Drama Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre Drama

Crowd of people sitting in an indoor venue, some wearing coats and scarves, with a decorated Christmas tree visible in the background.
Review

R.M.N review – effortless brilliance

by David Jenkins

Roman­ian direc­tor Cris­t­ian Mungiu returns with a superb social real­ist west­ern with its fin­ger on the errat­ic pulse of Europe.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two men in a dimly lit room, one wearing a red shirt and the other a suit. Vintage-style lamps and antique furnishings can be seen in the background.
Review

Strange Way Of Life review – characteristically Almodóvarian queer western

by Hannah Strong

An age­ing gun­slinger and the sher­iff of a small town reunite after many years in Pedro Almod­ó­var’s sweet short film.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Monochrome image of a person walking in a garden near a parked car, with twisted tree branches in the foreground.
Review

Fremont review – a charming little Jarmuschian number

by Hannah Strong

Babak Jalali’s inti­mate dram­e­dy strikes a del­i­cate bal­ance between melan­choly and wry­ness in its reflec­tion on the migrant experience.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
People sitting at a table in a colourful room with assorted decorations on the walls.
Review

Love Life review – frustrates its own poignance with melodrama

by Xuanlin Tham

Koji Fuku­da’s ninth fea­ture fails to meet the mark when it comes to explor­ing the knot­ty top­ic of famil­ial grief.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Three people, two women and one man, seated on a boat, looking out over water.
Review

Past Lives review – unravels as a marvel

by Rafa Sales Ross

Celine Song’s fea­ture debut is a ten­der explo­ration of mul­ti­eth­nic romance, com­pli­ment­ed by nuanced per­for­mances from Gre­ta Lee and John Magaro.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Animated male character in basketball jersey holding ball, crowd in background
Review

The First Slam Dunk review – thrillingly choreographed basketball drama

by Esther Rosenfield

The man­ga that brought bas­ket­ball to Japan gets a new adap­ta­tion which thrilling­ly embod­ies the sport’s high-fly­ing action.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two figures intimately embracing, gazing into each other's eyes against a blurred blue background.
Review

Passages review – a tantalising romantic car-crash

by David Jenkins

Ira Sachs returns with an inti­mate, intense three-han­der about a Fass­binder-like film direc­tor played by the great Franz Rogowski.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two children, a boy and a girl, playing together outdoors. The boy is holding the girl's hands as they interact. Colourful clothing, natural surroundings.
Review

Scrapper review – a charming, effervescent story about grief

by Hannah Strong

The chem­istry between Har­ris Dick­in­son and Lola Camp­bell shines in Char­lotte Regan’s debut, about the dif­fi­cul­ties of father-daugh­ter bonding.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Four young people standing on a wooden deck in front of a white building, surrounded by trees.
Review

Afire review – Petzold taps into his inner Rohmer

by Marina Ashioti

Chris­t­ian Pet­zold returns with some­thing lighter, fun­nier and more instant­ly-lov­able than his recent run, bring­ing reg­u­lar lead­ing lady Paula Beer along for the ride.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
A woman in a purple jumper sitting in front of a blue and green underwater scene with swimming fish.
Review

The Innocent review – pleasantly quirky romantic caper

by Saskia Lloyd Gaiger

A sullen aquar­i­um work­er becomes sus­pi­cious of his moth­er’s new hus­band in Louis Gar­rel’s pleas­ing­ly off­beat famil­ial drama.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect