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Alison Hallett served nobly as the Mercury's arts editor from 2008-2014. Her proud legacy lives on.
Andrew Haigh’s latest is complex, compelling, and features a tremendous performance from an old racist.
MUSTANG Turkey! It’s maaaaybe not the best place to be a little girl. Turkish director Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s Mustang is about the ways patriarchy oppresses women. It’s set in Turkey, but the specific cultural context matters less than the general one: It could take place in any country or historical era where women’s access to […]
CAROL “I like your hat.” “I like your hat, too.” “Let’s trade hats!” Therese is a pretty, scrappy shopgirl with a dapper boyfriend and rowdy, heavy-drinking friends. She’s curiously watchful—actress Rooney Mara keeps her eyes opened wide—but it’s not quite clear what she’s looking for. Until Therese sees Carol (Cate Blanchett). Then it all makes […]
Lesbians can be happy, too!
Let’s not banish girls into marriage-slavery!
THE DANISH GIRL Pictured: a decent actor. Also pictured: Eddie Redmayne. The Danish Girl takes place in the Expanded Universe of Oscar Bait, where the light is diffuse, all prostitutes are beautiful, everyone speaks vaguely accented English, and the only litter in the world is that plastic bag from American Beauty. Here, Eddie Redmayne—the reigning […]
Stop encouraging Eddie Redmayne.
SECRET IN THEIR EYES Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. It’s not Secret in Their Eyes‘ fault that it was released at a historical moment where literally no one in the world wants to see a movie about cops who decide they’ve got better things to do than address a potential terrorist threat. Images of a weeping, beret-clad Statue of […]
A procedural that’s a little too chill about terrorism.
A BRILLIANT YOUNG MIND Unlike you, this small child understands basic math. Difference is something to be celebrated, parents earnestly tell kids who don’t fit in, trying to armor their children against the worst the world has to offer. When Nathan (Asa Butterfield) is diagnosed with autism, he’s young enough to believe it when his […]
The enthralling saga of tiny, math-crazed nerdlings.
ROOM “This eggshell necklace is a Salmonella nightmare.” Room begins with a ripped-from-the-tabloids premise, then systematically rejects every bit of conventional wisdom regarding how that premise might unfold. The headlines write themselves: “Shed Boy’s Daring Escape,” perhaps, or “Captive Teen Mom Risks Everything to Save Rape Baby.” These headlines are accurate, technically: Room is about […]
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