Thursday, April 17, 2025

Alex Garland has now constructed what could be called his trilogy of violence: the relentless, patriarchal assault in horror Men (2022), the total collapse of American society in Civil War (2024), and, now, the immediate aftermath of an IED explosion in Warfare. There's little to no context to be offered in these films. The point, entirely, is what's felt in the moment – the fear, the pain, the blood. Garland's approach is understandable but limited. Warfare, at least, is the most successful of the three, because its myopia is a crucial part of its structure.

While filming Civil War, Garland was introduced to Iraq war veteran Ray Mendoza, who'd been hired to make sure the film's gunfight sequences looked as realistic as possible. In November 2006, Mendoza had been part of a team of Navy Seals who, alongside two Iraqi scouts and two Marines, were left cornered in a residential home in Ramadi province after the detonation of an IED resulted in multiple deaths and life-threatening injuries.

Read the full review here. 

Out this week: 

Ryan Coogler's sensational vampire film Sinners (****) is ready to take a bite out of the box office, while Alex Garland and Iraq war veteran Ray Mendoza aim for accuracy but fail to find much clarity in Warfare (***), and Steve Coogan befriends in a bird in the slight The Penguin Lessons (**). 

Pedro Pascal and Ben Mendelsohn lend some acting brawn to the silly, joyful, and nostalgic (if a little slight) anthology film Freaky Tales (***), set in 1987 Oakland, California. 

Meanwhile, Cuckoo (****) and A Complete Unknown (***) are now available on Blu-ray and DVD. 

Written by Clarisse Loughrey

There is talk of turmoil inside Warner Bros. Last month, it was suggested by The Hollywood Reporter that studio boss David Zaslav wants to shift away from "filmmaker-driven fare" in favour of "big IP"-branded franchises. That would put an end to a film like Sinners, a concept pitched, written, and directed entirely by Creed and Black Panther's Ryan Coogler and acquired by Warner Bros after a fierce bidding war. Coogler even ensured copyright will revert back to him after 25 years – a moderately rare event and a real sign of a filmmaker's clout.

If cinema weren't in such a sickly state, Sinners's electric fusion of genres – historical epic, horror, and squelchy actioner – would be a guaranteed box office sensation. Instead, the film arrives with an uneasy sense that this is some kind of final stand for original ideas. One can only hope audiences recognise its bounty of riches. Sinners is headlined by Michael B Jordan, bringing movie-star charisma to not one but two roles: Smoke and Stack, twin brothers in 1932, returning from Capone-ruled mob warfare in Chicago to start a juke joint in their Mississippi hometown.

Smoke is the one in blue. Stack is the one in red. Their colours, conveniently, hint at their true natures: one rational, one hedonistic. Jordan, unlike Robert De Niro in The Alto Knights or Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17 – it's already been quite the bumper year for men playing multiple men – keeps their differences fairly subtle. Smoke is all in the cock of his eyebrow, Stack in his wilful smirk. It's smart, intuitive work.

Coogler kicks off his film with a muscular Scorsese flair – a brilliantly executed tracking shot follows one character across a bustling street, then another character back again. He builds up to the juke joint's opening night, then the arrival of three suspicious-looking white musicians (Jack O'Connell, Lola Kirke, and Peter Dreimanis), and – bam – suddenly it's a full-fledged vampire flick.

Read the full review here. 

A document of where I've gone and the things I've seen 

Thursday, 10 April
I managed to navigate the red carpet of the UK premiere of The Last of Us and take my seat without any mushroom-related incidents. We watched the premiere episode. Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal are magnificent as ever. 

Monday, 14 April

I spoke to director Gareth Evans, of The Raid fame, about his new Netflix actioner Havoc. The film absolutely lives up to its name. 

Tuesday, 15 April  

I attended a special screening of Paul Feig's dark comedy sequel Another Simple Favour. There was a very large hat being circulated. I, unfortunately, wasn't able to try it on. 

The cast and crew of 'Another Simple Favour' 

In Luca Guadagnino's I Am Love, a husband (Pippo Delbono's Tancredi Recchi) puts on his wife's (Tilda Swinton's Emma) jewellery as if it were battle armour. She's a Russian native who's been absorbed into a Milanese textile empire (the name Tancredi seems borrowed from one of the aristocrats in Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel The Leopard and its adaptation by Luchino Visconti) – handed a new name and a new life, told to savour this bigger, better destiny, yet feeling so entirely disconnected that she barely knows her own children. 

When she stumbles across a letter, not addressed to her, in which her daughter, Betta (Alba Rohrwacher), reveals her love for another woman, she reads it with curiosity and regret, wishing the secret had been entrusted to her. She tastes a dish of prawns on a bed of ratatouille, cooked up by her son Edoardo's (Flavio Parenti) close friend Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini). She's attentive to it, as if it might hold its own revelations. And it does, unexpectedly. The taste is so refined that we see a quiet ecstasy spread across her features. She's caressed by a halo of light – a small, magical touch from the filmmaker.

In this, Guadagnino's third film, also his international breakout, we can already see how small, subtle gestures will become crucial to illuminating the inner lives of his characters. And Swinton provides him just what he needs. She's intoxicating as an actor, because her beauty seems so aloof, near-elfin, yet there's a warmth that radiates from the corners of her mouth and eyes – always the beginning of something, the discovery of an emotion about to take hold. What it leads to, here, is an affair with Antonio, offering her erotic and personal liberation, and the kind of melodrama we've come to expect from the director. But he's always been able to find the disarmingly vulnerable even within the most heated of passions. And I am Love burns with those embers.

'I Am Love' is now available to rent or buy on digital.

Anya Taylor-Joy of "The Witch" poses for a portrait at the Village at the Lift Presented by McDonald's McCafe during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2015 in Park City, Utah.

(Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

Terence Young's Spaghetti Western Red Sun, starring Charles Bronson, Toshirō Mifune, Alain Delon, and Ursula Andress is now available to stream on the STUDIOCANAL PRESENTS streaming channel. I'll be checking it out next week. 

Don't forget to complete your registration

We've noticed that you still have not completed your registration to The Independent. Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism. It allows us to better understand our readers and tailor your experience.

By registering, you'll also gain access to a range of exclusive benefits, including:

Unlock these benefits by completing your registration today. 

INDYBEST / BEST BUYS

The Independent proudly partners with Refuge and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247

Join the conversation or follow us

Download the free Independent app

Please do not reply directly to this email

You are currently registered to receive The Independent's film newsletter.

To unsubscribe from The Independent's film newsletter, or to manage your email preferences please click here.

This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 14-18 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AH. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345

Read our privacy policy and cookie policy