Reviews by Jennie Kermode

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  O'Dessa (2025)

  Review preview for O'Dessa

  It feels as if a collection of fantasy and dystopian science fiction archetypes have been poured into a blender and swirled around to produce the script and visuals.

  A musical about a farm girl in search of her destiny. She travels to a strange and dangerous city where she meets her one true love and faces the ultimate test.
• 
  The Last Sacrifice (2024)

  Review preview for The Last Sacrifice

  In this tangled tapestry, Russell has captured the soul of a nation.

  A documentary about the real-life 1945 witchcraft killing of Charles Walton - the terrifying event that inspired The Wicker Man and birthed the folk horror genre.
• 
  McVeigh (2024)

  Review preview for McVeigh

  Ott’s interest is not in creating an accurate depiction of exactly what happened in the run-up to the Oklahoma City bombing, but rather in exploring the thought processes behind it.

  Over days and nights, McVeigh eats, sleeps, watches the news, meets a girl… all while inside his mind brews an unthinkable plan that will forever change the collective American psyche.
• 
  Two To One (2024)

  Review preview for Two To One

  A wild story delivered with verve and a suitable degree of irreverence.

  A family in East Germany finds millions in soon-to-be-worthless East German currency during reunification, and take what they can carry.
• 
  Rule Breakers (2025)

  Review preview for Rule Breakers

  At its most interesting when the robot-building team is in Herat, its hometown, the film addresses aspects of Afghan life not always noticed by outsiders.

  A computer class for girls leads to a robot building competition aimed at showing all Afghanistan what they're capable of.
• 
  The Surfer (2024)

  Review preview for The Surfer

  The heat is omnipresent, rippling through the air, distorting what we see, distorting time and identity.

  Humiliated in front of his son by a surf gang, a man gets drawn into an escalating conflict.
• 
  Purple Rain (1984)

  Review preview for Purple Rain

  More than just an extended music video.

  A young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.
• 
  Andrea Gets A Divorce (2024)

  Review preview for Andrea Gets A Divorce

  Although it could easily have been played as a farce, it’s friendship and human feeling that is the key to this film.

  Rural policewoman Andrea wants to end her marriage and become a detective inspector in the city. After a birthday party, her drunken soon-to-be ex-husband runs out in front of her car. In a state of shock, Andrea commits a hit-and-run.
• 
  Boys Go To Jupiter (2024)

  Review preview for Boys Go To Jupiter

  Though likely a little too whimsical for some, Boys Go To Jupiter seems destined to develop a cult following.

  Suburban Florida is transformed into a 3D animated wonderland in this musical comedy.
• 
  The Rule Of Jenny Pen (2024)

  Review preview for The Rule Of Jenny Pen

  Ashcroft’s interpretation steers the story away from simple tragedy as we see Mortensen making gains as well as losses.

  Confined to a secluded rest home and trapped within his stroke-ridden body, a former Judge must stop an elderly psychopath who employs a child's puppet to abuse the home's residents with deadly consequences.
• 
  Homegrown (2024)

  Review preview for Homegrown

  Premo never imposes an overt framing narrative, but interesting things emerge.

  Three Trump supporters from different backgrounds unite to campaign across America in 2020, advocating for his re-election while laying foundations for what they hope will be a long-lasting political movement.
• 
  Neon Dreaming (2024)

  Review preview for Neon Dreaming

  Marie-Claire Marcotte’s feature début demonstrates an astute awareness of what it’s like to be eight.

  A young girl, who believes her mum is a ballet icon, is determined to try to find her.
• 
  Restless (2024)

  Review preview for Restless

  [Hart] doesn’t turn up the volume, but uses tone and repetition so effectively that the film becomes a microcosm of the real experience.

  The banal life of a middle-aged empty nester is violently shaken in the blink of an eye when hard-partying - and potentially dangerous - new neighbours move in next door.
• 
  The Six Triple Eight (2024)

  Review preview for The Six Triple Eight

  Easily delivering on the big emotional beats, The Six Triple Eight is a natural crowd pleaser.

  The story of the only battalion of African American women to serve in Europe during World War Two, and its seemingly impossible task: correctly delivering a mail backlog of over 17 million letters.
• 
  The Summer With Carmen (2023)

  Review preview for The Summer With Carmen

  With a lesser canine star, the film would not have worked, but Nala is sensational.

  While enjoying a day at Athens’ queer beach, 30-something Demosthenes offers to help his bestie and aspiring filmmaker Nikitas in drafting an idea for his feature debut, inspired by the events surrounding a certain dog named Carmen.
• 
  The Players (2025)

  Review preview for The Players

  A moody, unsettling piece.

  A teenager finds herself caught up in a web of tangled power dynamics when she joins a theatre group.
• 
  Wrong Husband (2025)

  Review preview for Wrong Husband

  An atmospheric, beguiling piece of work.

  An Arctic fairy tale about a couple who, though promised to each other at birth, become separated.
• 
  Cleaner (2025)

  Review preview for Cleaner

  Ridley may not be in the top league of current action stars but she can handle herself, and she is at any rate more convincing as a former soldier than she is as a member of the working class.

  Environmental activists hijack a gala, taking 300 hostages. After one extremist seizes control, planning mass murder as a message to the world, it's up to a former soldier turned window cleaner to save the day.
• 
  Lesbian Space Princess (2025)

  Review preview for Lesbian Space Princess

  There’s an anarchic silliness about it which suits the science fiction setting, an openness to having fun and delivering a story unselfconsciously, on its own terms.

  An introverted space princess is forced to leave her planet to rescue her ex.
• 
  War And Justice (2023)

  Review preview for War And Justice

  Prospective viewers need not fear that it will be too dry or jargon-dense and incomprehensible.

  A documentary about the history and mission of the International Criminal Court, which aims to provide justice as an alternative to war.
• 
  Fresh Hell (2021)

  Review preview for Fresh Hell

  Shelley is an effective lead and Will Mobeley’s theremin-haunted soundtrack helps to maintain an unsettling atmosphere.

  During the dog days of the pandemic, a group of old friends encounter a psychotic troll.
• 
  Paint Me A Road Out Of Here (2024)

  Review preview for Paint Me A Road Out Of Here

  Like all Gund’s work, this is dense and full of meaning.

  A wild tale of the painting's whitewashed journey and the two artists who challenge the same powerful, oppressive, and persistent institutions, a half-century apart with their artwork, their voices, and their shared persistent goals.
• 
  The Fire Inside (2024)

  Review preview for The Fire Inside

  Nobody could have predicted The Fire Inside turning out to be as impressive as it is.

  The story of Claressa 'T-Rex' Shields, a boxer from Flint, Michigan who trained to become the first woman in her country's history to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport.
• 
  Daughters (2024)

  Review preview for Daughters

  For the most part the film comes across as a celebration of this moment as a light in the darkness, but it will likely leave some viewers additionally uncomfortable.

  Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, DC, jail.
• 
  The Night Is Dark And Colder Than The Day (2024)

  Review preview for The Night Is Dark And Colder Than The Day

  Navigating fears, dreams and dark imaginings, it has a folkloric depth to it even as it seems acutely relevant to the present, to our changing world.

  Between sleeping, waking and dreaming, we experience a collective dream of children who seem to be alone in this world – alone with universal questions and fears for which they must find their own answers.
• 
  The Colors Within (2024)

  Review preview for The Colors Within

  All this wholesomeness might sound cloying and unnatural, but director Yamada Naoko handles it with supreme confidence.

  The adventures of a high school girl who can see the colours of emotions within other people.
• 
  Touch Me (2025)

  Review preview for Touch Me

  It’s the situation that delivers the strangeness – and charm – mediated by Dudley’s performance as a woman who is self-deprecating and messy but lively enough to root for.

  Two codependent best friends become addicted to the heroin-like touch of an alien narcissist who may or may not be trying to take over the world.
• 
  In The Shadow Of The Cypress (2023)

  Review preview for In The Shadow Of The Cypress

  A mixed methods approach using mostly hand drawn animation with traditional Persian motifs keeps the focus on the narrative, and visual layering reflects the layers in the story.

  Living in a house by the sea with his daughter, a former captain who has post-traumatic stress disorder leads a tough and secluded life.
• 
  Beautiful Men (2023)

  Review preview for Beautiful Men

  Selfishness, shame and a fear of connection are underscored by affection. The result is uncomfortable and sometimes very funny.

  Three balding brothers travel to Istanbul to get a hair transplant. Stuck with each other in a hotel far from home, their insecurities grow faster than their hair.
• 
  Anuja (2024)

  Review preview for Anuja

  Although we see the girls struggle, we also see their agency, their humour and their wit.

  When a gifted 9-year-old girl, who works in a garment factory, is offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend school, she is forced to make a heart-wrenching decision that will determine her own and her sister's fate.
• 
  Thelma (2024)

  Review preview for Thelma

  Silly in places but smart in others, and well structured throughout.

  When 93-year-old Thelma Post gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to reclaim what was taken from her.
• 
  The Rebrand (2024)

  Review preview for The Rebrand

  A consummate piece of queer cinema which achieves a high camp tone without ever losing either its polish or its grip.

  Nicole, an eight months-pregnant videographer, is hired by a lesbian lifestyle influencers Thistle and Blaire to film a redemption documentary after they’ve been publicly cancelled, but Nicole quickly discovers that the couple have nefarious ulterior motives.
• 
  Kensuke's Kingdom (2023)

  Review preview for Kensuke's Kingdom

  There’s plenty for thoughtful children to engage with.

  A boy marooned on a desert island with his dog discovers another castaway and a whole new perspective on life.
• 
  A Bear Named Wojtek (2023)

  Review preview for A Bear Named Wojtek

  Gardner... shows respect for Wojtek’s intelligence without anthropomorphising him or rendering him just a cartoon.

  Displaced by the Second World War, a troop of Polish soldiers form an inseparable bond with an orphaned bear they name Wojtek.
• 
  The Wild-Tempered Clavier (2024)

  Review preview for The Wild-Tempered Clavier

  Animating on toilet paper, which soaks up colour in unpredictable ways, would never be easy, but Samo has challenged herself further by creating each frame based on memory and instinct.

  A depiction of the animation process using toilet paper in place of film, exploring an attempt to create art in a chaotic world.
• 
  Rippy (2024)

  Review preview for Rippy

  The acting is competent all round, though it really doesn’t need to be.

  Obsessed with living up to her dead father's legacy, a young sheriff finds her mettle tested when locals are found ripped to shreds.
• 
  Clodagh (2024)

  Review preview for Clodagh

  The film finds a sly humour in its observations of Mrs Kelly’s dilemma, of the quietly frantic way in which she wrestles with a conscience at odds with the rigid system she has chosen to live by.

  A lonely church housekeeper encounters a young Irish girl of exceptional promise.
• 
  Bottle George (2024)

  Review preview for Bottle George

  Supported by Takagi Hajime’s evocative sound design, this persistently inventive little film creates a thoroughly lived-in world with hints of a maritime past and an uncertain future.

  A stop motion animated short film about the darkness of addiction and the strength of family.
• 
  Will & Harper (2024)

  Review preview for Will & Harper

  Greenbaum pinpoints the tension between the hate eating away at parts of US society and the tremendous potential that the country still has.

  When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship, transition, and America.
• 
  Room Taken (2023)

  Review preview for Room Taken

  There is a good deal that’s praiseworthy about this carefully crafted film, but most notable are its central performances.

  When Isaac needs somewhere to sleep, he secretly moves into the home of an elderly blind woman, leading them to form a unique bond.
• 
  Magic Candies (2024)

  Review preview for Magic Candies

  It’s not just technically brilliant – it’s deftly scripted, ably performed and great fun to watch.

  A lonely boy has a series of strange experiences after eating sweets.
• 
  George A. Romero's Resident Evil (2025)

  Review preview for George A. Romero's Resident Evil

  When it does get to the point...it’s fascinating.

  The story of a cinematic adaptation that never quite came to fruition.
• 
  It's Raining Men (2023)

  Review preview for It's Raining Men

  Even if the result is not ultimately very surprising, it’s well handled, with a mature understanding and a depth of commitment to character.

  Iris has an idyllic life but, as she nears 50 a stranger's suggestion that she 'take a lover' leads her to register for a dating app with unexpected consequences.
• 
  The Only Girl In The Orchestra (2023)

  Review preview for The Only Girl In The Orchestra

  Snippets of their conversations build together to let us see a real person, at odds with the tradition of legend-building.

  A documentary about trailblazing musician Orin O'Brien and the double bass she plays.
• 
  The Damned (2024)

  Review preview for The Damned

  A deep understanding of the period and cultural context gives it a weight of authenticity.

  A young widow, faces an impossible choice when a ship sinks off the coast of her isolated fishing village during a cruel winter. With their food supplies dwindling, Eva and her town must decide whether to rescue the shipwrecked sailors or let them perish to ensure their own survival.
• 
  Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr (2024)

  Review preview for Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr

  With a focus on moments of joy, Reed subverts the familiar melancholy of trans narratives and presents an optimistic tale about making inroads as an outsider, with much wider relevance.

  A short documentary goes behind the scenes with the state representative from Montana as she makes international news fighting for trans medical care - and making a momentous decision in her own life.
• 
  Makayla's Voice: A Letter To The World (2024)

  Review preview for Makayla's Voice: A Letter To The World

  This is not a film about saviours or the wonders of technology. It’s very much Makayla’s own story.

  An autistic teenager unlocks a joyous world of self-expression as she shares her voice for the first time using a letter board.
• 
  Au Revoir Mon Monde (2023)

  Review preview for Au Revoir Mon Monde

  Even destruction on this scale can only be taken so seriously when our focus is on a fish pelting down the street on a tiny scooter.

  As the world nears its end, a man stuck in a fish costume races against the clock towards a mysterious tower.
• 
  A Lien (2023)

  Review preview for A Lien

  Ratermanis’ performance is visceral, the kind of work that will leave you feeling shaken to the core.

  A young family tries to cope with a dangerous immigration process.
• 
  Sebastian (2024)

  Review preview for Sebastian

  Having set up all the elements of a thriller, the film proceeds to untangle them in a refreshingly different and mature way.

  Max, a 25-year-old aspiring writer living in London, begins a double life as a sex worker in order to research his debut novel.