History Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre History

Bearded man and woman embrace passionately, their faces close together.
Review

The Return review – skirts on the am-dram

by David Jenkins

Ralph Fiennes and Juli­ette Binoche star as Odysseus and Pene­lope in Uber­to Pasolin­i’s retelling of Home­r’s epic.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A man in a checked shirt sitting on the grass, writing in a notebook under a tree in a lush, green garden.
Review

The Brutalist review – gorgeous, capital-C Cinema

by Hannah Strong

Adrien Brody is phe­nom­e­nal in Brady Cor­bet’s sub­lime three-and-a-half hour dra­ma, as a Jew­ish archi­tect arrives in post-war Amer­i­ca to a hos­tile new world.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey in Queer, engaged in animated conversation at a bar table.
Review

Queer review – Burroughs would be proud

by Hannah Strong

Luca Guadagni­no heads on down to Mex­i­co with Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey in his free­wheel­ing take on William S. Bur­roughs’ epony­mous novel.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Muscular man in combat gear, crouched in fighting stance on dark stage
Review

Gladiator II review – are you not entertained?!

by Hannah Strong

Paul Mescal picks up the man­tel as the aveng­ing angel of Rome in Rid­ley Scot­t’s long-await­ed but lack­lus­tre sequel.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Review

Blitz – A vital fragment of the Steve McQueen saga

by Rógan Graham

A moth­er and son reunion takes place on the bomb-shat­tered streets of World War Two-era Lon­don in this sweep­ing his­tor­i­cal melodrama.

5
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Man in suit standing at podium in courtroom, surrounded by people.
Review

The Goldman Case review – a thumping courtroom drama

by David Jenkins

Cédric Kahn recre­ates the grip­ping 1976 tri­al of polit­i­cal activist Pierre Gold­man in this immer­sive court­room drama.

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
Three women in period costumes stand in a rustic kitchen, preparing food on a wooden table.
Review

The Taste of Things review – every frame is delectable

by David Jenkins

Juli­ette Binoche and Benoît Mag­imel play late 19th cen­tu­ry gourmets in Tran Ahn Hung’s scin­til­lat­ing epic of pro­to-food­ie passions.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Cluttered suburban garden with children's toys, old car, and small wooden shed.
Review

Occupied City review – a staggeringly ambitious feat of emotional stamina

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Steven McQueen pro­vides a haunt­ing exam­i­na­tion of Ams­ter­dam under Nazi occu­pa­tion in con­trast to its present in his doc­u­men­tary adapt­ed from Bian­ca Stigter’s book of the same name.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Close-up of a man with long, dark hair and a serious expression against a blue background.
Review

The Settlers review – a brutally violent anti-western

by David Jenkins

This haunt­ing debut by Felipe Gálvez Haber­le dis­man­tles the vio­lent colo­nial trap­pings of the clas­sic western.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Scenic lake surrounded by forested hills, with a group of people sitting on the grass in the foreground.
Review

The Zone of Interest review – a towering, awful masterwork

by Hannah Strong

Jonathan Glaz­er’s stark film about the domes­tic rou­tine of the Höss fam­i­ly next door to Auschwitz is a colos­sal, pro­found­ly dis­turb­ing achieve­ment in filmmaking.

5
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
A grey-haired man in a dark suit and glasses, looking serious, seated with others in the background.
Review

One Life review – protect Anthony Hopkins at all costs

by Adam Woodward

Antho­ny Hop­kins is sen­sa­tion­al in James Hawes’ oth­er­wise fair­ly con­ven­tion­al biopic of Nicholas Win­ton, who was respon­si­ble for res­cu­ing hun­dreds of Jew­ish chil­dren from Nazi-occu­pied Czechoslovakia.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect