Reviews by Richard Mowe

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Loving (2016)

  Review preview for Loving

  Despite Nichols’s softly-softly approach, the film packs a powerful punch, constantly reminding us of just how recent these historical injustices are.

  Story of an interracial couple in 1950s Virginia who face the wrath of the law for getting married.
• 
  The Lunchbox (2013)

  Review preview for The Lunchbox

  Sheer unadulterated pleasure often comes from the most unexpected quarters.

  A mistakenly delivered lunchbox sparks romance between two lonely people.
• 
  The Magic Mountain (2015)

  Review preview for The Magic Mountain

  Her mix of animation, collage, and actual footage from the various periods covered suits her subject to perfection.

  The adventures of mountain climber and photographer Adam J. Winkler, who fought in Afghanistan with the mujahedin against the Soviets in the 1980s.
• 
  Makala (2017)

  Review preview for Makala

  The way director Emmanuel Gras eases under the skin of his main subject makes for fascinating viewing.

  A young peasant makes a difficult journey in the hope of creating a better life for his loved ones.
• 
  Maps To The Stars (2014)

  Review preview for Maps To The Stars

  Moore gives a frank and funny portrayal of female status at a certain age in the Dream Factory.

  Drink, drugs, sex and psychosis mix as a Hollywood dynasty comes into contact with the beautiful daughter of a deceased diva.
• 
  Marie's Story (2014)

  Review preview for Marie's Story

  The sense of period and the deprivations of the time are authentically evoked without ramping up the emotional charge.

  Biopic about a woman who was born deaf and blind.
• 
  Mary, Queen Of Scots (2013)

  Review preview for Mary, Queen Of Scots

  Imbach’s production eschews costume drama clichés for a spare and taut account.

  A biopic of the ill-fated Scottish monarch.
• 
  The Measure Of A Man (2015)

  Review preview for The Measure Of A Man

  Stephane Brizé is a master of films that appear to say very little but actually speak volumes.

  A supermarket guard faces a moral quandry.
• 
  The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected) (2017)

  Review preview for The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected)

  The film is structured as a series of stories with different characters predominating in each but this has the effect of making it seem more protracted than it should be.

  Comedy drama about a family who gather in New York to celebrate the work of their dad.
• 
  Me, Myself And Mum (2013)

  Review preview for Me, Myself And Mum

  It’s a crowd-pleaser and only the most stern of hearts and minds could fail to be seduced by its charm and the incredible persona of Gallienne.

  A comedy of misunderstandings.
• 
  Macbeth (2015)

  Review preview for Macbeth

  Kurzel helps to put his two actors at the top of their game.

  Prophecy, treachery, murder and their consequences unwind in the Scottish Play.
• 
  A Magnificent Life (2025)

  Review preview for A Magnificent Life

  The screenplay is packed with absorbing detail.

  Animated consideration of the life of the cinema pioneer.
• 
  The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)

  Review preview for The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

  Gilliam’s script cannot quite stand the excesses of his own imagination.

  A cynical advertising director finds himself trapped in the outrageous delusions of an old Spanish shoe-maker who believes himself to be Don Quixote.
• 
  The Marching Band (2024)

  Review preview for The Marching Band

  The two siblings bond and the disparate threads of their relationship prove immensely touching as they ruminate on the lost years and chances.

  A conductor discovers he was adopted and has a younger sibling.
• 
  Àma Gloria (2023)

  Review preview for Àma Gloria

  One of the most moving portraits of childhood seen recently on the screen.

  Six-year-old Cléo loves her nanny Gloria more than anything. When Gloria must return to Cape Verde to care for her own children, the two must make the most of their last summer together.
• 
  Megalopolis (2024)

  Review preview for Megalopolis

  It is described simply as “A Fable”, but there is nothing simple about this over-ambitious allegorical sprawl.

  Power play and corruption unfold in a futuristic city.
• 
  Misper (2025)

  Review preview for Misper

  Filmed with a dark sense of brooding.

  A staff member at a seaside hotel vanishes without a trace.
• 
  Les Misérables (2019)

  Review preview for Les Misérables

  Ly wanted the people who have lived in these schemes to have the chance to tell their own stories, which gives Les Misérables an unerring sense of authenticity.

  A man joins an anti-crime brigade and rapidly discovers the tensions between the various neighbourhood groups.
• 
  Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025)

  Review preview for Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

  It’s certainly all very timely and apposite

  Our lives are the sum of our choices.
• 
  Money Monster (2016)

  Review preview for Money Monster

  An efficiently diverting thriller.

  A financial TV host and his producer are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor who has lost everything forcefully takes over their studio.
• 
  The Most Precious Of Cargoes (2024)

  Review preview for The Most Precious Of Cargoes

  The choice of hand-drawn animation and its ability to demonstrate a magical realism allows the film to find the right distance from what is being depicted.

  Animation about a woodcutter and his wife whose lives are transformed after they rescue a baby thrown from a train that passes near their home.
• 
  Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013)

  Review preview for Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight

  Made for HBO, the film demonstrates the high quality of some American television.

  The story of Muhammed Ali's fight with the US government after he refused to participate in the Vietnam War.
• 
  Mommy (2014)

  Review preview for Mommy

  The energy and sheer visual bravura carry it along.

  A widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor insinuates herself into their household.
• 
  Mood Indigo (2013)

  Review preview for Mood Indigo

  The overkill threatens to bludgeon the much-loved book into an over-wrought exercise in style.

  This dreamlike story of two pairs of lovers, a cook and a kitchen mouse is an adaptation of the cult novel by French writer Boris Vian.
• 
  Moomins On The Riviera (2014)

  Review preview for Moomins On The Riviera

  The hand-coloured drawings are exquisite, and who could fail to warm to the charms of these loveable nutters who want all the right things for the world?

  The Finnish favourites go on an adventure.
• 
  Mr Morgan's Last Love (2013)

  Review preview for Mr Morgan's Last Love

  Caine makes the most of the material on offer.

  A retired philosophy professor falls for a young Parisian woman.
• 
  Mr. Turner (2014)

  Review preview for Mr. Turner

  What is truly amazing about the film is the way cinematographer Dick Pope evokes Turner’s colour palette.

  A biopic of artist J.M.W Turner
• 
  Mustang (2015)

  Review preview for Mustang

  Erguven demonstrates remarkable skill in her first feature.

  Coming of age story about five Turkish girls.
• 
  My King (2015)

  Review preview for My King

  Rather turgid drama.

  An injured woman in a rehabilitation centre recalls an all encompassing love.
• 
  My Life As A Courgette (2016)

  Review preview for My Life As A Courgette

  It is the attention to detail and character building by Barras and Sciamma which gives substance to the slender tale.

  Stop-motion story of a boy, who is sent to a group home for orphans after the death of his mum.
• 
  My Mother (2015)

  Review preview for My Mother

  It’s a more slight work than we might have expected from Moretti.

  Tragicomedy, a filmmaker tries to cope with crises.
• 
  Nebraska (2013)

  Review preview for Nebraska

  Behind the surface simplicity of a father and son road trip lurks a sharp and bitter-sweet odyssey with a strong sense of satire.

  An alcoholic father and his resentful son travel cross-country together to collect big sweepstake winnings.
• 
  Nouvelle Vague (2025)

  Review preview for Nouvelle Vague

  Guillaume Marbeck as Godard is pitch perfect, trademark dark glasses and tobacco smoke his indispensable props with even the voice uncannily resonant of the man himself.

  This is the story of Godard making Breathless, told in the style and spirit in which Godard made Breathless.
• 
  Only God Forgives (2013)

  Review preview for Only God Forgives

  While you can admire the execution there is little here to engage the intellect as one bloody set-piece moves on to the next.

  A drug smuggler in Bangkok is charged by his mother with finding and killing whoever killed his brother.
• 
  Okja (2017)

  Review preview for Okja

  Bong keeps it all on the move with immense visual flair, innumerable chases and excellent effects.

  Young girl Mija must risk everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend - a massive animal named Okja.
• 
  Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood (2019)

  Review preview for Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood

  Tarantino's on good form but there are moments in the middle of the 165-minute marathon where it flags before mustering for its finale.

  TV star Rick Dalton and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth make their way around an industry they hardly recognise any more.
• 
  One Fine Morning (2022)

  Review preview for One Fine Morning

  Seydoux is superb as she runs the emotional gamut with subtlety and empathy, demonstrating an extraordinary survival spirit in complicated circumstances.

  A woman who is raising her daughter alone and looking after her dad, who has a degenerative disease, embarks on a passionate affair.
• 
  On A Magical Night (2019)

  Review preview for On A Magical Night

  Deliciously and deliberately theatrical

  After 20 years of marriage, Maria decides to leave her husband. She moves into room 212 at the hotel across the street, with a bird’s-eye view of her apartment, her husband and the life she shared with him.
• 
  On The Sea (2025)

  Review preview for On The Sea

  Finds its strength in the subtlety of the writing and the power of the understated performances.

  A love story about a married mussel farmer who falls in love with a handsome newcomer.
• 
  The Ordinaries (2021)

  Review preview for The Ordinaries

  Dazzles from the opening song and dance number to the final credits.

  Paula is a supporting role aspiring to become a main character. Yet, just before her final exams, her emotive music generator suddenly starts playing up, which presents a major problem for her. No starring role can survive without a heartrending accompaniment from the strings.
• 
  Out Of Love (2025)

  Review preview for Out Of Love

  Ambrosioni extracts lived-in performances from Cottin and the whole cast which lifts what could have been a straight-forward drama into a profound and moving portrait of families and motherhood.

  After many years, Suzanne and her two children unexpectedly show up at the home of her sister Jeanne. It initially looks like Suzanne is tentatively attempting to re-establish a relationship with her sister. But this illusion is shattered with the morning light: Suzanne is gone and Jeanne is forced to become a mother to children she barely knows.
• 
  Papusza (2013)

  Review preview for Papusza

  Managing for the most part to avoid the clichés of portraying the gypsy milieu, it has the stamp of authenticity.

  The story of the famous Romany poet.
• 
  The Past (2013)

  Review preview for The Past

  Farhadi peels away the layers with simplicity, revealing the complicated and detailed emotions which lurk very close to the surface.

  A couple meeting to finalise their divorce find themselves in difficult emotional terrain.
• 
  Patchwork Family (2014)

  Review preview for Patchwork Family

  Rabaté is strong on seeking out the irony in middle class mores.

  A salesman finds his sharp practice comes back to haunt him.
• 
  Personal Shopper (2016)

  Review preview for Personal Shopper

  Stewart valiantly tries to soldier through but cannot make her character spring to life.

  Ghost story set against the backdrop of the Paris fashion world.
• 
  Pain And Glory (2019)

  Review preview for Pain And Glory

  The tone is both bitter and sweet.

  A film director reflects on the choices he's made in life as past and present come crashing down around him.
• 
  Papicha (2019)

  Review preview for Papicha

  Engages with an energetic and angry vitality as well as authenticity.

  A student becomes determined to stage a fashion show despite religious opposition.
• 
  Paris Memories (2022)

  Review preview for Paris Memories

  The combination of Efira and Magimel proves magnetic.

  A woman is caught up in a Paris terror attack and three months on she tries to piece together her memory.
• 
  The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

  Review preview for The Phoenician Scheme

  The real challenge is to keep up with the pace as well as the information overload.

  The story of a family and a family business.
• 
  Pleasure (2021)

  Review preview for Pleasure

  Everything has been meticulously researched from the garish costumes and outlandish make-up to the mechanics of the business.

  A 20-year-old woman moves from her small town in Sweden to LA for a shot at a career in the adult film industry.