flicks of the decade, but that aside Sleepaway Camp touches on some subjects that are kind of ahead of its time. There is the gender reveal, of course, and not in the lame way people do when they are having a baby, but as well as that the film tackles predatory behaviour from the adults, toxic masculinity and its repercussions and much more, in fact, Sleepaway Camp builds solid and believable foundations for revenge kills. Despite taking the whodunnit style of filmmaking and the iconic location of a summer camp from Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp has enough of its own style, character and strong storyline to hold its own, and not only that it has one hell of an ending, and when something sticks in your brain like that, you know it's worth a watch! So what can we learn with our brain sections? All summer camps result in murder Never move in with the crazy aunt Boats are not for the weak-hearted. #RachelPullen

★★★★ Directed by: Howard J Davis (aka Haui) Written by: Howard J Davis (aka Haui) Starring: Alison Wong, Jani Lauzon, Thom Allison, Tantoo Cardinal Film Review by: Jason Knight For his feature-film directorial debut, Davis explores the issues and struggles that mixed-race people have to deal with and he does so by telling his life's story, as he himself is a person of mixed-race, having been born to a Caucasian mother and a mixed-race father. Basically, the documentary (which sometimes instead of the word 'up' has an arrow pointing up in its title) asks what it means to be mixed heritage. How are individuals who are not Caucasian treated by others? What is life like for them? How do they feel? The film is narrated by Davis, who is also a homosexual and it is rather interesting listening to his life's story, learning about him and his thoughts regarding being mixed-race. He comes across as a likeable and intelligent individual. He is often seen in a medium closeup, looking at the camera while he talks. Apart from Davis, the documentary also includes interviews of other persons who are mixed-race, including his two sisters. They look at the audience and tell them about their thoughts and emotions regarding their mixed heritage and the struggles they have to face. Like Haui, they too appear to be nice, decent people. As the majority of this feature focuses on Davis, it includes many pictures of him during his childhood and others that are more recent. There is plenty of home video footage of his family and several scenes from old movies that deal with race discrimination. This documentary is very well made, with editing that makes rather effective use of superimposition, split screen and wipe techniques. There are sequences that involve very creative animation and the closing credits are well constructed. There is a part that deserves special mention and it involves the medium closeup of a man, whose skin gradually turns white. The special effects and the opera song that plays throughout makes this short sequence quite mesmerizing and memorable. The soundtrack is rich, consisting of multiple entertaining tracks. MixedUp is a documentary that takes the viewer on an emotional and thought-provoking journey. It introduces the life of an individual who expresses what it means to be mixed-raced and he and the interviewees communicate thoughts that are worth taking into account. #JasonKnight

★ Directed by: Catherine Gropper Written by: Catherine Gropper Film Review by: Vikas Yadav As soon as I finished watching Catherine Gropper’s America as a different place (The Meeting the interpreter), I noticed that it ran for merely 2 minutes. I looked at the specifications and found the runtime to be around 4 minutes and 7 seconds. I informed the same to my editor, and he told me to wait for his response. He further mentioned that if I don’t hear from him, I should proceed with reviewing whatever I saw within those 2 minutes of runtime. I waited for the clarification, and as I didn’t get any response, I decided to continue with my review. One of the reasons why I am giving you this background is that I need words for this review. Because what I observed in those 2 minutes seemed more like a trailer for Gropper’s short film. A series of fleeting shots pass by the screen, and before you even begin to make sense of it, the video ends. Luckily, it being online, I got to replay the video repeatedly, and this is what I understood by watching it. An opening text immediately clarifies that The Meeting, The Interpreter is inspired by meetings between Anatoli Samochornov and Catherine Gropper. This is followed by an image of a paper flyer that has the words “Who really controls the world?” written on it. You could make religious connections with it, but I think it’s meant to be targeted at the government as the very next picture featured a “Vote Here” board. After a shot of the Statue of Liberty and a group of people holding banners outside the Capitol building, it became apparent that the short aims to make some kind of political statement with respect to America. There are videos that show a wave, a beach, a carousel ride, and little kids. Perhaps, they represent innocence as they are pure and free from corruption. Maybe, Gropper wants to show how we lose our innocence because of impious authorities, politicians, and the system. But what I viewed was too abstract to hold these interpretations. I wish Gropper reads this review and uploads the coherent 4-minute short film if something like that exists. If not, if this is actually the original film and not a trailer, you already know my verdict.

Vertigo Releasing has announced that BOYS FROM COUNTY HELL, the ultimate Dracula ‘origin story’, will be released in UK and Irish cinemas on 6th August. Vertigo will be partnering with Wildcard for the Irish theatrical release. The film stars Peaky Blinders’ Jack Rowan, and Derry Girls’ Louisa Harland. Just when you thought the vampire film had been drained dry, along comes an unexpected and original spin on the genre from writer/director Chris Baugh, with the follow-up to his acclaimed crime-thriller debut Bad Day For The Cut. With nods to Ireland’s formidable horror heritage (the local pub is called ‘The Stoker’ after the Dracula author), it follows recent Irish folklore horror hits The Hallow and The Hole in The Ground, whilst also injecting some surprisingly hysterical moments. It echoes Clive Barker’s Irish-set eighties creature feature Rawhead Rex, as well as a delectable sense of the backwoods dread present in 2019’s Scottish rural thriller Calibre. With a fantastic cast, including Jack Rowan (Peaky Blinders, Noughts + Crosses), Louisa Harland (Derry Girls), Nigel O’Neill (from Baugh’s debut), and John Lynch (The Banishing, Isolation), BOYS FROM COUNTY HELL is rich in Celtic atmosphere, drenched in gore, wildly funny and splendidly scary - the very definition of a crowd-pleaser. BOYS FROM COUNTY HELL received its World Premiere in Official Selection in the Midnight section at the Tribeca Film Festival and played in the Panorama Fantastic section at Sitges. The film recently played at this year’s Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival. Endeavour Content is handling international sales. The film is a Six Mile Hill / Blinder Films Production, and a Northern Irish / Irish co-production. Endeavour Content is the studio, with support from Fís Eireann/ Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen, in association with Automatik, Egg Studios and Inevitable Pictures. Synopsis: A crew of hardy road workers, led by a bickering father and son, must survive the night when they accidentally awaken an ancient Irish vampire. BOYS FROM COUNTY HELL WILL BE RELEASED IN UK AND IRISH CINEMAS ON 6TH AUGUST 2021

ANIME LIMITED BRINGS “VIOLET EVERGARDEN: THE MOVIE” TO THE BIG SCREEN The studio behind A Silent Voice delivers an emotional farewell to their story of love, loss, and our struggle to put those feelings into words. “A film about survival and healing, made by people who know much about both.” - The Japan Times “A wonderful ode to the power of the written word and a fitting end for our heroine.” - Anime News Network Is there anyone you’ve always longed to see again, and what would you say to them if you could? Those questions are the heart of Violet Evergarden: The Movie, the latest animated feature film from the writer and studio behind A Silent Voice, which Anime Limited are delighted to announce is coming to cinemas in the UK and Ireland for a special one-day-only event on 1st July 2021. The highly anticipated sequel to 2018’s critically beloved anime series tells the final chapter in the story of Violet Evergarden, a former child soldier who in peacetime became an “Auto Memory Doll” ghostwriter tasked with putting her clients’ feelings into words they could not. This powerful and fitting finale will exceed fans’ expectations with poignant callbacks to the series’ most touching moments, and for bringing satisfying closure to its most burning question: the fate of Major Gilbert Bougainvillea, the superior officer who gave Violet her name, and much more. Those new to Violet Evergarden are in for a treat too, with a story fully equipped to bring old and new fans alike up to speed. Produced by the world-renowned Kyoto Animation who brought us A Silent Voice, Violet Evergarden: The Movie is a visual masterclass from its idyllic landscapes, to the subtle shimmers of tear-filled eyes. Coupled with moving performances from a cast led by Attack On Titan alumnus Yui Ishikawa, it’s no surprise that Violet Evergarden: The Movie has proven a hit on the Japanese awards circuit, winning the Grand Prize for Feature Film Animation at the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival, and earning nominations by both the Japan Academy Film Prize and Mainichi Film Awards. Violet Evergarden has always been an emotionally breathtaking tribute to the power of words and the connections we make in life, which makes it all the more fitting to be one of Anime Limited’s first theatrical release since the start of the pandemic, giving fans of this beloved series a long-awaited opportunity to once again celebrate Japanese anime, and life itself. Synopsis: Violet Evergarden, a former child soldier turned “Auto Memory Doll” scribe, has made a name for herself writing letters that evoke the feelings her clients cannot, in pursuit of understanding the meaning behind the “I love you” spoken to her long ago. When a terminally ill boy asks her to fulfil one last request for his family, Violet must confront her own feelings of love, loss, and her past with the one who told her those cherished words in order to write one final letter. Violet Evergarden: The Movie will be released in cinemas in UK/IRE for one day only on 1st July 2021. The film will be available in Japanese with English subtitles. For tickets and screening information, please visit www.VioletEvergardenFilm.co.uk

★★★★ Directed by: Alexander Jeremy Written by: Hannah May Jessop Starring: Hannah May Jessop Film Review by: Jason Knight A look into the life of an awkward woman. This short follows a pregnant woman (Jessop) as she goes about her business. It begins with her walking in a park, sitting on a bench, taking out a sandwich and proceeding to remove the prawns from it and add crisps. She then goes to a shop, looks at some jewellery and tries on a dress. Later, she buys a bottle of wine, while avoiding an acquaintance. Finally, she arrives at her fancy home, where she speaks to a husband who is not there and serves cat food to a cat she does not seem to have. She then puts on music and dances in front of a mirror, while drinking wine. This is a story about an individual who appears to be confused and detached from reality. The heroine's actions give the impression that she longs for things that she does not have. She is a kind and quiet person and seems to be living a lonely life. She also appears to have a drinking problem, as she tries to avoid a woman who she seems to know, when she purchases wine from a shop. The fact that she avoids her while buying alcohol, indicates that the two have a bad history, which might be related to her drinking problem. The protagonist is living an unconventional lifestyle and why she does so could be open to interpretation. It could be because she wants what she pretends to have but for whatever reason cannot obtain or maybe she once had the things she pretends she has but lost them and now wants it all back. The acting is good and Jessop delivers a convincing performance as an individual who seems to be living in her own world. Dialogue is limited and the viewers rely mostly on the protagonist's actions to make sense of the film. The film is very well made, with Jeremy creating wonderful establishing shots. The dancing scene consists of a well-structured montage, accompanied by classical music. Watching this short drama is an interesting and at times uneasy experience. The atmosphere could be described as strange, with the audience wondering why the woman does what she does. There is also a scene involving wounds that is rather uncomfortable to watch. The plot appears to explore themes of isolation and mental health problems. This is an intriguing achievement that deserves recognition. #JasonKnight Watch the official Crowning film trailer

★★★★★ Directed by: Alex Bates Written by: Alex Bates Starring: Sapphire Brewer-Marchant, Dan Le Friec, Harriet Billington, Harry Giubileo Film Review by: Jason Knight During World War II, the Germans invaded and occupied the Channel Islands, which included Guernsey. This historical drama examines how this event influences the lives of the island's inhabitants, particularly that of a young woman. The story begins in June 1940, just before the arrival of the German's. Will (Friec) and Carolyn (Marchant) are a married couple, living on the island of Guernsey. They are aware that the enemy might reach them and although Carolyn expresses a desire to leave, they do not abandon their home. Eventually, the invasion takes place and Will is killed. Three years later, Carolyn has become pessimistic and angry, isolates herself and feels hatred towards the Germans. Later, a tormented German military aviator reaches the island, subsequently meets Carolyn. He is emotionally damaged by the war and helps her change her perspective regarding the way things have turned out. This short, WWII drama reveals how war ends and destroys lives. With the character of the pilot, who is against war, it also indicates that the German people have also suffered by the savagery of battle. The main focus of the narrative is Carolyn, played brilliantly by Marchant. The film begins with her happy life with Will and observes as she becomes a different person, due to her tragic loss. Most of the story is shown through her perspective. She goes through significant character development and Marchant brings her emotions to life very convincingly. The film contains elements that are often seen in war films: soldiers, loss of life, a devastating bombing, the ways warfare affects a person's life, including the psychological effects it has on them. The screenplay also includes touching scenes of confrontation. The mise-en-scene is quite admirable. The clothing looks like it belongs in the forties and so do the various hairstyles. The military uniforms look great and the furniture, antiques, weaponry and vehicles give the impression that they belong in that era. There is also a brief, but impressive appearance of military combat aircraft. Matthew Stockreiter does an amazing job with the cinematography and Bates creates wonderful establishing shots of the ocean, beaches, countryside and mountains. Joseph Collier makes an outstanding contribution with the score, which is dramatic and powerful, developing a moving atmosphere. Occupied is an emotional story about how war affects people. With realistic acting and a strong script, this is a remarkable achievement that had a great deal of work and dedication put into it. #JasonKnight Trailer for Occupied:

★★★ Directed by: #IsaacEzban Written by: #ScottBlaszak Starring: #AmlAmeen, #MartinWallström, #GeorgiaKing, #MarkOBrien Film Review by: Isabelle Ryan In science-fiction, a familiar plot is one that revolves around ordinary people discovering something extraordinary and making the foolish decision to use it for personal gain. There have been many ambitious takes on this storyline, and unfortunately, Isaac Ezban’s Parallel is not one of them. However, while the film may not subvert many expectations, it succeeds where it needs to, and ends up an enjoyable and at times gripping experience. A group of friends and developers are struggling to get their new parking app off the ground. Devin (Ameen) and Noel (Wallström) have just been given an impossibly tight deadline; Leena (King) is frustrated that she has only been able to put her artistic talents to use creating logos; and Josh (O’Brien) is preoccupied with his barren love life. After a heated discussion unearths a previously hidden section of their house, the group discovers a mirror that leads to the multiverse. It seems to be the perfect solution but, inevitably, creates more problems than it solves, and leads the friends down a path of suspicion, deception and obsession. What makes Parallel work in spite of its predictable plot – because of course, the decision to use alternate universes to their advantage is a bad one – are the performances of the four leads. The film is essentially an ensemble piece, and each actor bounces off the others in a natural, believable way, that lends the film some welcome levity and an emotional core, which is only undercut by some unnecessary romantic tension. The strongest part is Devin’s arc, which begins with the discovery of diaries left behind by a woman who travelled through the mirror, hoping that people who die in one universe may survive in another. Having lost his father (David Harewood), he decides to search for him rather than help his friends with their plans. Ameen’s performance bolsters some of the film’s most important scenes. Another notable element is Karim Hussain’s cinematography. Characters are constantly reflected in mirrors, or framed off-centre in close-ups, leaving enough empty space for another person. A shot towards the beginning of the film, of an elderly woman descending a staircase, sees the camera pressed close against a wall, as though implying there may be something on the other side. There are problems – a strange, almost fish-eyed lens in the film’s opening section lends it an odd warped look which, if intentional, misses the mark – and while the use of blue colour-grading in the alternate universes versus natural lighting in the ‘real’ one is hardly an inspired choice, there are moments where it pays off. Add to that some surprisingly gruesome effects, and we end up with a film that, visually at least, is always interesting. Parallel is good fun and goes at a breakneck pace, and while it may seem strange to say that a film relies too much on its genre, this is certainly the case here. Blaszak’s script insists on introducing advanced technologies from other universes imported through the mirror. When it trusts its characters and their stories, and the psychological and moral implications of their decisions, it is a lot stronger. From Josh’s terrified confusion over the course of events to Leena’s quandary surrounding her artistic principles, the human moments shine brightest. The rest is a predictable sci-fi romp. On DVD and digital 14 June

★★★★★ Directed by: #SkyYang Written by: #SkyYang Starring: #SkyYang, #MaximeJosserand Film Review by: Isabelle Ryan In 2020, in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, the number of hate crimes targeting East and Southeast Asian people tripled. Sky Yang’s short film Sunny, which began as an intensely personal poem about the racism he has experienced his whole life, is not only a passionate response to this shocking and shameful statistic (he has used the film to raise awareness for the End the Virus of Racism charity), but also a rallying cry for his own community, and by extension anyone who has been alienated from their identity and forced into a role they did not choose. Following a strange, daunting establishing shot of a huge papier-mâché head, the film opens with home-movie-style footage of a toddler called Sun. At such a young age, he is happy and loved and, crucially, unaware of his race; that is, until a classmate asks a question that confuses him: “So… are you white or black?” Sun tells the boy that he is white, because by his own admission, when you are young, ‘everything’s either black or white’. By the time he turns nineteen, Sun is isolated and lonely and horribly aware of how complex the situation truly is. The imagery in the film, shot by Benjamin Bainbridge, is striking. Sun wanders around an empty London, his own head covered by the aforementioned substitute. In the natural light, we see that it is a grotesque, yellow caricature. Sun’s slow, lethargic progress seems to suggest a weight; it is heavy, this manmade head that has been forced on him and covers his true face. There is a suggestion, later, that while he did not choose it, he has continued to hide behind it. He is angry and tired, and perhaps it is easier sometimes to say nothing. This despondence continues at home, where again he is alone; voices from the radio mention the ‘Chinese virus’, tell people to go back where they came from. There is a clear sense that no matter where Sun goes, and even in the privacy of his own home, he cannot escape this racist abuse. Yang’s poem also criticises the education system, the solidly white and Eurocentric syllabus Sun was taught. We see Sun contemplating books of Chinese history, not in a classroom, but in the dark by the light of a fire pit. It is not until Sun turns on the TV in the middle of the night and sees a retrospective on the Tiananmen Square protests that he begins to believe that he can be proud of his identity. For many of us – those who are privileged enough to see ourselves depicted in media by default – the image of a man standing in front of a line of tanks is simply that: an image. For Sun, this marks the first time he sees someone who looks like him in a heroic role. It is this shocking act of bravery by an anonymous man which speaks to him, and which prompts him to ignore the lies and abuse, and at last feel proud. Sunny plays like a call to action, a spoken-word poem brimming with righteous anger, leaving us inspired, and even ashamed that we may have participated in the wilful ignorance which caused Sun and so many like him such pain. But our shame and our guilt are irrelevant; this is the story of Sun and so many others, who refuse to continue fitting into the roles that have been written for them. Sunny screens as part of the BFI Future Film Festival from 18-21 February, free on BFI Player: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-sunny-2020-online

★★★ Directed by: #AishaFord Written by: #AishaFord Starring: #ErisBaker, #SkylanBrooks, #ChanceHarlemJr. Film Review by: Isabelle Ryan Cherry Lemonade is an interesting if uneven film set on a hot summer’s day in a lower-income neighbourhood. Eleven-year-old Phoenix (Eris Baker) craves a cherry lemonade slushy so, armed with the two dollars just earned from finishing her chores, she begs her brother, Kurt (Skylan Brooks), to take her to the store. When he refuses, she rides his bike there alone and crosses paths with dangerous older man Clifton (Chance Harlem Jr.). As the day goes on, Phoenix must confront some difficult truths about the lives she and her brother lead. Director Aisha Ford says she remembers the “beauty and fun” of her childhood, but she also remembers the danger. Both are ably captured here in Angie Sciulli’s vibrant cinematography. The slushy Phoenix fixates on and the uniforms worn by two recurring cheerleaders are bright red, highlighting her desires – both simple (a sweet treat) and more complex (the lives of the privileged popular girls) – while simultaneously hinting at the coming danger. In the daylight, the summer heat is palpable, and as Phoenix’s day goes on, the growing dusk adds real menace. Baker and Brooks’ chemistry sells the sibling relationship, from the playful conflict to the far more real; from his protectiveness to her rebellion. As the film opens, Kurt is trying to teach Phoenix how to fight. She is uninterested, dismissive, and while there is a playful air to Kurt’s insistence, it becomes clear that he is deeply invested. He needs her to learn, but at the same time he knows that this alone will not be enough to keep her safe. This leads him to make an unwise, but understandable, decision. Their relationship forms the bedrock of the film, and the actors’ respective performances make for a stable foundation. What feels less stable is the story. The dialogue is strong, and the atmosphere crackles, but the narrative leaves something to be desired. A subplot with Kurt’s bike, for example, seems only to be included to confuse the audience. The dilemma it introduces is strong, and the visible care Phoenix takes to look after it helps amplify the desperation of the scene, but its conclusion makes little to no sense. On top of this, Harlem Jr.’s turn as Clifton begins promisingly, as his blaring car radio announces his arrival, and he looms behind Phoenix at the corner store, but his menace fizzles out, and by the film’s closing, his role in the story feels far less impactful than the siblings’. However, the film does have something important to say about the precarious balance between protection and violence. Kurt is older than Phoenix; he would rather play football with his friends than go shopping with his sister. Still, he wants to protect her and knows it would be impossible to be there for her all the time. His solution is to teach her to fight, and to search for extra protection elsewhere. Here, it is clear to see how easily young girls cross paths with dangerous men, and how sometimes these dangerous men are the ones meant to keep them safe. In the end, Cherry Lemonade’s strong performances, vivid atmosphere, and interesting themes give it just enough weight to balance out the weaker plot points.