Award Winning Independent Cinema

A sweetly ambiguous love story, British film Ali & Ava is already making an impact. Nominated for two BAFTAs, Ali & Ava not only showcases home-grown talent, it gives a voice to a community not often heard. Reviewed by Helen Tope The film is set in contemporary Bradford and introduces us to the central characters as they go about their day. Ali (played by Adeel Akhtar) is a local landlord. Ebullient and well-liked, he helps his tenants out by taking their daughter to school. It is here he meets Ava, a classroom assistant (Claire Rushbrook). The two are firmly working ... Continue Reading

By Helen Tope The story itself is familiar enough. A Scottish lord, Macbeth, yearns for power. On being told by three witches that he will soon be King, the lust for power converts to violent, bloody action. Eliminating rivals, real and imagined, Macbeth’s grip on the crown begins to slip. The reality of what he and his wife have done, takes hold.  The Tragedy of Macbeth is Shakespeare’s play retold by director Joel Coen.  Filmed entirely in black and white, Coen’s cinematic landscape is dour and austere. There are no lush Scottish hills, just peaty bogs, ... Continue Reading

Reviewed by Helen Tope Filmed in one continuous shot, Boiling Point captures the hectic buzz of restaurant life. We follow head chef Andy Jones, as he makes his way to work. He fields phone calls: deciphering his half of the conversation, he is newly separated, struggling with addiction and has only just found a place to live.  His day doesn’t get any better: he arrives late for an appointment with the Health and Safety inspector. The restaurant is an establishment with a smart menu and glossy facade, but Jones has been lapsing in his ... Continue Reading

by Helen Tope A dark, unsettling film, The Lost Daughter looks at the complicated, ambiguous relationship between mothers and daughters. Centered on the female experience, actor Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Kindergarten Teacher, Secretary) is director and screen-writer, leading an impressive cast featuring Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson and Jessie Buckley. The Lost Daughter introduces us to literature professor, Leda Caruso (played by Colman). She arrives at a gorgeous Greek coastal town for a holiday (you’ll be searching for Greek getaways before the credits roll). But as Leda settles on the beach, her peace is rudely interrupted when an American family arrives en masse. Loud, ... Continue Reading

by Helen Tope Highly charged and confrontational, Bad Luck Banging promises you an unforgettable experience. Directed and written by Romanian film-maker Radu Jude, the film starts with an explicit scene of a couple having sex.  It transpires that the woman being filmed is Emilia, who works as a teacher in a prestigious school in Bucharest. Her husband Eugen uploads the homemade video onto an adults-only website, however, the video finds it way onto P*rnhub. Emilia (played by Katia Pascariu) is frantic as the video is then discovered by her pupils. She finds herself in ... Continue Reading

by Helen Tope Spencer is screening at Plymouth Arts Cinema from 3-9 December, with a Bringing in Baby Screening on 8 December. Focusing on three days over Christmas 1991, Spencer is a unique take on the Princess Diana story. Directed by Pablo Larrain, Spencer leans into the claustrophobia of living inside the Royal bubble. Diana, now mother to William and Harry, has stepped out from her initial role as blushing bride. She is by this point a global player, the most photographed woman on the planet. But beyond the optics is a woman living with an eating disorder, with little support ... Continue Reading

by Helen Tope A new film from Wes Anderson is always an event. With an impressive roll call, including Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel, the expectations for The French Dispatch have been understandably high. Anderson takes us to France in the Sixties and Seventies, to a fictional town called Ennui-Sur-Blasé. Here are situated the offices of The French Dispatch, a supplement magazine for an American newspaper. Despite the best efforts of its editor, Arthur Howtizer Jnr (a curiously underused Bill Murray), the magazine is due to close. The magazine is determined to bow out in style, with Howitzer ... Continue Reading