Review: The Party

Timothy Spall in The Party

A man (Bill, played by Timothy Spall) makes a great production of placing a vinyl record onto the turntable and starting it playing. It’s Blues. It gives the impression of a period piece, an impression that remains until the scene switches to the kitchen where a woman takes a call on her mobile phone and we suddenly realise we are in the present day. It’s a very clever way to frame a story in which social rules not really updated since the 30’s play such an important role. Continue reading Review: The Party

Review: The Mountain Between Us

The Mountain Between Us

Winslet as Alex feels like a friend I haven’t met yet. She puts real feeling and humanity into her character and even when she was doing wrong, I wanted her to get home. Elba gives a characteristically powerful performance as the taciturn Ben, those moments when he lets the emotion out all the more shattering because you can see how much he’s repressing most of the time. Continue reading Review: The Mountain Between Us