Nikki Baughan – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

SLALOM – Review by Nikki Baughan

March 31, 2021April 3, 2021 Nikki Baughan Charlène Favier, jeremie renier, marie talon, motw, Movie of the Week, Noée Abita, slalom

For 15-year-old Lyz (Noée Abita), the chance to take part in a high-level ski training programme in the French Alps doesn’t just represent professional opportunity, but the chance to find a place to belong. With her father absent and her mother (Muriel Combeau) having effectively abandoned her daughter for a new love in Marseille, Lyz is already adrift before she is thrust into this challenging regime, where she is judged over everything from her weight to her form.

Reviews

ROSE PLAYS JULIE – Review by Nikki Baughan

March 10, 2021March 14, 2021 Nikki Baughan aiden gillen, ann skelly, christine malloy, irish films, Joe Lawlor, motw, movie pf the week, orla brady, rose plays julia

Stark, meditative and bracingly uncompromising, Rose Plays Julie is the bold third feature from writer/director duo Joe Lawlor and Christine

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LUXOR – Review by Nikki Baughan

November 23, 2020December 3, 2020 Nikki Baughan Andrea Riseborough, luxor, motw, Movie of the Week, zeina durra

Andrea Riseborough gives a luminescent performance in Zeina Durra’s contemplative, hypnotic Luxor, her talent and poise radiating through the suppressed trauma that leaves her character, Hana, seemingly teetering on the edge of complete breakdown. A medic and aid worker, Hana is in the Egyptian city of Luxor on a much-needed break between assignments, desperately trying to drown out the horrors she has witnessed by immersing herself in the beauty of this spiritual, historical city.

Reviews

AMMONITE – Review by Nikki Baughan

November 16, 2020November 22, 2020 Nikki Baughan ammonite, kate winslett, mary anning, motw, Movie of the Week, saoirse ronan

British filmmaker Francis Lee follows up his stunning 2017 debut God’s Own Country with this period drama which may be larger in scale, but retains the writer/director’s sensitive attention to detail. The increasingly intimate relationship between 19th century Dorset fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and convalescing young visitor Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan) may be at the heart of this narrative, but, through this prism, Lee’s screenplay explore themes of gender and sexual oppression that remain painfully recognizable nearly 200 years on from when this story is set.

Reviews

ANTIGONE – Review by Nikki Baughan

November 10, 2020November 15, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments antigone, eda award, motw, Movie of the Week, Nahéma Ricci, Sophie Deraspe, sophie desraspe, Whistler Film Festival

You don’t have to be familiar with Sophocles’ Greek tragedy to appreciate Sophie Desraspe’s modern retelling as a powerful piece of work. Updating this family drama to French Quebec, and framing it within the claustrophobic confines of the immigrant experience, Desraspe widens out the text to explore contemporary prejudices surrounding race, class and gender.

Reviews

PROXIMA – Review by Nikki Baughan

October 29, 2020November 20, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments Alice Winocour, Eva Green, french films, motw, Movie of the Week, proxima, Zelie Boulant-Lemesle

Eva Green gives an absolutely stellar performance in Alice Winocour’s exceptional film. Both Green and Winocour wear Proxima‘s feminist credentials lightly, however. Neither screenplay nor performance act as soapbox; they don’t need to. The message is woven into the fabric of the film, which benefits from some beautiful, textural cinematography from Georges Lechaptois whose camera often rests on intimate moments. That the film’s power lies in these small interactions is indicative of a writer/director at the top of her game.

Reviews

ON THE ROCKS – Review by Nikki Baughan

October 14, 2020October 25, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments Bill Murray, Jenny Slate, motw, Movie of the Week, on the rocks, rashida jones, sofia coppola

The reteaming of filmmaker Sofia Coppola and star Bill Murray is a tantalising proposition for the many fans of their previous collaborations, such as A Very Murray Christmas (2015) and, of course, Lost in Translation (2003). The two have developed an easy rapport over the years, with Coppola knowing how to let Murray’s charisma shine through without overwhelming everything around him; and that balance, together with the addition of the always-excellent Rashida Jones into the mix, makes On the Rocks a hugely appetising confection.

Reviews

THE GRIZZLIES – Review by Nikki Baughan

August 4, 2020August 9, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments Ben Schnetzer, canadian films., inuit, miranda de pencier, motw, Movie of the Week, the grizzlies

While this poignant true life story of a young teacher who changes the lives of the troubled indigenous students he encounters may initially seem like another white saviour narrative, sensitivity and realism ensure it never succumbs to that cliche.

Reviews

THE OLD GUARD – Review by Nikki Baughan

July 2, 2020July 5, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments charlize theron, Gina Prince-Bythewood, greg rucka, kiki layne, motw, Movie of the Week, netflix, the old guard

In the hands of director Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Old Guard is a far more subtle and introspective superhero movie than we’re used to seeing. That may have something to do with the fact that it’s a straight-to-streaming Netflix original, but its focus on the emotional and physical toll of saving the world offers a welcome change from the consequence-free carnage that usually heralds the arrival of the summer blockbuster season.

Reviews

THE OTHER LAMB – Review by Nikki Baughan

March 29, 2020April 5, 2020 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments Malgorzata Szumowska, motw, Movie of the Week, Raffey Cassidy, the other lamb

As the audience knows from the off and as Selah comes to realize, this is ultimately a familiar earthbound story of one man’s heinous abuse of power, and the danger of blind faith. And while Selah’s journey to realization and empowerment may not hold many narrative surprises, it’s nevertheless one that commands attention. Powerful performances and a commanding aesthetic make this an arresting watch.

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