Tag: Alex Lawther

REVIEW: The Last Duel [2021]

Jared Mobarak

God will spare those who tell the truth. The tale at the center of Eric Jager‘s book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France is a compelling one that supposedly continues to inspire debate among historians today about who was telling the truth. While unsurprising considering there weren’t any witnesses of the crime that was said to have been committed, it explains how little has changed from 1386 where the patriarchal underpinnings of our world are concerned. Debate means that some people believe Marguerite…

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TIFF21 REVIEW: Earwig [2021]

Jared Mobarak

Everything is well, sir. Director Lucile Hadzihalilovic explained how she’d rather viewers of her latest film Earwig (co-written by Geoff Cox) go in knowing as little about it as possible. As such, her introduction said little beyond its source material’s mysterious origins (author Brian Catling dreamt of a girl offering him her teeth before writing the novella in one sitting) and her freedom to make her adaptation unique with as many changes as she saw fit. Do I wish she gave more in hindsight now having finished watching? Yes. Very…

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REVIEW: Goodbye Christopher Robin [2017]

Jared Mobarak

I’ve had enough of making people laugh. I want to make them see. It begins with a letter—the kind that rips heart from chest. World War II is in full swing and the Milnes (Domhnall Gleeson‘s Alan and Margot Robbie‘s Daphne) are biding their time awaiting word from their son Christopher (Alex Lawther). They know what news arrives as soon as they see the mailwoman riding up their driveway, though. They know their son is gone. War claimed another innocent soul, an inevitability Alan experienced first-hand fighting the fight prematurely…

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REVIEW: The Imitation Game [2014]

Jared Mobarak

“Shall we leave the children alone with their new toy?” It’s highly unusual for me to get invested in a biography, so when one comes along that enthralls me as fully as The Imitation Game it’s difficult to know whether I’m simply overreacting. Director Morten Tyldum and screenwriter Graham Moore have done what so few seem to want to attempt despite it so often resonating: focus on a moment their subject is known for rather than the person himself. To give us a glimpse into his childhood for psychological markers…

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