Drama Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre Drama

A man in a cowboy hat sitting on a crate beside a horse, holding a book.
Review

The Dead Don’t Hurt review – elegiac and tenderly romantic

by David Jenkins

Viggo Mortensen’s sombre take on the western evokes some classic Clint Eastwood films.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A bride in a white dress and veil holding a bouquet of pink roses, standing next to a man in a dark suit at an outdoor setting with a historical building in the background.
Review

Rosalie review – very simple and enjoyable

by Natasha Jagger

A young Frenchwoman in Brittany harbours a secret about her appearance until she marries a suitor interested in her dowry in this gentle period drama.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two individuals in formal attire, a woman with curly hair in a green dress and a man in a tuxedo, standing together.
Review

The Beast review – a mind-boggling, sprawling romantic epic

by Hannah Strong

Across three timelines, a pair of lovers find each other again and again in Bertrand Bonello’s ambitious, genre-defying latest.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two people sitting on a sofa, man wearing grey vest and woman wearing yellow top.
Review

Hoard review – proudly strange and provocative

by David Jenkins

Seek out this stunning, empathetic and radical British debut from first-time British filmmaker Luna Carmoon.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
A man with curly hair and a beard, wearing a light-coloured jacket, sitting on a bench and holding a small white dog.
Review

La Chimera review – shows new ways a movie can be

by Esmé Holden

Alice Rohrwacher creates a magical fairytale about a group of tomb raiders, anchored by a soulful performance from Josh O’Connor.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Two people, a man and a woman, engaged in conversation in a dimly lit room.
Review

The Idea of You review – a sultry unexpectedly entertaining romance

by Hannah Strong

Anne Hathaway plays a 40-year-old single mother who embarks on a torrid love affair with a 24-year-old pop star in Michael Showalter’s schmaltzy but not without charm rom-com.

2
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Boxer in red jacket lying on ground, hands grasping metal pole, face obscured.
Review

The Fall Guy review – good stunts, appalling script

by Hannah Strong

In David Leitch’s bombastic salute to the Hollywood stunt industry, Ryan Gosling becomes inadvertently embroiled in a nefarious plot while trying to regain the trust of his former lover.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
A person in a black vest and underwear sits on the floor next to cardboard boxes, surrounded by various household items.
Review

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry review – a perfect lead performance

by David Jenkins

A happily single Georgian woman is forced to reconsider her life of solitude when she falls in love in Elene Naveriani’s bittersweet romantic dramedy.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A young person lying inside a dark, crumbling concrete tunnel, with graffiti visible on the walls.
Review

Nezouh review – compassionate but needlessly convoluted

by Hamza Shehryar

Soudade Kaadan’s second feature is truistic yet forceful in examining the complexities of human suffering and confinement through a teenage girl stuck in the thick of the Syrian civil war.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two smiling Asian children, a boy and a girl, wearing winter hats and coats, peeking out from behind a worn, textured wall.
Review

If Only I Could Hibernate – a very fine first feature

by Hamza Shehryar

This Mongolian drama of a poverty-stricken young academic abandoned by his mother makes for a intriguing debut.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect