Reviews by Richard Mowe

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Time Out Of Mind (2014)

  Review preview for Time Out Of Mind

  Gere, despite his image both off and on screen, gives a flawless performance.

  A homeless man tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
• 
  Tonnerre (2013)

  Review preview for Tonnerre

  Brac films the small town in great detail, capturing its claustrophobia, and the sometimes tragic destinies of his protagonists.

  A musician enters into an amour fou with a younger woman who is on the rebound.
• 
  To Life (2014)

  Review preview for To Life

  Although the performances are uniformly pitch-perfect Julie Depardieu (centre) shines out as Hélène.

  Loosely based on the story of the director's mother who, years after being in Auschwitz decided to track down two women she had befriended in the camp.
• 
  Trainwreck (2015)

  Review preview for Trainwreck

  Perfectly watchable and occasionally touching despite itself.

  A woman with a fear of commitment finds herself falling for a man who wants to settle down in a monogamous relationship.
• 
  This Life Of Mine (2024)

  Review preview for This Life Of Mine

  The character could have proved irksome in less talented hands than Jaoui who invests her character with self-deprecating humour and a sense of resilience.

  A woman travels to Scotland in a bid to reinvigorate her life.
• 
  Toni Erdmann (2016)

  Review preview for Toni Erdmann

  The film really shouldn’t work, but it does.

  A father drops in on his daughter and poses as a stranger to her friends.
• 
  Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

  Review preview for Top Gun: Maverick

  Cruise, doing many of his own stunts, owns the territory with stellar charisma.

  Maverick, now a trainer, encounters the son of his old friend Goose.
• 
  Triangle Of Sadness (2022)

  Review preview for Triangle Of Sadness

  A roller-coaster of the effects of absolute power corrupting absolutely.

  A yacht for the super-rich sinks, leaving its passengers marooned on an island.
• 
  The Truth (2019)

  Review preview for The Truth

  In less sensitive hands than Kore-eda's, it could have come across as cloyingly introverted but instead there is wit and warmth in the observed relationship between the two women.

  A reunion between a French cinema star and her daughter descends into confrontation.
• 
  Two Days, One Night (2014)

  Review preview for Two Days, One Night

  Cotillard gives a bravura and quietly introspective performance.

  Sandra, a young woman assisted by her husband, has only one weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses so that she can keep her job.
• 
  Under The Silver Lake (2018)

  Review preview for Under The Silver Lake

  There are just too many movie references and homage to the likes of David Lynch in this noirish thriller to make it anything other than an over-derivative exercise in style over substance.

  A man becomes obsessed with the strange circumstances of a billionaire mogul's murder and the kidnapping of a girl.
• 
  The Value Of Time (2013)

  Review preview for The Value Of Time

  The pacing is slow and deliberate while this eccentric individual with a strong moral streak makes for a less than engaging lead character.

  The tale of an aging doctor who, for over 40 years, has been devotedly tending a bizarre “domestic grave” containing his beloved wife.
• 
  Vanity (2015)

  Review preview for Vanity

  A beautifully modulated and measured odyssey.

  An elderly architect heads to a motel to finish planning his assisted suicide.
• 
  Vortex (2021)

  Review preview for Vortex

  Haunting, involving and quietly devastating.

  Drama focused on a handful of dark days in the lives of an elderly couple in Paris.
• 
  Welcome To New York (2014)

  Review preview for Welcome To New York

  Ferrara invests it all with the pseudo-docu urgency of something ripped from the headlines.

  The story of a powerful man and his potentially dangerous sexual appetites.
• 
  We're The Millers (2013)

  Review preview for We're The Millers

  Thurber directs with broad brush strokes rather any finesse although the myriad close calls, mistaken identities and persuasions do produce their moments.

  A drug dealer creates a fake family to provide cover while moving a large shipment of cannabis into the US.
• 
  Winter Sleep (2014)

  Review preview for Winter Sleep

  Ceylan explores such themes as moral responsibility, class and altruism with rigour.

  A hotel owner gradually has his delusions stripped away from him.
• 
  Wonderstruck (2017)

  Review preview for Wonderstruck

  This creative and visually arresting adaptation of Brian Selznick’s critically acclaimed novel marks a filmmaker at the top of his game.

  Ben and Rose are children from two different eras who secretly wish their lives were different. Both set out on quests.
• 
  White House Down (2013)

  Review preview for White House Down

  Once the explosions begin to kick in the film concentrates on Tatum and Foxx on the run - an easy-going and watchable pairing that displays real chemistry.

  An off-duty police officer touring the White House with his daughter is the only man who can save the President when terrorists attack.
• 
  Who You Think I Am (2019)

  Review preview for Who You Think I Am

  Nebbou judges the mood of the moment to perfection.

  A divorced teacher creates a fake Facebook page of a much younger woman and finds herself embarked on an impossible online love affair.
• 
  XL (2013)

  Review preview for XL

  Doubtless the director thought the style would serve its narrative but it only alienates.

  Deputy Leifur is a total wreck. Nonstop parties, hangovers, sexual escapades and drug abuse have gnawed his life to the bone. He decides to throw his last party before entering rehab. How will it turn out?
• 
  Young & Beautiful (2013)

  Review preview for Young & Beautiful

  After the more showy pyrotechnics of his social satire In the House Ozon seems equally at home in the close confines of a family environment.

  Portrait of a 17-year-old, who sells her body for cash.
• 
  Youth (2015)

  Review preview for Youth

  The trappings and style more than make up for any lack of substance.

  A composer and a film director staying in an Alpine hotel find themselves under unexpected pressure.
• 
  Yao (2018)

  Review preview for Yao

  There are times when Godeau seems to lose the way and the pace at such moments lacks drive, but then he’s back on track before long.

  A teenager in a Senegalese village will do anything to meet his hero.
• 
  Young Ahmed (2019)

  Review preview for Young Ahmed

  Their provision of few motivational details makes for an unsatisfactory narrative.

  A teenager becomes radicalised.
• 
  The Zone Of Interest (2023)

  Review preview for The Zone Of Interest

  The violence and acts of slaughter are unfurling sight unseen but all the more troubling for that.

  The daily lives of the Höss family outside the walls of Auschwitz.