Independent Cinema for Everyone

Helen Tope reviews The Kindergarten Teacher, showing in our cinema until Thursday, including a special Reclaim the Frame screening with intro, Q&A and poetry workshop on Tuesday. Set in a New York school, The Kindergarten Teacher takes us into a gentle world of routine. The children practise their letters, guided by their teacher Lisa Spinelli (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal). The classroom is a safe space; the children’s curriculum joyfully punctured by Lisa’s enthusiasm for creative play. One afternoon, whilst waiting to be collected from school, Lisa’s student Jimmy Roy (Parker Sevak) begins to recite a poem ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews RBG, showing in our cinema until Thursday 21 March. In a career spanning 60 years, Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg – tough, gutsy and unapologetically liberal – has become an icon. In a new documentary, RBG explores the motivation of an 86-year-old woman, still working at the top of the legal profession. At the centre of a movement to enshrine gender equality into law, Bader Ginsburg was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1993. RBG charts her progress, which was by no means assured. Graduating from Columbia in 1959, Bader Ginsburg could not find work ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews Mary Queen of Scots, showing in our cinema until Thursday 14 March. A power struggle to the bitter end, Mary Queen of Scots depicts the Queen’s extraordinary fall from grace. Set between Mary’s arrival in Scotland in 1561, until her execution in 1587, this film charts her progress from Queen of Scotland, and mother to its heir – to a prisoner of the British Crown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riSROsdT-f0 The great-niece of Henry VIII, and in the eyes of Catholics, a more viable prospect for the British throne than its Protestant ruler, Elizabeth I, ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews All is True, showing in our cinema from Friday 8 March. Based on the final years of William Shakespeare’s life, All is True is a literary biopic that throws away the rulebook. Gone are the well-worn tropes of struggle and triumph. Here, Shakespeare has reached the high point of his career. He is an established talent, working in London, with a family back in Stratford. On the face of it, Shakespeare has every reason for happiness. But in August 1596, his son, Hamnet, dies from plague. This film explores how Shakespeare deals with this traumatic ... Continue Reading

Reviewed here by Helen Tope, Lizzie is showing in our cinema until Thursday 21 February. If you’re watching Lizzie, chances are you already know the story. On 4 August 1892, Thomas and Abby Borden were found murdered in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. Bludgeoned with an axe from their wood-shed, the only other person in the house was their daughter, Lizzie. Arrested and put on trial, the case of Lizzie Borden became notorious in American legal history. Despite evidence presented at the trial, Borden was acquitted and released. Lizzie, starring Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart, looks at the events leading ... Continue Reading

Reviewed here by Helen Tope, Colette is showing in our cinema until Thursday 7 February. Telling the story of a literary sensation, Colette takes us to the heart of how a writer is created. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=BZdh6Aax7KE We meet Sidionie-Gabrielle Colette as a girl about to get married. Her beloved, Henry Gauthier-Villars (known colloquially as ‘Willy’), is older and more experienced in the ways of the world. Despite this being an uneven match, Colette gladly marries, and moves with Willy to Paris. An author living on former glories, Willy is at the centre of Parisian artistic life. Fin-de-siecle Paris is the place to be; ... Continue Reading

In the cinema from 25th Jan - 7th Feb, Helen Tope reviews this week's film, 10 times Oscar-nominated The Favourite. A comedy of manners, The Favourite is smart, elegant and deliciously foul. Director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, Dogtooth) has form in creating absurdist worlds. Taking the formula of the costume drama, and upending it, our perceptions of the past are blown apart in this story. https://youtu.be/SYb-wkehT1g We are witness to the final years of Queen Anne’s court. A monarch in poor health and no heir – she is, despite her status, utterly vulnerable to those on the make. ... Continue Reading