★★★★
BAFTA nominated by fourteen, Liv Hill continues her path to stardom in James Gardner’s bleak but deeply affecting feature debut. A kitchen sink drama in the vogue of Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake and, more recently, Mark Gillis’ Sink, Jellyfish boasts an impressive authenticity in its handling of knotty upsets and great resonance in its storytelling. The viewing may be grim but the reality is much worse.
★★★
From the writers of A Dog’s Purpose – aka Nietzsche and Me – comes this cuddlier replicant of roughly the same premise. There’s still too much morbidity here for the tottering target market but the real takeaway is as upbeat and saccharine as they come. Think Homeward Bound meets The Fox and the Hound. Dog meets boy, dog gets lost, dog finds boy…or does he? Jeopardy!
★★★★
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.
The Film Blog 