Award Winning Independent Cinema

Helen Tope reviews The Children Act, showing this week at Plymouth Arts Centre (all performances are sold out).  A portrait of inner life, Ian McEwan’s novel The Children Act shouldn’t translate onto film, but with previous form such as Enduring Love and Atonement, McEwan’s dark, acerbic vision lends itself all too readily to the big screen. Telling the story of High Court Judge Fiona Maye (played by Emma Thompson), we meet the woman behind the establishment. Fiona’s home life is held hostage by her long hours and crushing workload. The demands placed on her seem entirely unreasonable, until you see her ... Continue Reading

There is no easy way to introduce The Shape of Water. A love story between a woman and a mythical sea creature, this film announces its oddity right from the start. The pet project of director Guillermo del Toro, this film has taken years to make. Not least, one imagines, because starting a pitch to investors with “There’s this man-fish...” is not the quickest sell. But, as is sometimes the way with film-making, it is the oddity that creates a moment of rare magic. The winner of four Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture, The Shape of Water is a film ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews Redoubtable, showing in our cinema from 15th - 21st June. Telling the story of the ultimate modern auteur, Redoubtable takes us into the life of Jean-Luc Godard. Set across 1960’s Europe, the film is achingly stylish. The clothes, the interiors; you will want them all. But behind the tinted specs, Godard’s world is in crisis. As a young film-maker, Jean-Luc Godard was at the forefront of New Wave cinema. The movement, categorised by a free editing style and fresh directorial voices; Godard found success not only in Europe, but internationally. The anti-Hollywood approach taken by up the New ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist - now showing in the PAC cinema for a limited run of just four screenings. A couturier with a punk sensibility, Vivienne Westwood’s vision is sumptuous and provocative. The head of a global brand worth an estimated $185 million, Vivienne Westwood has crafted an image as identifiable as Gucci or Chanel. Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist, initially undertaken with the family’s blessing, is a documentary that explores Westwood’s time in fashion, alongside her interest in environmental activism. The film, directed by Lorna Tucker, looks at how Westwood manages to balance these ... Continue Reading

Helen Tope reviews Funny Cow, a film with real depth beneath the punchline, that tells the story of a female comedian’s struggle to break away from her past. It's showing in our cinema until 31 May. Brought up in the post-war slums of Northern England, Funny Cow is marked as an outsider from the start. Bright, mouthy and unapologetically so, Funny Cow decides to play up her point of difference and uses humour to push through the pain in her life. Her childhood is dominated by a dysfunctional, alcoholic mother, and shocking episodes of domestic violence, meted out ... Continue Reading

Regular contributor Helen Tope reviews I, Tonya, showing in the PAC cinema until Thursday 12 April.  Satire gliding on a knife-edge, I, Tonya tells the story of American figure skater Tonya Harding. At her sporting best during the 1990’s, Harding took on – and mastered - the triple axel. A notoriously difficult move,  Harding made history by being the first American woman to land a triple axel in competition. Her story should be one of accolades and Olympic glory, but instead her name is synonymous with intrigue and scandal. Harding’s main competitor was Nancy Kerrigan. Polished and ... Continue Reading