Film

Don’t Look Back in Anger

16/09/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Having lived in Manchester from the early 80s through to 2016, this film was always going to be on my radar. I watched the meteoric rise of Oasis from loudmouthed young contenders to one of the biggest acts in rock history – I wasn’t exactly a die-hard fan but I pretty much enjoyed the ride. Then in August 2009, I heard how it had all spectacularly fallen apart. On tour (in Paris) brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher had a massive row and that was pretty much it. When, after a fifteen-year interval, the band reformed and came back for a reunion tour, I wasn’t sufficiently spurred to rush out and buy tickets for the nearest venue – but I am perfectly happy to stroll to my local cinema to see how everything went down.

Magnificently filmed in IMAX, it goes down very well.

Directors Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern start with footage from that infamous break up, as bewildered French fans, gathered for a performance, are given the abrupt statement that ‘Oasis do not exist anymore.’ Cue much incredulity and many sacre bleus! From there, we cut to 2025 and a rehearsal space somewhere in the UK, where Noel and the rest of the musicians wait nervously for Liam to arrive…

In he dutifully struts, goes straight to the microphone and performs like he’s never been away.

Those hoping to learn exactly what went wrong between the brothers are going to be disappointed by Don’t Look Back in Anger – though you only have to listen to five minutes of Liam expounding his views on life to take a shrewd guess at what the problem might have been. Happily, both Liam and Noel appear to have matured enough over the duration to at least get along and even exchange the occasional hug. After that tense rehearsal period, the film cuts to the first gig on the comeback tour – Glasgow – and then moves on, city by city, as gigantic crowd after gigantic crowd gathers to witness the ensuing events.

The biggest surprise for me is that I am totally unprepared for the tidal wave of emotion that spills from every one of those massive audiences – people in Dublin, Munich, Barcelona and (lest we forget) Manchester – all crying their collective hearts out because the Gallagher brothers have finally patched up their quarrels and returned to the fray. It gives the occasion an almost religious feel. The songs (the best ones) are still remarkable in their Beatle-inflected way and, by the time we get to that anthemic title piece, I – like most of the other people at the screening – am singing raucously along, our vocals happily swamped by the crystal-clear dolby stereo sound. Champagne Supernova is the perfect piece to end it.

Writer Steven Knight chooses to focus on one particular Oasis fan in each successive city, giving them space to explain exactly why they love the band and what effect the music has had on their lives. Whoever compiled the set list has the sense to begin with the more average songs, before moving on to the solid-gold bangers. The effect is of one massive gig that gets progressively better as it unfolds, which is not always the case at live events. I particularly like the sequences where images of the Gallaghers as young men are cleverly spliced into current footage to remind us of the long and winding road that led to this reconciliation. I’m also touched by a dedication to the late Gary ‘Mani’ Mountfield and a heartfelt mention of The Stone Roses, another iconic Manchester band.

If you even halfway like those classic Oasis songs, this is an invigorating way to spend a couple of hours. It won’t change your world, but it may rock it to a certain degree.

But if you never cared for the band in the first place, maybe give this one a miss.

4.2 stars

Philip Caveney

The Death of Robin Hood

03/09/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

We all know the classic story, right? A merry band of men in tights, who steal from the rich and give to the poor…

Anyone expecting such elements from The Death of Robin Hood is going to be sorely disappointed. Michael Sarnoski’s film is an unapologetically revisionist take. In this version, set in the 1200s somewhere ‘near Keswick’ (though actually filmed in Northern Ireland), Robin (Hugh Jackman) is a bearded, grumpy, mud-stained villain, who takes whatever he fancies and God help anyone who gets in his way.

And nobody is sicker of those trumped-up accounts of his exploits than he is.

The first third of the film is a grim, unflinching account of where our aging protagonist is now. Set in horrific-looking winter weather, it features more bloodshed and dismemberment than we’re used to seeing in this legend, as Robin teams up with his old comrade Little John (Bill Skarsgård) and sets out to reclaim the house and wife that his friend has had stolen from him. (They weren’t actually John’s house and wife in the first place but we’ll overlook that little detail.) Cue some truly gut-wrenching fight sequences, which actually make me flinch at certain points. And trust me, I don’t flinch easily.

As a consequence of the ensuing carnage, Robin is stabbed and hacked to within an inch of his life, so John promptly rows him across to the Island of St Clement. where it’s claimed that Brigid (Jodie Comer), the mysterious prioress who runs the place, is able to effect miraculous cures. Whereupon the weather suddenly clears up, the sun comes out from behind the clouds and Robin starts the slow process of regaining his health.

When John’s orphaned daughter, Margaret (Katie Breen), turns up on the island looking for Robin, he finally begins to reassess his life of violence…

While I applaud Sarnoski’s steadfast intention to strip away the traditional elements of the story, it might have been a good idea to show some of the social injustice that led to people taking the law into their own hands in the first place. As it stands, you get the impression that every man in this neck of the woods is a mindless, violent thug. But, thanks to Pat Scola’s magnificent cinematography and Jim Ghedi’s adaptations of traditional folk songs, this still makes for a satisfying cinematic experience. Jackman has plenty of gravitas in the lead role and even makes a decent fist of his Northern accent – thought Skarsgård’s attempt is so OTT it’s sometimes hard to follow. Comer exerts an extraordinary presence as Brigid, a woman torn between her passion to heal the sick and a perfectly understandable need to seek her own revenge. And Murray Bartlett as ‘The Leper’ somehow manages to make an impression, despite being wrapped head to toe in bandages.

Having systematically destroyed all the mythology of the piece, in the final stretches Sarnoski cleverly shows exactly how myth-making happens – and why it is so important to cherish the process

Which may be a bit like having your bow and drawing it – but it works.

3.8 stars

Philip Caveney

I Want Your Sex

02/09/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Given that uncompromising title and the18 certificate, it doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to deduce that this film features some adult themes. But those expecting unadulterated smut are going to be sorely disappointed by I Want Your Sex. Directed and co-written (with Karley Sciortino) by Greg Araki, this is a deliciously dark comedy, which nails the shallow and pretentious world of contemporary art. It’s star, Olivia Wilde, is the woman behind The Invite, another film aimed at adults that will almost certainly feature in my top ten movies of 2026: a production, moreover, that – despite a modest budget – managed to take over $50 million at the box office.

Wilde plays Erika Tracey, a contemporary artist who has built her entire career on depicting scenes of sexuality. When we first glimpse her she’s floating face down in a swimming pool. Her employee, Elliot (Cooper Hoffman), clearly in a state of panic, is dressed in women’s lingerie and frantically summoning an ambulance. Thereafter, we see him being grilled by a couple of detectives (Johnny Knoxville and Margaret Cho), who are trying to establish exactly what has happened.

From here we flashback 9½ weeks (geddit?) to see Elliot being interviewed by Erika for the post of assistant at her art studio – and shortly thereafter sticking pieces of freshly-chewed gum onto a drawing of a vagina. (Don’y worry, it’s art!) A short time later he is being propositioned by Erika, who has decided that he’s somebody she’d rather like to have sex with. It won’t be straightforward sex, mind you. What she wants is a sub – somebody she can dress up, spank, humiliate and even ignore when the mood takes her. Twenty-three-year-old Elliot hesitates all of two seconds before accepting. Okay, he has a girlfriend called Minerva (Charli xcx), a medical student, but she seems far more interested in her text books than satisfying his sexual needs and… well, Elliot is pretty enraptured by Erika. What could possibly go wrong?

But as Erika and her team approach a make-or-break exhibition of her latest work, things begin to go askew…

This is sharply written and very funny, despite dealing with serious themes like consent and sexual exploitation. Wilde is frankly terrific as Erika – she’s a ruthless manipulator, razor-sharp, selfish and completely self-obsessed. Hoffman’s Elliot is her polar opposite. Inexperienced and hopelessly vulnerable, he’s a rabbit in the headlights.

As events career towards a hopelessly messy conclusion, there’s time to appreciate some of the other players in the game. Chase Sui Wonders is adorable as Eliott’s bestie, Apple, who finds herself completely mortified by an encounter with Erika. Mason Gooding is also impressive as the sardonic Zap, Elliot’s handsome co-worker, who always manages to salvage whatever he can from the general carnage.

There are a couple of clever codas to the story – set first two years and then four years later – and it’s worth staying in your seats for the blooper reel which plays out over the end credits. All in all, this is great fun – and much kudos to Arraki and Wilde who have had the confidence to offer that rarest of things: an adult-themed movie that offers a fresh and original approach to its chosen subject.

4.3 stars

Philip Caveney

The Whisper Man

31/08/26

Netflix

My first thought on hearing about The Whisper Man is this: “How does a film that stars Adam Scott, Robert De Niro and Michael Keaton bypass the cinemas completely and go straight to Netflix?” Then I watch the film and the mystery is instantly solved. Based on a best-selling novel by Alex North (adapted by Ben Jacoby and Chase Palmer), this is essentially a police procedural with the trappings of a supernatural story, which somehow contrives to be disappointing in both genres.

After the death of his wife, author Tom Kennedy (Adam Scott) moves into a great big creepy house, with his young son, Jake (Actston Luca Porto). Ever since Jake found his mother dead at the bottom of a flight of steps, he’s been terrified of staircases – which instantly begs the question, why don’t the two of them rent a bungalow instead? But no, Dad decides to go for a place that looks like the Amityville House.

Pretty soon after their arrival, Jake starts talking in whispers to an imaginary person and then, very shortly afterwards, he is kidnapped in the middle of the night while Tom is fast asleep. Jake is just the latest in a whole succession of children to disappear in such a way, their bodies appearing at regular intervals, dumped in remote spots with their faces covered. Detective Amanda Beck (Michelle Monaghan) is all too aware that these murders are eerily similar to the exploits of another killer, Frank Carter (Michael Keaton), but he’s been safely locked up for years after being arrested by Detective Peter Willis (Robert De Niro).

When things seem desperate, Tom approaches the father he hasn’t communicated with in years. His father is – wait for it – the very same Peter Willis, now retired and clearly reluctant to return to the case that cost him his wife and son…

If the central premise beggars belief, stick around, it gets worse. A whole bunch of unlikely coincidences ensue and it doesn’t help that both De Niro and Scott look thoroughly bored throughout. Only Keaton, playing a Hannibal Lectorish psychopath, appears to be having fun with his brief guest appearance. It also doesn’t help that. watching this, I keep guessing what’s going to happen a good fifteen minutes before it actually transpires. Even the central ‘ghost’ element is played out like a major revelation when it’s really not.

Currently Netflix’s number one movie, The Whisper Man is right there to watch at the touch of a button, but… ssshh! Whisper it. Despite those big names, this is small beer.

2. 8 stars

Philip Caveney

The Dog Stars

26/08/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

One thing I’ve always admired about veteran director Ridley Scott is that I never know what he’s going to come up with next. In the case of The Dog Stars, based on the the 2012 novel by Peter Heller, my first thought is that this is the last genre I would have expected from him. What we have here is a bleak, post-apocalyptic dystopia set in 2035, when a flu epidemic has erased most of the world’s population, leaving only small pockets of hard-scrabble survivors.

One such survivor is Hig (Jacob Elordi), a former mechanic now occupying a deserted airfield along with a former marine, the apropriately named Bangley (Josh Brolin), who deals ruthessly with any survivors who come a-calling by promptly shooting them in the head. True, there are gangs of ‘Reapers’ out there, tattooed weirdos who are prepared to kill anyone for whatever bits of food or fuel they might have, but Bangley never gives anybody the benefit of the doubt and tells Hig that he’s ‘too soft.’

Hig has a light-engined plane and he also has a faithful dog called Jasper, who accompanies him everywhere. The twosome regularly head off in the plane in search of medicine and gasoline – and from time to time Hig even calls to his former home in Denver, where he thinks about his late wife and the baby she was carrying when the flu took them both. Hig occasionally makes a call to a group of Memmonites in their remote mountain hideaway, though he never mentions this to Bangley – and on another trip, he meets up with Pops (Guy Pearce) and his daughter Cima (Margaret Qually), helping them to escape from an attack by an army of Reapers…

There are of course some good elements here. Few directors handle action sequences as well as Scott and an extended Reaper attack on a lone Bangely is nicely handled, as are the extended aerial sequences, filmed by Erik Messerschmidt, with rural Italy standing in for Colorado. But a third act development that has the trio landing at former air steward Darlene (Alison Janney)’s weird airport retreat, Grand Junction, feels like it’s wandered in from a different film entirely – and a ‘shock’ revelation shortly thereafter comes as no surprise whatsoever.

Furthermore, an attempt at a redemptive final act doesn’t really manage to lift this one out of the doldrums. With the real world plunged into such dark times, a story that deals with the annihilation of most of the population is going to have to work pretty hard to keep me entertained, and despite Ridder’s best efforts, this falls somewhat short of the mark.

2. 8 stars

Philip Caveney

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

22/08/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Once again our Fringe sojourn has to be briefly interrupted for the much-anticipated release of Jane Schoenbrun’s ‘does-what -it says-on-the-VHS-box’ release, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. It’s mostly about the transgressive consequences of watching an 18-certificate slasher movie when you’re under the recommended age – and the long-term effect that such an occurrence can have on an impressionable child.

This was a formative experience for Kris (Hannah Einbender) back when she was twelve. Now she’s an emerging queer filmmaker, who’s drawn some attention with a remake of Psycho, seen from the POV of the shower curtain. She’s determined to be the one who will successfully reboot the Camp Miasma franchise. The series has now sunk into the depths of redundancy having been remade, sequelled, prequelled and relaunched countless times. 

The film’s history is played out (hilariously) over the opening credits via a series of posters and VHS covers. It’s all about a lakeside holiday camp, frequented by teens and used as a regular hunting ground by a serial killer called Little Death. The non-binary killer hides their face behind a ventilator-styled mask and uses a gigantic spear to decapitate victims. (Think Friday the 13th and you’ve pretty much got the inspiration.)

But Kris has always been intrigued by the fact that the first film’s final girl, Billie Presley, did a runner after its release and has never been heard from again. Kris manages to track her down and finds Billie (now played by Gillian Anderson) living alone in the deserted holiday camp that was the setting for the first movie. She appears to be existing on a diet of fried chicken and regular viewings of her acting debut on 35mm.

She welcomes Kris into her Camp Miasma home so they can get to know each other…

Anyone who watched Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow will be familiar with her aesthetic: colours amped up to picture-postcard intensity; still photographs employed as landscape backgrounds; and a liking for undercutting tense situations with comic dialogue. Kris’s hapless Zoom pitch to the potential producers of her new project is a particular highlight. The film is also obsessed with multi-coloured candy bars and packets of gummies – another forbidden delight from childhood.

Anyone put off by the ‘Slasher’ aspects of this film, should note that, though it does get pretty gnarly, the kills are exaggerated to the point of absurdity with victims spouting geysers of Kensington gore. I actually laugh out loud in several places. Schoenbrun’s much more interested in the sexual side of the story. 

Einbender is nicely vulnerable as the young protagonist desperately looking to reconnect with something powerful from her past, while Anderson is as brilliant as ever as a kind of reclusive Norma Desmond figure, still inextricably ensnared in the events of the film that first brought her to the public’s attention. (Keep your eyes peeled for a brief but unmistakable tribute to David Cronenberg.)

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma certainly won’t be for everyone but I enjoy every profane minute of it. 

4.6 stars

Philip Caveney

The End of Oak Street

18/08/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

I know, I know, the Edinburgh Fringe is in full swing, we’ve got umpteen shows to review and cinema is supposed to be taking a back seat for a while… but…

Well, I was a big fan of director David Robert Mitchell’s 2014 horror, It Follows – and I also know that a sequel, They Follow, is currently in the works. But The End of Oak Street, a mega-budget extravaganza featuring dinosaurs, has been quietly dropped into the multiplexes with hardly any fanfare at all and I’m intrigued. Because this is the last thing I would have expected from a director who seems previously to have worked on low-budget indie films.

It’s 1982 and the Platt family are living in a suburb that looks like it’s been inspired by a Steven Spielberg dream. Dutiful Mom Denise (Anne Hathaway) works hard looking after the family and secretly harbours desires of being an author. She spends hours toiling away on her novel down in the basement. Dad Greg (Ewan McGregor) can’t seem to find regular employment and works part-time as a pizza-delivery man, mostly to fuel his drink problem. Daughter Audrey (Maisy Stella) can’t make friends at school and son Brian (Christian Convery) is developing into a bit of a tearaway.

And then, one fateful night, their neighbourhood is suddenly transported millions of years into the past and, when they wake up, the electricity and water have been turned off and the house is surrounded by dinosaurs…

Yes, I know. Stay with me.

Now, the familiar images of screen dinosaurs have been established since the earliest days of cinema – you know: reptilian, smooth-skinned. And that concept was pretty much cemented in 1993’s Jurassic Park. These dinosaurs – when we finally get to see them – are different. They are feathery, hairy and, in some cases, very poopy. Ever watched that Spielberg classic and wondered why there’s never any sign of dino-poop? Well, in Oak Street, the first intimation we have of their presence is a great big steaming pile of the stuff in the Platts’ neighbours’ back garden. And it’s a good half hour before we actually see one of the beasts properly. But I quite like the gradual way they are introduced; it somehow makes them more threatening.

However, once they are in the story, the film becomes problematic. Mitchell has opted for a kid-friendly 12A certificate, but some of the dino-kills here are pretty gnarly, meaning that the camera is obliged to cut quickly away from the chomping and chewing. The effect of this is that the carnage will probably still induce nightmares in younger kids, who have been brought along to this by their well-meaning parents, but will fail to satiate the teenage thrill-seekers who will be shouting for more bloodshed.

Hathaway really sells the premise of the film, putting everything into her role, but McGregor occasionally looks a bit dazed as though he’s wondering how his agent ever got him into this mess. However, I cannot deny that some of the chases are thrilling and one scene in particular – where a giant snake-like creature invades the family home – is a real high point. In the movie’s final third, I am genuinely shocked by one incident which appears to break that unwritten law that lead characters cannot be killed – but then the script impudently undoes the damage in a have-your-cake-and-eat-it twist. Hmm.

All-in-all, I’m glad I’ve seen The End of Oak Street (though I still think that title fails to sell the movie’s premise) but ,for a variety of reasons, it falls somewhat short of that all-important four stars. But kudos to David Robert Mitchell, who at least has the guts to give this well-trodden genre a thorough reinvention.

3. 8 stars

Philip Caveney

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

31/07/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

The Odyssey may have stopped a lot of cinematic vessels from making it safely to shore, but Ol’ Webhead is back in town and nothing is big enough to halt the new Spider-Man from having his er… Brand New Day – even if, instead of IMAX, he’s had to settle for Screen X and 4D Real 3D. Me, I’m happy to watch it on a standard screen. There are a whole lot of Marvel products that I have enjoyed in the cinema, but Spidey is the only one I keep coming back for – and I’m really not alone. At the showing I attend there’s a veritable crowd of cinema-goers eagerly awaiting their next fix.

As a teenager in the 1960s, I adored the comics of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko – and, in 2002, I went along to Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man at my local multiplex and fell in love with the character (as portrayed by Tobey Maguire) all over again. And through all the following iterations, I’ve returned for another helping, always finding new things to enjoy. Andrew Garfield? Yeah, okay, his two films were darker than what had gone before, but still perfectly watchable. And then, in 2016’s Homecoming, Tom Holland stepped confidently into the role, shepherding the series fully into the MCU and I was hooked once more. Lest we forget, somewhere in the midst of all this, there were two Spiderverse animations that were nothing short of masterpieces, but which existed alongside Holland’s films without causing a ripple. We were told that Holland’s contributions would be limited to a trilogy – but No Way Home left the story on such a cliffhanger it was clear there would have to be more.

Brand New Day finds Spidey in uncertain territory. Yes, he’s now been accepted as New York City’s friendly neighbourhood superhero and, between him and Detective Jean De Wolff (Liza Colón-Zayas), the city streets are being systematically scoured of criminals. But, as chronicled in No Way Home, a pesky mind-wipe by Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has added a new complication. Both Peter’s girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), and his best buddy, Ned (Jacob Lees), have completely forgotten he even exists. He feels totally alone – and to make things worse, he’s also going through a major change in his DNA, the arachnid side of his personality growing in power and threatening to completely overcome him. And that web fluid he used to shoot from specially designed gadgets? It’s now squirting directly from his wrists – sometimes at very inopportune moments!

What’s more, a new threat is beginning to assert its influence on New York City – an invisible being that is able to leap from one unsuspecting victim to another in order to achieve its mysterious goals…

There is so much packed into this film that, even with a running time of 2 hours and 25 minutes, it seems to positively race by. (Some may argue that it could be cut back to two hours, but I would not want to be the one to decide which scenes should be considered expendable.) The characterisations of the key players have never been so astutely drawn. Nor has there been such emotional depth: there’s a real tone of sadness and regret in the early scenes, as Peter observes his former friends from a distance, as he suffers in silence.

Though several key MCU characters are afforded obligatory guest appearances – Florence Pugh’s Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner – none of them is allowed to overstay their welcome. Indeed, John Bernthal’s Frank Castle makes a particularly welcome addition to the story, forming an unlikely alliance with Peter, as the two former adversaries join forces to take on the aforementioned mysterious presence (I won’t reveal who or what this is, but it’s well worth the wait to find out).

Of course, there must also be action set-pieces in a film like this. New director Destin Daniel Cretton and cinematographer Brett Pawlak do not disappoint, amping up the visual flourishes with absolute control and ensuring that every single shot looks ravishing. The way the journey of the invisible ‘presence’ is shown is breathtaking, achieved simply with perfectly-timed choreography (you’ll need to see it for that line to make sense). Furthermore, an extended battle between Spidey and a whole team of red-garbed, sword-wielding martial artists is frankly jaw-dropping, one of the most accomplished special effects sequences I’ve ever seen.

What else can I tell you? Brand New Day somehow manages to locate the teenage kid lurking deep within me and offer him things that he still – after all these years – finds genuinely enthralling. Those who insist on stubbornly remaining in their seats for the inevitable post-credit sequence should be warned that this time out it simply amounts to a brief video game image and a promise that ‘Spider-Man will return.’

Don’t know about you, but I’m already looking forward to it.

4.7 stars

Philip Caveney

On the Sea

30/07/26

Filmhouse, Edinburgh

In the immediate wake of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, new cinema releases have been in somewhat short supply. Most studios have chosen to give the screens a hard pass for a couple of weeks while the general population battles to secure themselves any empty seats in an IMAX screening.

As the title suggests, On the Sea shares one important component with the story of Odysseus – it does feature a sea voyage at one point – but, in terms of scale, writer/director Helen Walsh’s sombre tale, set in present day Ynys Môn (Anglesey) really couldn’t be any less epic. This is an intensely-focused story of love, desire and – ultimately – tragedy.

It’s the tale of Jack (Barry Ward), a mussel harvester who has been plying his back-breaking trade for many years. Working alongside his bullish brother, Dyfan (Celyn Jones), he’s managed to carve out a decent living for himself, his wife, Maggie (Liz White), and his teenage son, Tom (Henry Lawfull), selling on his harvests to high-end restaurants.

But not everything is running to plan. Jack is currently in remission from cancer and knows all-too well that it could return at any point. Meanwhile, Tom really isn’t keen on the thought of a life spent scrabbling in the mud for crustaceans and is clearly more interested in running around with a rough crowd of trouble makers. He’s also spending a lot of time with his girlfriend, Lois (Leisa Gwenllian, star of recent Welsh language hit, Effi O Blaenau – though it must be said that she is given far less to do here).

After an incident when the elderly owner of a trawler is injured by Tom’s new friends, Jack steps in to look after the old man and is afforded the opportunity to (quite literally) venture out into new waters. He also strikes up a friendship with young hired hand, Daniel (Lorne MacFadyen), one that quickly and unexpectedly ignites into a full-blown love affair…

This simple but powerful film captures the look and feel of a small Welsh fishing community in intricate detail. Every frame of Sam Goldie’s cinematography amplifies the bleak, unforgiving nature of the landscape, while Felix Rösch’s ethereal soundtrack appears to find its inspiration in the excesses of the weather. Watching Jack and his team work through the hours dredging mussels from the shallows makes me feel like I’m working alongside them.

The performances are terrific, particularly from Ward and MacFadyen as the central duo, both of them bound by the power of their mutual passion. White is impressive too, as Maggie reacts with understandable shock to the implosion of her marriage, yet manages somehow to remain steadfast and gracious.

Those who’ve had had their fill of bombastic special effects and are looking for something more subtle will find much to enjoy in this deceptively simple story. And, as a North Walian myself, I’m delighted to see my fellow Gogs beginning to make their mark on the big screen.

4 stars

Philip Caveney

The Odyssey

18/07/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

‘See it on the biggest screen possible.’

Advice we’ve often given and something we had every intention of following ourselves in the case of Sir Christopher Nolan’s latest release. But, for the first time ever, finding an empty seat in an IMAX screening in Edinburgh proves impossible – unless we’re prepared to sit in the very front row. (Done that once, never again.) This development is simultaneously annoying and wonderfully heartening. Perhaps that much-rumoured resurgence in cinema attendance, fuelled by the likes of Obsession and Backrooms, is actually gathering momentum. Or is it just Nolan’s astute handling of the movie’s advertising, coupled with the Oscar success of Oppenheimer that has led to this stampede for tickets?

Whatever the reason, we decide to book in for a standard screening. We’ll revisit in IMAX sometime in the near future. Providing it’s any good, of course. Despite widespread critical acclaim, the online vitriol poured on the film by people who haven’t actually seen it yet means that this one has much to prove. And happily, it passes every test with flying colours.

We all know The Odyssey, of course. Homer’s epic poem is still the bane of many young students’ lives as they are obliged to read their way through its meandering stanzas, which focus on the twenty year ordeal of its central character, Odysseus (played here rather wonderfully by Matt Damon). Our hero, forced for the first decade to play a key role in the siege of Troy, then has to spend the next ten trying to find his way back to Ithaca, where his faithful wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and his loyal son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), still await his return.

But to get to them, Odysseus and his crew must take on all manner of obstacles: the giant cyclops, Polythemus (Bill Irwin); the powerful witch, Circe (Samantha Morton); the Lotus-dispensing Calypso (Charlize Theron); and, most egregious of all, the Ocean – which, because Odysseus has annoyed Poseidon, is determined to send them all to a watery grave.

With a running time just short of three hours, this could be a ponderous affair but Nolan (who also adapted the screenplay from the original poem) employs an ingenious non-sequential approach, cutting effortlessly back and forth across the passing years to ensure that no particular sequence overstays its welcome. What’s more, even though most of the situations are familiar from earlier versions of the story (the 1954 Ulysses starring Kirk Douglas springs to mind, as do several of the films featuring the work of stop-motion genius Ray Harryhausen), Nolan always manages to put a different spin on proceedings.

Of course, a tale as packed as this one is sure to have its more memorable sections. The scene where Odysseus and his men are locked in a cave with the aforementioned Polythemus is a particular standout, as is Circe’s transformation of Odysseus’s crew into swine. She uses a hands-on approach like a potter moulding clay, the sequence employing old-school practical effects that recall the work of the legendary Rick Baker.

And if you’re a fan of an enormous climactic dust-up, well, I don’t think you’ll be left feeling short-changed.

The cast is stellar with many big names popping up in minor roles. Robert Pattinson proves once again that he is a terrific actor as the oily, scheming Antinous and all hail to John Leguizamo as the ever-faithful Eumaeous. Much has been made of the casting of Elliot Page as Sinon and Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, with incensed commentators complaining about ‘authenticity’ as though this is a historical piece rather than a slice of weird fantasy, but both actors give strong performances that more than justify their casting. Oh, and by the way, those American accents serve as a commentary on the current world order, which – when you think about it – makes a lot of sense.

Perhaps the most original addition here is the clarification of just how much two decades of havoc have taken their toll on the central character. In the film’s final section, as Odysseus recalls the cruelty and bloodshed visited upon the people of Troy, this feels increasingly like the recollections of a man suffering from PTSD, finally emerging from a lotus-induced fog and forced to confront the pain his decisions have inflicted on those who followed him.

Make no mistake, this is a superb film: assured, inventive and directed by a man at the very top of his game. I haven’t always loved Nolan’s films but this may just be his masterpiece. Buckle in and get those IMAX seats booked… if you can find them.

5 stars

Philip Caveney