★
It took Justin Malin just thirty-six hours to sell the script for Father Figures, once titled Bastards. The fact that Paramount went on to drop it – spurring the first of many delays – suggests that they hadn’t read the script; the fact that Warner Bros. didn’t suggests that they still haven’t. Dull as dishwater.
★★★★
The year is 2002 and the titular character of Lady Bird is a senior year student at a Catholic high school in the suburbs of Sacramento. Thus far, the character is a mirror of Greta Gerwig, for whom the film marks a directorial debut. Though not autobiographical – the director/persona relationship is more spiritual here – it is the personal touch of a life lived that allows Gerwig’s film to shine. Lady Bird is tender, stark and unfailingly honest.
★★★★★
If ever a film could be said to woo it’s The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro’s enchanting, daring, beautiful and breathtaking tale of aquatic love. Delightfully scored and gorgeously designed, this is a package of perfect cinematic harmony and a masterpiece in which no emotion is left unscathed.
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