ANATOMY OF A FALL

This film, directed by Justine Triet, is a masterpiece.

2 ½ hours feels like 10 minutes by the time it finishes. This film feels like a murder mystery, thriller as well as a crime genre. It is extremely gripping and captivating, letting us experience many different emotions throughout.

The acting in this film is incredible. Sandra Huller’s performance is ground-breaking, handling meaty dialogue with precision. She had a very difficult character to portray, and really did not shy away from deep connection, playing a mother figure, yet a twisted suspect. Rising star, Milo Machado, showed a tremendous performance, portraying tough emotions and a distinctive character with skill and professionalism. All of the actors in this film had extremely difficult scripting, yet still managed to have clear chemistry and keep a clear distinction between the personalities of their roles.

The cinematography in this film, by Simon Beaufils is stunning, with a huge amount of the film consisting of Alps scenery, beautifully captured. There are wisely put together clips, edited to view as if they were filmed on a camcorder, which really makes the footage feel like this case happened in real life, giving a documentary feel to the film. The colours in this film remain crisp and true to reality, whilst incorporating a cool effect to match the mood of the film.

This film involves personal thinking throughout, as you become a detective alongside the characters in the film. The French style of this film really becomes clear, in the unique choice of withholding information from the audience and progressively revealing more as the court hears it. We have continuous curiosity throughout the film, and although the dialogue is a lot to take in, especially when reading English subtitles, it keeps the brain clocking the whole duration of the film.

This is highly recommended to anyone who wants a really good movie to challenge the brain and keep you  thinking afterwards.

ANATOMY OF A FALL IS  SCREENING AT QUEEN'S FILM THEATRE FROM NOV 10TH - 16TH

SUNLIGHT

This film is a fantastic watch and did not disappoint.
The atmosphere created through the colours, imagery and acting was unexaggerated, yet powerful. The story of this film is well put together and flows nicely, keeping continuous engagement throughout.

Sunlight is an emotional rollercoaster, with light-hearted, comedic moments running across the whole film, whilst also allowing subtle sadness and despair to seep in simultaneously.

The casting for this film was fantastic, with the of individuality of different characters creating interest and backstories to go along with the plot. We really get to know all of the stories and feel strongly for each character, especially towards the end of the film.

The acting from all the cast was very impressive. Barry Ward’s performance was handled so well, considering that the script was not easy. The electric dynamic between Barry, Maureen Beattie and Liam Carney was evident and awe-inspiring with the accents being so true to Dublin.

The emotional development of the three main characters throughout this film is beautiful, and we grow deeper connections with each one as the film progresses. The movie is filmed in present time, using modern technology, yet this fails to take away from the moving atmosphere. The colour grading in this film was surprisingly very simple, and noticeably left quite dry, with an unedited feel to many clips. However I think this choice was a good fit for the film and kept it in a realistic style with the colours remaining true to the eye.

The cinematography of this film was beautiful, especially in the outdoor scenes, with lots of variety in angles and close-ups. In most of the talking scenes the camera was not completely still, which makes us feel included in the moment and part of the conversations. The costumes created for the characters in this film were excellent in distinguishing between class differences and giving more personality to each individual.

All in all, this film is a stirring masterpiece and is highly commended.

SUNLIGHT CAN BE STREAMED ON VARIOUS PLATFORMS NOW