Reviews by Jennie Kermode

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Baby, Don't Cry! (2021)

  Review preview for Baby, Don't Cry!

  Full of rough edges and unexpected moments, Baby, Don’t Cry! captures life in the raw.

  A withdrawn and sensitive 17-year-old Chinese immigrant from a troubled home meets a 20-year-old delinquent, and together they embark on a twisted journey to try and escape their fate.
• 
  Baby Gravy (2017)

  Review preview for Baby Gravy

  Baby Gravy is a short but intense film which, by pulling Brona and Alex's relationship so tightly into focus, emphasis the emotional insignificance of the third party on whom they depend.

  In a rural pub restaurant on a busy motorway, a couple await the arrival of their sperm donor.
• 
  Baby Money (2021)

  Review preview for Baby Money

  A crime thriller whose lead characters are influenced by crime thrillers, caught up in a fantasy which repeatedly smacks up hard against the real world.

  A pair of fugitives take refuge in the house of a single mother as they wait on their pregnant getaway driver to hatch an escape plan in time for a major payday.
• 
  Backtrace (2018)

  Review preview for Backtrace

  In addition to issues of physical discomfort, the film suffers from an unnecessarily convoluted and drawn out plot in which there's very little actually happening.

  The lone surviving thief of a violent armoured car robbery is sprung from a high security facility and given an experimental drug.
• 
  Badlands (1973)

  Review preview for Badlands

  The cinematography, making the most of stark landscapes and wide open spaces, is often breathtaking.

  A young couple fall in love and do terrible things in a story based on the Starkweather Fugate killings of 1959.
• 
  Bad Behaviour (2023)

  Review preview for Bad Behaviour

  Englert’s script is an actor’s dream. Connelly, who has matured magnificently in recent years and now ranks among the best in her generation, gives it all she’s got.

  Lucy, a former child actor, seeks enlightenment at a retreat led by spiritual leader Elon while she navigates her close yet turbulent relationship with her stunt-performer daughter, Dylan.
• 
  Bad City (2022)

  Review preview for Bad City

  Plotting is kept fairly simple to leave room for the sprawling fights and some spectacular action set pieces.

  A recently disgraced detective leads a special unit in an effort to stop a crime boss from becoming mayor.
• 
  Bad Education (2004)

  Review preview for Bad Education

  It's classic film noir; except that, being the work of Pedro Almodóvar, much of it is shot in lurid colour, not all the girls are really girls, and not all the boys are what they claim to be, either.

  Two young school friends meet after 16 years, with tragic consequences.
• 
  Bad Girl Boogey (2022)

  Review preview for Bad Girl Boogey

  The whole thing has the energy and bravado of early Eighties slasher films, when the rules of the genre were still being written.

  When a killer starts targeting her community, a young queer woman realises that they're wearing the same mask as the person who killed her mother decades before.
• 
  Bad Hair (2020)

  Review preview for Bad Hair

  Bad Hair has a fresh and volatile statement of its own to make.

  In this horror satire set in 1989, an ambitious young woman gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career may come at a great cost when she realises that her new hair may have a mind of its own.
• 
  Bad Haircut (2025)

  Review preview for Bad Haircut

  This isn’t quite as wild and startling an experience as its creators seem to think, but for the most part it’s entertaining.

  When a college kid goes to a new place to get a haircut, he discovers that his barber is a psychopath.
• 
  Bad Hostage (2024)

  Review preview for Bad Hostage

  Thorough and forthright.

  An examination of the concept of Stockholm syndrome and the realities of women's experiences during and after being held hostage.
• 
  The Bad Patriots (2024)

  Review preview for The Bad Patriots

  An important effort to redress the balance and give these two maligned men a chance to put their case.

  Anti-British, spineless, out-of-touch, terrorist-sympathisers, Communists, and a threat to national security. The media bestowed unsavoury accolades on Ken Loach and Jeremy Corbyn. They now step forward in order to challenge that narrative.
• 
  Bad Samaritan (2018)

  Review preview for Bad Samaritan

  Dean Devlin's thriller is well structured and features cleverly thought out action sequences that maximise the potential in simple shifts of power.

  A pair of burglars stumble upon a woman being held captive in a home they intended to rob.
• 
  Bad Things (2023)

  Review preview for Bad Things

  It’s in this fracturing of feminine figures within a familial, uterine space that Thorndike finds the unsettling kind of horror she’s looking for.

  A weekend getaway for four friends at a snowy resort turns into a psychological tailspin and bloody nightmare.
• 
  The Balconettes (2024)

  Review preview for The Balconettes

  The film is a brash, vulgar, joyously realistic portrait of a three-way friendship with roots that run deep.

  Three women get stuck in a Marseille apartment during a heatwave.
• 
  The Ballad Of A.J. Weberman (2006)

  The history of an obsessive fan and self-proclaimed 'Dylanologist'
• 
  Balloon (2019)

  Review preview for Balloon

  Jeremy Merrifield takes a restrained approach as director, letting the story build up naturally.

  A bullied boy who has always tried to avoid attracting attention discovers that he has a superpower.
• 
  The Baltimorons (2025)

  Review preview for The Baltimorons

  The connection that forms between them feels more real because it’s so unlikely. Duplass, co-writing with Strassner, has the skill to pull it off, and both lead actors are up to the task.

  Christmas Eve, a broken tooth, and just one dentist on call – thus begins the strange odyssey of the newly sober Cliff and the lonely Didi through the streets of Baltimore.
• 
  The Banished (2024)

  Review preview for The Banished

  A film that will get under your skin, unsettling to a rare degree.

  A young woman reluctantly returns to her crumbling hometown, only to discover her brother has mysteriously gone missing. Consumed by guilt, she embarks on a harrowing journey to find him, which leads her deep into the dark wilderness surrounding the town.
• 
  The Banishing (2020)

  Review preview for The Banishing

  McKenna-Bruce is good in a role that first requires her to restrain her emotions and then pulls her in several directions at once.

  The story of the most haunted house in England. In the 1930s, a young reverend, his wife and daughter move into a manor with a horrifying secret.
• 
  A Banquet (2021)

  Review preview for A Banquet

  Directing with confidence and misdirecting with grace, Paxton draws us into a world where the absence of apparent solutions becomes compelling in itself.

  A young woman undergoes a disturbing transformation after her daughter's newfound faith threatens her health.
• 
  Barbarella (1968)

  Review preview for Barbarella

  Fonda's resolutely straight-faced performance makes Barbarella a character who can charm you with more than just her physical assets.

  Cult sci-fi sees a sexy space agent hunt down an evil scientitst.
• 
  Barbarians (2021)

  Review preview for Barbarians

  Although the story is essentially quite simple, it’s beautifully framed, both narratively and visually.

  A dinner party in a country house sees four friends come together for a birthday celebration, but as the night progresses secrets emerge and unsettling events begin to unfold around them.
• 
  The Barber Of Little Rock (2023)

  Review preview for The Barber Of Little Rock

  He’s not the first African American person to think like this, of course, and though the film does not elaborate on the history of such efforts, it makes room for him to express his concerns.

  The story of the racial wealth gap in the US, and one man's efforts to bring about change.
• 
  Barbie Boomer (2025)

  Review preview for Barbie Boomer

  The film provides an opportunity for frank conversations about mortality which are rare elsewhere in Western society.

  67-year-old Sylvie is a passionate Barbie collector. To make sure that her collection lasts over time, she decides to donate some of her childhood dolls to the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City, which agrees to evaluate the proposal. But will she be able to cope with the grief of separation, especially as the physical condition of her best friend Linda, also a Barbie collector, is affected by severe illness?
• 
  Barbie Nation (1998)

  Review preview for Barbie Nation

  Through this collage of wild ideas, Stern brings us closer to something which is difficult to pinpoint directly, to that elusive magic behind it all.

  A documentary about the underbelly of Barbie's Dreamhouse, intimately exploring the peculiar ways in which people have embraced Barbie throughout history.
• 
  Bardo, False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths (2022)

  Review preview for Bardo, False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths

  Iñárritu is very capable – one might even say brilliant – but has no idea how to restrain himself.

  An epic comedy about journalism.
• 
  The Bat (1926)

  Review preview for The Bat

  Never mind its wider significance – The Bat hangs from its own two feet, and delivers lively entertainment throughout.

  A masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorises the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.
• 
  Batman (1989)

  Review preview for Batman

  A bad film with a capable director.

  Batman defends Gotham City against The Joker as they both fall for the same woman.
• 
  Batman (1966)

  Review preview for Batman

  Any dedicated film fan would be poorer for overlooking this comic gem.

  Catwoman, The Joker, The Penguin and The Riddler hatch a dastardly plot. Hand me the bat-villain-repellant!
• 
  Batman Returns (1992)

  Review preview for Batman Returns

  This is a short film about Catwoman weighed down by a lot of vague nonsense you'll end up skipping through.

  Batman takes on Catwoman and The Penguin in a battle for power in Gotham City.
• 
  Battleground: The Fight Over Roe V. Wade (2022)

  Review preview for Battleground: The Fight Over Roe V. Wade

  The film makes no secret of its pro-choice approach. Giving the majority of its time to anti-abortionists feels like giving them enough rope.

  A documentary about people who worked to overturn the Roe versus Wade ruling on abortion in the US.
• 
  Battleship Potemkin (1925)

  Review preview for Battleship Potemkin

  Stunning cinematography is matched by deft editing and this restored version recaptures the lucid quality of Eisenstein's images.

  Disillusioned with its treatment, a battleship crew mutinies in port and tries to spark revolution.
• 
  Battle In Space: The Armada Attacks (2021)

  Review preview for Battle In Space: The Armada Attacks

  The framing narrative is handsomely presented and delivered with impressive confidence, but is unlikely to appeal much beyond its target audience.

  In 2420, after aliens and powerful space wizards enslave human villages, a group of rebels organise a counter attack against their alien overlords by piloting fully loaded spaceships.
• 
  The Battle of Algiers (1966)

  Review preview for The Battle of Algiers

  The Battle of Algiers is an unforgettable piece of cinema, utterly absorbing and very hard hitting.

  A vivid recreation of the events leading up to Algerian independence.
• 
  The Battle Of Chile (1979)

  Review preview for The Battle Of Chile

  One of the greatest achievements in documentary to date.

  A three part documentary charting the Chilean struggle which led to the fall of Salvador Allende and the rise to power, by means of a coup, of Augusto Pinochet.
• 
  The Battle Wizard (1977)

  Review preview for The Battle Wizard

  The fights are well staged even when there are a dozen or so people involved, striking the right balance between dazzling the eye and making it possible to follow the action.

  A peace-loving young man meets a beautiful woman who has promised to either marry or murder the first man to see her unmasked.
• 
  The Bay Of Silence (2020)

  Review preview for The Bay Of Silence

  Kurylenko, increasingly impressive across the span of her work, is on fine form.

  Will believes his wife Rosalind is innocent of a suspected murder, only to discover the devastating truth behind her past links her to another unsolved crime.
• 
  Bazigaga (2022)

  Review preview for Bazigaga

  Umuhire is tremendous in conveying both her terror and the force of will it takes for Bazigaga to face down a militia leader who likes to tell himself – and everybody else – that he doesn’t believe the stories about her.

  1994, Rwanda. As the genocide rages on, a pastor and his young daughter take shelter in the hut of a feared shaman.
• 
  The Beach Bum (2019)

  Review preview for The Beach Bum

  Hollywood is full of tales of people like Moondog who discover the true meaning of life when they get sober. Korine isn't that naive.

  A once successful poet aims to drift through the remainder of his life in a happy haze of drink and drugs.
• 
  The Beach House (2019)

  Review preview for The Beach House

  All this is held together by an impressive performance from Liberato.

  A romantic getaway for two troubled college sweethearts turns into a struggle for survival when unexpected guests - and the surrounding environment - exhibit signs of a mysterious infection.
• 
  Beans (2020)

  Review preview for Beans

  The coming of age aspect of the film is fairly formulaic but Kiawentiio’s performance is fresh and awkward in all the right ways, giving it a sense of urgency.

  Twelve-year-old Beans is on the edge: torn between innocent childhood and reckless adolescence; forced to grow up fast and become the tough Mohawk warrior she needs to be during the Oka Crisis, the turbulent Indigenous uprising that tore Quebec and Canada apart for 78 tense days in the summer of 1990.
• 
  The Bearded Girl (2025)

  Review preview for The Bearded Girl

  A marvellous piece of storytelling.

  Cleo is ready to spread her wings and, tired of tradition and feeling like an oddball, she leaves her sheltered carnival life to find love and adventure.
• 
  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 Beastmaster (1982)

  Review preview for The Beastmaster

  Ultimately, The Beastmaster is low grade pulp with little sense of purpose, but Singer's clumsy dialogue and attempts to combine beefy manliness with chatting to ferrets lend it a certain camp charm.

  A warrior with a psychic connection to animals fights against an evil sorcerer.
• 
  The Beasts (2022)

  Review preview for The Beasts

  In long, slow takes, Sorogoyen lets the tension build, one situation after another seeming as if it might spill over into violence.

  French couple Antoine and Olga moved to a little village in the Galician countryside some time ago. There they live a quiet life, although their relations with the locals are not as idyllic as they would like them to be. A conflict with their neighbours, the Anta brothers, will see tension rise in the village to the point of no return.
• 
  Beast Mode (2020)

  Review preview for Beast Mode

  Apparently it's supposed to satirise Hollywood bad behaviour, but it's fundamentally too tame for that.

  An actor lets fame get to his head and turns into a ferocious beast, ripping Hollywood to shreds.
• 
  The Beast Must Die (1974)

  Review preview for The Beast Must Die

  A real oddity, one of those curiosities which become landmarks in cinematic history.

  A wealthy game hunter invites a group of people to his remote mansion, suspecting one of them to be a werewolf. What follows is part action thriller, part Gothic whodunnit.
• 
  Beast Of War (2025)

  Review preview for Beast Of War

  Roache-turner achieves a good balance of interpersonal drama and sudden, lurching scares, adding a dash of squaddie-style humour to ease the tension.

  A group of young soldiers, fresh out of boot camp, find themselves stranded on a raft in the middle of the ocean after their ship is sunk by the enemy, and must battle for their lives against a giant hungry great white shark.