Drama

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy review – pleasant but forgettable

By Hannah Strong

Renée Zellweger dons her big knickers again as the frazzled heroine, this time getting her groove back after her husband's death.

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Cottontail review – Lily Franky gives another stunning performance

By Josh Slater-Williams

Lily Franky stars in this tender tale about a father and son travelling from Tokyo to the Lake District to scatter his late wife's ashes.

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Memoir of a Snail – a stop-motion marvel with a dark heart

By David Jenkins

The life of a snail-fixated loner plays out as a series of disasters in this stridently emotional animated feature from Australian filmmaker, Adam Elliot.

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The Seed of the Sacred Fig review – a melodrama of resistance

By Mark Asch

An Iranian judge appointed to Tehran's Revolutionary Court grapples with dissent both at work and at home in Mohammad Rasoulof’s politically charged thriller.

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The Fire Inside review – a sporting biog that lacks originality

By David Jenkins

Rachel Morrison directs a script by Barry Jenkins with this sadly-underwhelming underdog boxing biopic of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields.

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Bring Them Down review – a chilling neo-western

By Hannah Strong

Tensions reach fever pitch in a rural Irish farming community in Christopher Andrews' fierce feature debut.

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By the Stream review – burrows under your skin

By David Jenkins

Korean director Hong Sang-soo returns with this playful study of creation, performance and why films don’t need audiences to be successful.

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Saturday Night review – unappealing nepo baby triumphalism

By Mark Asch

Jason Reitman pans back to 1975 and Lorne Michaels' ambitious plans for a live broadcast sketch show in his fanfiction retelling of SNL's inception.

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Hard Truths review – incredible in small, measured strokes

By Mark Asch

Reuniting with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Mike Leigh makes a welcome return to contemporary filmmaking with a searing portrait of a woman on the brink.

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Presence review – an enjoyably swift chiller

By Manuela Lazic

Steven Soderbergh plays with the cinematic form to craft a compelling story about family dynamics and grief.

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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.

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Here review – a forgiving and open mind is required for this one

By David Jenkins

This conceptually-intriguing folly sees Robert Zemeckis reteaming with Tom Hanks for an effects-driven everyman tale that never gets off the ground.

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Emmanuelle review – anticlimactic and unerotic

By David Jenkins

Audrey Diwan’s cold take on the infamous erotic softcore French novel leaves a bit too much to be desired.

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Vermiglio review – a hushed yet effectively emotive drama

By Natasha Jagger

Set in 1944, Maura Delpero’s Italian drama presents a complex familial portrait against the backdrop of a remote Alpine village.

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Maria review – a tender eulogy for a remarkable talent

By Hannah Strong

Angelina Jolie has never been better as the legendary opera singer Maria Callas, captured in the final week of her life by Pablo Larraín's elegant biographical drama.

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The Girl With The Needle review – politically pertinent Gothic horror story

By David Jenkins

Magnus von Horn brings subtlety and empathy to the serial killer genre in this extraordinary true-life yarn.

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A Real Pain review – an amusing and compelling inquiry into human pain and suffering

By Katherine McLaughlin

Based on a trip he took to Poland with his own cousin, Jesse Eisenberg crafts a sensitive dramedy co-starring Kieran Culkin.

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Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.

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