Independent Cinema for Everyone

Helen Tope reviews Vita and Virginia, showing one last time in our cinema on Tuesday 10 September at 6pm.  Based on her 1992 play, Eileen Atkins brings her one-woman show to the screen. The story of how Virginia Woolf meets Vita Sackville West should be an easy sell. It has everything to pique our interest: desire, lust and betrayal. But what Atkins’ passion project gives us is a lesson in the language of cinema. Meeting in 1922 at a costume party, a mutual fascination between the two writers begins. The aristocratic, sexually-expressive Vita, and the shy, self-conscious Virginia ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews Tucked, showing in our cinema until Wednesday 31 July. Set in Brighton, Tucked tells the story of an unlikely friendship. Jackie is a 74-year-old drag queen, the star turn at a local club. His set features jokes – the ruder the better – and he works the audience like a charm. Minus the wig, Jackie is trading on the classic techniques of stand-up. It is familiar, if risqué, and the audience can’t get enough. Starting her first night at the club, we meet 21-year-old Faith (Jordan Stephens). With a look that’s more Lady Gaga than ... Continue Reading

Regular blog contributor Helen Tope introduces us to The Birds, one of her favourite Hitchcock films, which will be screened at Tinside Lido on Sunday 25 August as part of our Open Air Cinema season.  It’s 1960, and director Alfred Hitchcock is riding high after his mega-hit, Psycho, terrifies audiences. He now has the unenviable task of following a hit with an even bigger one. He finds a short story, written by British novelist Daphne du Maurier. Working with screenwriter Evan Hunter, he develops a narrative that starts as a comedy, and descends into unimaginable horror. When ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews Sometimes Always Never, showing in our cinema until Wednesday 24 July. Full of quirky detail, Sometimes Always Never begins with images scattered across the screen. Seventies décor, ornaments and games hint at an interior life, stuck firmly in the past. We meet Alan (Bill Nighy) standing on a beach, making arrangements on the phone with his son. Irate and resentful, Peter (played by Sam Riley) reluctantly meets his father on the beach-front. Their appointment, at a government building, is deferred, so they have to stay at a B&B overnight. In a set-up that feels very Wes ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews Late Night, showing in our cinema until Thursday 4 July. Television has always made a good subject for film: Network, Good Night and Good Luck – there is a thrill at being allowed behind the scenes – the mechanics, the politics -  that satisfies our curiosity. Late Night, directed by Nisha Ganatra and written by Mindy Kaling, looks at the highly competitive world of American late-night television. Urbane, witty and gunning for ratings, the shows fight to outdo each other on a nightly basis. Currently populated by male hosts such as Jimmy Kimmel and James ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews Vox Lux, showing in our cinema until Thursday 27 June.  In cinema, we are used to seeing stories where our hero triumphs over the odds. Adversity is put in its place – our star takes to the stage, plays their song and the world listens. At 13 years old, Celeste Morgan survives a school shooting. An event that leaves her with permanent spine damage, Celeste finds recovery in music. She writes songs with her older sister Eleanor from her hospital bed. Attending a memorial for her classmates, Young Celeste (played by Raffey Cassidy) cannot verbalise ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews Eighth Grade, showing in our cinema until Wednesday 5 June. Steeling herself to stare down the camera lens, teenager Kayla Day is introduced to us, not in person, but on screen. The picture is imperfect, dropping in and out of focus. Kayla is talking not to us, but to another world. Making a self-help tutorial, Kayla uploads videos with advice on socialising and working through shyness. But no-one is watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnesHAtSHzs Kayla’s online self – a composite of videos and vloggers she has seen elsewhere on YouTube – is a fabrication. Sinking into the background of ... Continue Reading