Jessica Henwick – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

HOW TO MAKE A KILLING – Review by Leslie Combemale

February 17, 2026February 19, 2026 Leslie Combemale ed harris, Glen Powell, How to Make a Killing, Jessica Henwick, John Patton Ford, Kind Hearts and Coronets, margaret qualley, Topher Grace

I know most people who aren’t film obsessed don’t know the 1949 Alec Guinness classic Kind Hearts and Coronets, but it’s a great film. BFI ranked the black comedy 6th on its list Top 100 British Films. Writer/director John Patton Ford has now mined the film for his new black comedy thriller How to Make a Killing. There was never any way it would live up to its predecessor, and it pushes the envelope in terms of demands for audiences to suspend disbelief. Still, as a dark cautionary tale about greed, and yet another affirmation of Powell’s star power and talent, it succeeds well enough on its own merits.

Reviews

HOW TO MAKE A KILLING – Review by T. J. Callahan

February 17, 2026February 19, 2026 T. J. Callahan ed harris, Glen Powell, How to Make a Killing, Jessica Henwick, John Patton Ford, Kind Hearts and Coronets, margaret qualley, Topher Grace

Glen Powell has been making a killing at the box office with his pretty face, but how long can he rely on his good looks before he’s forced to lean a little more into this acting thing? He takes it to the next level as the leading man in How to Make a Killing, a dark comedy about a son determined to get back what he rightfully deserves.

Reviews

CUCKOO – Review by Rachel West

August 6, 2024August 9, 2024 Rachel West Cuckoo, giallo, horror, Hunter Schafer, Jessica Henwick, Marton Csokas, Tilman Singer

Feminine energy and motherhood seep out of Cuckoo. It’s the driving themes of the story and anyone familiar with how select types of female cuckoo birds lay their eggs in the nest of other unsuspecting birds, will put the pieces of Singer’s jumbled puzzle together quickly. No matter if you see the climax coming from a mile away, the film remains one to watch thanks to Hunter Schafer.

Interviews

Kitty Green on the Outback, Living Dangerously and THE ROYAL HOTEL – Bonnie Laufer interviews

October 5, 2023January 6, 2024 Bonnie Laufer Jessica Henwick, julia garner, kitty green, The Royal Hotel

Following her success with the film The Assistant starring Julia Garner, writer-director Kitty Green is back with another film reuniting her with the actress. In The Royal Hotel, Americans Hanna (Garner) and Liv (Jessica Henwick) are backpacking in Australia and take a temporary live-in job in a remote Outback mining town. Soon, they find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that grows rapidly out of their control.

Reviews

THE ROYAL HOTEL – Review by Diane Carson

September 21, 2023September 23, 2023 Diane Carson australian films, Hotel Coolgardie, Jessica Henwick, julia garner, kitty green, Michael Latham, Oscar Redding, The Royal Hotel

Consider the desperation, courage, and naiveté prompting two young American friends, Hanna and Liv, to accept a job bartending at the completely misnamed Royal Hotel, located in a remote Australian Outback mining town. As backpacking tourists in Sydney without any viable options, they certainly need the money. However, Hanna and Liv fail utterly to anticipate the clientele, to their dismay.

Festivals Reviews

THE ROYAL HOTEL (TIFF 2023) – Review by Emma Badame

September 18, 2023September 18, 2023 Emma Badame australian films, Hotel Coolgardie, Jessica Henwick, julia garner, kitty green, Michael Latham, Oscar Redding, The Royal Hotel, TIFF 2023

Australian director Kitty Green’s second narrative feature The Royal Hotel is a wholly unnerving and totally engrossing thriller. Atmospheric and all too realistic, it’s the kind of story that sticks with you long after the credits have rolled. The film is paced to perfection and each and every well-planned element is woven expertly together to build layers upon layers of truly discomforting suspense. With Green’s keen eye the film becomes a riveting exploration of isolation and what it truly feels like to be a young woman in the world. It helps too that Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick nail their characters.

Festivals Interviews

KITTY GREEN on THE ROYAL HOTEL (TIFF 2023) – Liz Braun interviews

September 18, 2023September 22, 2023 Liz Braun australian films, Hotel Coolgardie, Jessica Henwick, julia garner, kitty green, Michael Latham, Oscar Redding, The Royal Hotel, TIFF 2023

Australian filmmaker Kitty Green delves into the war between men and women in The Royal Hotel, a film about two young backpackers who take barmaid jobs in a mining area in Australia’s isolated outback. How they fare in an environment drenched in testosterone and alcohol is an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about gender dynamics. Julia Garner and Jessica Henwick star in The Royal Hotel as the tourists who take pub jobs to top up their holiday fund. The Royal Hotel is about systemic issues, says Green, “about drinking culture and women feeling threatened in certain spaces.

Reviews

MATRIX RESURRECTIONS – Review by Diane Carson

December 22, 2021December 23, 2021 Diane Carson Carrie-Ann Moss, Jessica Henwick, keanu reeves, Lana Washowski, The Matrix Resurrections

Sometimes the wise decision is to let a film, groundbreaking for its time, linger fondly in our memories rather than to revisit the concept a fourth time. I’m sorry to say that’s the problem with Matrix Resurrections, the fourth installment in the Matrix world. In its original 1999 introduction, conflicts and connections felt fresh, clever, and exciting. Here, eighteen years after The Matrix Revolutions, the innovative jolt has diminished considerably.