Movie
The Piano Lesson
Boy Willie Charles is both a troublemaker and smooth talker, a braggart kept afloat on waves of self-belief…
By Thomas MessnerThomas Messner
Published articles
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Dr Strangelove at Noël Coward Theatre
It almost seems too easy. When faced with the question of just how Armando Iannucci would go about…
By Thomas Messner
LFF
The Listeners
As told by those on the other side of the experience, often the easiest way to end up…
By Thomas Messner
LFF
Nightbitch
From taking a single look at Mother (Amy Adams), one might surmise that societal expectations and the myth…
By Thomas Messner
LFF
Joy
In the face of widespread public and institutional hostility, an intrepid trio with "right" on their side and…
By Thomas Messner
LFF
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass
As perplexing as it is hypnotic, The Quay Brothers’s disorienting new stop-motion fever dream is the kind of…
By Thomas Messner
LFF
Eephus
It’s about time. Eephus, that is. And also Eephus. The title of this spare, featherlight ramble of a feature…
By Thomas Messner
LFF
When the Light Breaks
Within its first, deceptively tranquil shot, Icelandic director Runar Runarsson’s fourth feature is imbued with an irrecoverable sense…
By Thomas Messner
LFF
Don’t Cry, Butterfly
As Duong Dieu Linh’s feature debut begins, the first spectre on hand is not supernatural in nature at…
By Thomas Messner
LFF
My Everything
“I wanted a normal child! Normal! I’m ashamed!” It’s an ugly sentiment for the parent of a child…
By Thomas Messner