★★★★
A revelatory performance by Melissa McCarthy is the foremost attraction of Can You Ever Forgive Me, the sophomore film from The Diary of a Teenage Girl director Marielle Heller. Based on true events, this is a relatively low stakes take on criminal activity, albeit one with a winning streak of black comedy down the spine. McCarthy shines at every turn in an increasingly rare reminder that she’s a talent to be reckoned with.
★★★★★
Boxed into an old school 4:3 ratio, First Reformed is a crisp, elegant and divinely constructed think piece from a top of his game Paul Schrader. Ethan Hawke gives a career best performance in the role of a man conflicted by his faith, personal tragedies and brutal awakening to the world around him, which, he comes to realise, shares his suffering. This is a film that dares to compare its implicated audience to God in a Lacanian conception of the viewer-screen relationship and hits hard with its emotional resonance.
★★★★
In just over a month’s time, Green Book may well be named Best Picture at the Oscars. That’s quite the achievement considering that, just six years ago, its director was one-third responsible for the lamentable Movie 43. On the other hand, the recruitment of Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali as either half of a road-tripping odd-couple was always a good sign. Amid waves of controversy, most will fail to see how so a touching a film could ever be remotely disliked.
The Film Blog 