florence pugh – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

BARBENHEIMER Rules: Conflating BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER – Pam Grady Comments

July 21, 2023July 27, 2023 Pam Grady barbenheimer, Barbie, Benny Safdie, Billie Eilish, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Cyndi Lauper, David Krumholtz, Dua Lipa, emily blunt, florence pugh, greta gerwig, Margot Robbie, Oppenheimer, rhea perlman, robert downey jr, Ryan Gosling

There are places where the two films intersect, making Barbenheimer less ridiculous than the memes suggest: Both Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and Barbie (Margot Robbie) are midcentury icons, Oppenheimer as the father of the atomic bomb that forever changed the way humans live in the world, and Barbie as the doll that broke the mold, freeing little girls from the tyranny of baby dolls and forever changing the way children play with dolls.

Reviews

OPPENHEIMER – Review by Rachel West

July 20, 2023September 12, 2023 Rachel West alden ehrenreich, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Benny Safdie, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, David Krumholtz, emily blunt, florence pugh, kenneth Branagh, matt damon, Oppenheimer, robert downey jr

Nolan pieces the film together out of chronological order, sometimes whipping between pre- and post-bomb at a clip, switching from colour to black-and-white. It doesn’t make the narrative hard to follow, but the frequent cutting doesn’t give scenes enough time to breathe, lessening their impact on the audience. The climax of the film is undoubtedly the desert Trinity test of the bomb capabilities. Arriving at around the two-hour mark, what makes this whole sequence of events stand out is that Nolan gives it time to build tension and unfold in front of the audience instead of time-hopping to the next scene.

Reviews

A GOOD PERSON – Review by T.J. Callahan

March 22, 2023March 22, 2023 T. J. Callahan A Good Person, florence pugh, molly shannon, Morgan Freeman, Zach Braff

A Good Person is about a good person involved in a tragic incident and the actions she takes to feel good about herself again. Florence Pugh is Allison. A woman with a promising career, loving fiancé, and supportive family and friends. Life is good for this person, until she finds herself the sole survivor of a car accident that kills her soon to be sister and brother-in-law. Pain and guilt consume her. The former pharmaceutical salesperson turns to her own product.

Reviews

PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH – Review by Martha K Baker

December 19, 2022January 3, 2023 Martha K. Baker animation, antonio banderas, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, florence pugh, joel crawford, puss in boots the last wish, salma hayek

Everyone knows that cats have nine lives. They land on their feet. They flirt with, then skirt, danger. They are charming and flirtatious and ego-centric, furry and purry. And then there’s Puss in Boots — all of the above and more. But, now, he’s down to the last of those nine lives so vaunted in fairy tales.

Reviews

THE WONDER – Review by Diane Carson

November 17, 2022November 24, 2022 Diane Carson Alice Birch, ari wegner, Emma Donoghue, florence pugh, Kíla Lord Cassidy, sebastian lelio, the wonder, tom burke

The Wonder dramatizes a story set in an isolated community in famine-ravaged 1862 Ireland. British nurse Lib Wright arrives to investigate reports that eleven-year-old Anna has survived four months without eating. Pitting rationalism against unquestioned religious belief, the film illuminates the contrarian, resolute position of a patriarchal panel wielding power versus Wright’s unwavering, methodical analysis.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK November 18, 2022: THE WONDER

November 12, 2022November 22, 2022 Jennifer Merin Alice Birch, ari wegner, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Emma Donoghue, florence pugh, jennifer merin, Kíla Lord Cassidy, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Marilyn Ferdinand., nell minow, sandie angulo chen, sebastian lelio, sherin nicole, susan wloszczyna, the wonder, tom burke

Based on the novel by Emma Donoghue — and supposedly inspired by a true story — Sebastián Lelio’s moody, atmospheric The Wonder features a powerful lead performance by Florence Pugh. She stars as Lib Wright, an English nurse brought to the remote Irish countryside in the early 1860s to help determine the truth behind a girl’s claim that manna from heaven — not food — is what has kept her alive for several months.

Reviews

THE WONDER – Review by Loren King

November 8, 2022November 12, 2022 Loren King Alice Birch, ari wegner, Emma Donoghue, florence pugh, Kíla Lord Cassidy, sebastian lelio, the wonder, tom burke

Loren King Emma Donoghue’s best known novel “Room” centered on a mother-child bond against a perilous world. Donoghue’s “The Wonder,” set in the 19th century, is also rich with themes of maternal connections and the resiliency of children despite the misguided intentions and outright treacheries of adults.

Reviews

THE WONDER – Review by Susan Wloszczyna

November 8, 2022November 12, 2022 Susan Wloszczyna Alice Birch, ari wegner, Emma Donoghue, florence pugh, Kíla Lord Cassidy, sebastian lelio, the wonder, tom burke

The first half of the movie is a slow-burn, but the plot catches fire in the second act when science is pitted against religious beliefs in a contest of grieving mothers. Pugh gives a sober, determined performance as a young widow whose loss of a child in infancy causes her to self-medicate with opium as she tries to save another from self-sacrifice.

Reviews

DON’T WORRY DARLING – Review by Susan Granger

September 9, 2022September 11, 2022 Susan Granger don't worry darling, florence pugh, Harry Styles, katie silberman, olivia wilde

If there’s truth in the old adage that any publicity is good publicity, Don’t Worry Darling should blast off at the box-office. After its Venice Film Festival premiere, salacious buzz about the psychological thriller centered on rumors about tension between director Olivia Wilde and star Florence Pugh. This is Wilde’s second directorial effort. Problem is: there are too many intriguing yet meaningless distractions that dilute what should have been a provocative payoff.

Festivals

Telluride Film Fest 2022: A Woman’s Wrap – Diane Carson reports

September 9, 2022January 31, 2023 Diane Carson Broker, cate blanchett, Close, Dorothy Yost, Empire of Light, florence pugh, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Holy Spider, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Kentucky Pride, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, lea seydoux, Luc Dardenne, Lukas Dhont, mia hansen love, nina hoss, Olivia Colman, One Fine Morning, sam mendes, Sarah Polley, sebastian lelio, TÁR, telluride film festival 2022, the wonder, Todd Field, Tori and Lokita, Women Talking, Zar Amir Ebrahimi

Over Labor Day weekend, the 49th Telluride Film Festival presented thought-provoking films to its full complement of attendees, a nice rebound from the all-mask 2021 event. As always, no one could come close to seeing all the enticing films on offer, so tough choices and constant second guessing rules. This year women directed and dominated exceptionally strong selections that tell stories of quite different time periods and subjects. Intelligently and insightfully observing internal and external struggles, revealing the specificity of contemporary and historical pressures (so remarkably relevant today), the fest’s films reached out and inspired as they informed. We are, indeed, a global community.

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