Tag: London

Review: ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It?’ (2023), starring Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabama Azmi and Emma Thompson

June 7, 2023

by Carla Hay

Shazad Latif and Lily James in “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” (Photo by Robert Viglasky/StudioCanal SAS and Shout! Studios)

“What’s Love Got to Do With It?” (2023)

Directed by Shekhar Kapur

Some language in Urdu with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in London and briefly in Pakistan, the romantic comedy/drama film “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” features a white and Pakistani cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A white British documentary filmmaker, who is cynical about love and committed relationships, does a documentary about her close male Pakistani British friend having an arranged marriage, and she struggles with admitting that she might actually want him for herself. 

Culture Audience: “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” will appeal primarily to people who like capably acted romantic movies where friends could turn into lovers.

Pictured from left to right: Pazika Baig, Mim Shaikj, Iman Boujelouah, Shabana Azmi, Shazad Latif and Jeff Mirza in “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” (Photo by Robert Viglasky/ StudioCanal SAS and Shout! Studios)

“What’s Love Got to Do With It?” gets its title from the hypothetical question about what is really the key to a successful marriage. Are compatibility and respect more important than love, in order for a marital union to last? This romantic comedy/drama follows a very predictable formula, but the engaging lead performances by Lily James and Shazad Latif make the movie watchable. It’s a rare Western-studio film that explores the South Asian culture of arranged marriages.

Directed by Shekhar Kapur and written by Jemima Khan, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” (which takes place in London and briefly in Pakistan) is a mixed bag of a film that has dialogue that is sometimes witty, sometimes cringeworthy. The movie’s perspective of contrasting cultures keeps everything from sinking into forgettable blandness. Within the first 15 minutes of the film, it’s all very easy to predict how it will end.

In the meantime, most of the characters have enough appeal to be interesting but not enough uniqueness to be outstanding. A movie about two longtime best friends who could end up being lovers usually makes these two would-be lovers have opposite personalities. That’s certainly the case with documentarian Zoe Stephenson (played by James) and her longtime best friend Kazim “Kaz” Khan (played by Latif), who is a medical doctor.

Zoe and Kaz have known each other ever since their childhoods, when Zoe’s family (who are native Brits) and Kaz’s family (who are mostly Pakistani immigrants) used to be neighbors. Kaz is 32, and Zoe is about the same age. Zoe is impulsive, sometimes tactless, and has a messy love life. Kaz likes to plan ahead, is very diplomatic, and usually has stable relationships with the women he dates.

Zoe’s parents got divorced when Zoe was a child because her father left the family to be with a younger woman. Zoe’s mother Cath Stevenson (played by Emma Thompson) is still bitter about it. And although Zoe doesn’t really like to admit it, Zoe has also been negatively affected by the divorce, because she doesn’t think having a loving and committed relationship is going to happen to her.

Zoe is very close to her sister Helena (played by Alice Orr-Ewing), who is not as cynical about love and commitment as Zoe is. Helena and her husband Harry (played by Peter Sandys-Clarke) have two children together: Lily (played by Grace Askew) and Maud (played by Lolly Askew), who are about 7 to 9 years old. Zoe sometimes babysits her nieces, whom she adores. The movie uses a narrative technique of Zoe telling fairytales to Maud and Lily. The fairytales are really based on what Zoe is currently going through in her love life.

Kaz has two happily married siblings. His brother Farooq Khan (played by Mim Shaikh) is in an arranged marriage to Yasmin Khan (played by Iman Boujelouah), who is also of Pakistani heritage. Kaz’s sister Jamila (played by Mariam Haque) is married to a white Brit named David (played by Michael Marcus) in a non-arranged marriage. The parents of Kaz are well-meaning but domineering Zahid Khan (played by Jeff Mirza) and Aisha Khan (played by Shabana Azmi), who are also in an arranged marriage. Zahid’s mother Nani Jan Khan (played by Pakiza Baig) lives with Zahid and Aisha.

The Khan family is very close to each other, for the most part. The biggest rift in the family is that Zahid and Aisha do not approve of Jamila being married to someone who isn’t Muslim. Zahid and Aisha are also upset because Jamila did not take their advice to have an arranged marriage. As a result, Jamila has become estranged from the rest of the family.

The beginning of “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” shows the Khan family at a traditional Pakistani wedding, with Zoe and Cath also in attendance. At the moment, Zoe is feeling lovelorn because she hasn’t had any luck finding true love. She tells Kaz that at this point in her life, she’d be happy to settle for someone she likes instead of a grand love affair: “Someone I could commit to watching a whole TV series would be nice.”

And then, Kaz surprises Zoe with the news that he’s agreed to his parents’ wishes to get an arranged marriage to someone whom he hasn’t met yet. Kaz doesn’t like to call it an “arranged marriage.” He prefers to call it an “assisted marriage.” Zoe isn’t happy about this news because she thinks it’s a big mistake for Kaz to be in this type of marriage. She says out loud to him that she thought he had more independence to make his own decisions on whom to marry.

Shortly after getting this news, Zoe has a meeting with two movie producers named Olly (played by Alexander Own) and Sam (played by Ben Ashenden), two fast-talking filmmakers who have a “film bros” attitude tinged with sexism. Olly and Sam tell Zoe that they’re not moving forward with her pitch to do a documentary about honor killings. Sam and Olly think the subject matter is too depressing and not something that they think a woman filmmaker should do.

Zoe is desperate to get financing for her next project, so she impulsively tells Olly and Sam that her next documentary will be about arranged marriages, with her friend Kaz as the main subject. She also spontaneously thinks of the documentary’s title: “Love Contractually,” in a cheeky nod to the title of the 2003 romantic dramedy “Love Actually.” Olly and Sam like this idea and give the go-ahead to Zoe to do the movie.

Zoe lies and says that Kaz and his family have agreed to be in the documentary. Luckily for her, she quickly persuades Kaz and his family to do the documentary by promising them that she will be respectful of their Pakistani and Muslim customs. Kaz is reluctant at first, but he changes his mind when Zoe convinces him that she will make everyone look good. And as soon as she makes this promise, you just know that something will go very wrong.

“What’s Love Got to Do With It?” then goes back and forth between showing Zoe working on the documentary and trying unsuccessfully to find her next boyfriend. Cath, who has a dog named Barney, asks Zoe to take Barney to a veterinarian named James (played by Oliver Chris), a nice guy who just happens to be an eligible bachelor. It’s all a matchmaking setup from Cath. Zoe resists it at first, but she eventually agrees to date James out of sheer loneliness and desperation.

Meanwhile, Zoe gets more irritable as Kaz’s wedding date gets closer. Kaz’s bride-to-be is a 22-year-old aspiring human rights attorney named Maymouna (played by Sajal Ali), who is seemingly quiet and reserved. Kaz and Maymouna like each other, even though their conversations are awkward, as they get to know each other better. Kaz doesn’t quite understand why Zoe isn’t very happy that he’s getting married. You know where this is all going, of course.

To the movie’s credit, “What’s Love Got to Do With It” doesn’t portray the principal characters as ideal human beings. Zoe is not a perfectly likeable heroine. She’s got some big flaws, including having horrible judgment when it comes to dating, as well as a tendency to let her pride get in the way of being honest about her feelings.

Zoe’s mother Cath can be very prickly and difficult. Cath also has a racist side, such as in a scene where Cath privately tells Zoe that Cath is amazed that Kaz’s Pakistani family is sophisticated because the family is Pakistani. As for Kaz, his main personality flaws are his stubbornness and his reluctance to admit to his mistakes. Kaz’s tendency to be a people pleaser sometimes leads him to be deceptive in ways that can hurt people, including himself.

“What’s Love Got to Do With It?” doesn’t clutter up the movie with too many characters, but parts of the film lack focus, such as when it goes off on a tangent by showing some of the things going on in the marriage of Helena and Harry. Asim Chaudhry has a brief but hilarious supporting role as Mohammad “Mo” Bagri, a London-based matchmaker whose specialty is matchmaking for people of South Asian heritage. He has a company called Mohammad Bagri’s Matrimonial Bureau that is featured in Zoe’s documentary, because the Khan family is a client.

Although some of the characters occasionally come close to being caricatures, the principal characters (the Kaz’s family and Zoe’s family) all retain realistic qualities. “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” benefits from having a talented cast that can portray these characters with a certain level of believability. James and Latif have good-enough chemistry, but it’s not great. Thompson, as Zoe’s mother Cath, is always a delight to watch, even when she’s portraying a character who says and does off-putting things.

What isn’t as believable is some of the inevitable, contrived mush that gets crammed into the latter part of the movie, in order to deliver the resolutions that most audiences expect for this type of romantic film. “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” shows flashes of clever satire, such as in how Olly and Sam represent the smarmy side of the film industry. But in the end, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” succumbs to conventionality. Considering the subject matter, it’s not a surprise, but it’s handled capably enough for it to deliver some genuinely funny scenes amid the romantic fluff.

Shout! Studios released “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” in select U.S. cinemas on May 5, 2023. The movie was released on digital and VOD on May 26, 2023.

Review: ‘Polite Society,’ starring Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya

April 28, 2023

by Carla Hay

Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya in “Polite Society” (Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh/Focus Features)

“Polite Society”

Directed by Nida Manzoor

Culture Representation: Taking place in London, the comedy film “Polite Society” features a racially diverse cast of characters (South Asian, white and a few black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A teenage girl, who wants to become a stunt performer, tries to stop her older sister from getting married to a smooth-talking, wealthy man, who wants the couple to move to Singapore after the wedding. 

Culture Audience: “Polite Society” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching female-empowerment comedies, told from a multicultural perspective.

Nimra Bucha stars as Raheela and Priya Kansara in “Polite Society” (Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh/Focus Features)

“Polite Society” has fun with its absurdist take on action films. It makes clever commentary about modern feminism and how aspirational culture affects people. Nida Manzoor has sharp writing and directing in this well-cast movie with great comedic timing. It’s an impressive feature-film debut for Manzoor, who has TV directing credits for “Doctor Who” and “We Are Parts.” “Polite Society” had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

In “Polite Society” (which takes place in London), two intelligent sisters named Ria Khan (played by Priya Kansara) and Lena Khan (played by Ritu Arya) are feeling frustrated with their lives for different reasons. Ria, who’s about 16 years old, wants to be a stunt performer and is taking martial arts classes in preparation. Ria believes in herself when pursuing this goal, even though most people around her think that this goal in unattainable for her. Lena, who’s in her early-to-mid 20s, is enrolled in art school in the very beginning of the film, but she drops out of school because she doesn’t believe that she has the talent to become a successful artist.

Ria is very upset that Lena has dropped out of school because she thinks that Lena is a talented artist but just gave up too easily. Lena moves back into the family home and mopes around while she contemplates what she might want to do with her life. The parents of Ria and Lena are immigrants from Pakistan. Based on the language accents of the Khan family members, it’s implied that Ria and Lena were either born in the United Kingdom or have been raised in the United Kingdom from a very young age.

Ria and Lena live and experience British and Pakistani cultures. Even though Lena has dropped out of school and is unemployed, her traditional Pakistani parents aren’t as worried about Lena as they are about Ria. That’s because Lena’s accountant father Rafe (played by Jeff Mirza) and homemaker mother Fatima (played Shobu Kapoor) think that Lena can redeem herself by finding a husband, preferably someone who is affluent. Rafe and Fatima think Ria’s interest in being a stunt performer is an unrealistic dream and not very feminine.

Ria attends an elite private school, where her two best friends are classmates: feisty Clara (played by Seraphina Beh) and mild-mannered Alba (played by Ella Bruccoleri), who are the only people in Ria’s life who encourage Ria to pursue her goals of being a stunt performer. Ria also makes amateur stunt videos that she puts on social media. Lena sometimes does camera work for these videos.

One of Ria’s goals is to do an internship with Eunice Huthart, a longtime stunt performer/coordinator who has worked on several superhero films and other action flicks. “Polite Society” includes voiceover narration from Ria, including Ria reading aloud the fan mail that she sends to Eunice. You know where this part of the story is going, of course.

Early on in the movie, Ria’s mother scolds Ria by saying, “Do you think your father sends you to that school to be a stunt woman?” At Ria’s school, there’s a guidance counselor session where students are assigned internships, according to what a counselor decides would be the best career direction for each student. It’s something that should be discussed privately, but these evaluations are done in front of the entire classroom.

When it’s Ria’s turn to get her assignment, she tells the counselor Ms. Spence (played by Jenny Funnell) that she wants to be a stunt performer. Ms. Spence is dismissive of that career goal, because she thinks being a stunt performer isn’t a real job for women or even a real job in acting. Ms. Spence assigns Ria to be an intern to a medical doctor, even though Ria tells her she has no interest in this line of work. There are some racial undertones to this assignment because of the stereotype that children of Pakistani immigrants want to work in careers involving science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

A loudmouth bully named Kovacs (played by Shona Babayemi), who is a female classmate, predictably taunts Ria about Ria’s desire to be a stunt performer. Ria retorts by loudly reminding the class that Kovacs’ father was in prison for financial fraud. At one point in the movie, Ria and Kovacs get in a physical fight in a school library. It won’t be revealed who wins this fight, but it’s enough to say that the fight confirms to Ria that she shouldn’t give up on her goal to be a stunt performer.

Meanwhile, Fatima is seen having lunch with a small group of high-society Pakistani immigrant women. The “queen bee” of this group is wealthy widow Raheela Shah (played by Nimra Bucha), who loves to brag about her eligible bachelor son Salim Shah (played by Akshay Khanna), a doctor whose specialty is in genetics. Fatima comes from a lower-income household than those of the other women, and she somewhat desperately wants to fit in this group.

And now that Lena has a lot of time on her hands, Fatima thinks it would be a good idea to play matchmaker for Lena. It just so happens that Raheela has invited the Khan family to a party at her mansion. Salim (who is in his late 20s or early 30s) is at the party, and he’s surrounded by adoring women, who all look like they want to date him. However, Raheela has been telling all of her lady friends that Salim is very picky and rejects almost all the women whom Raheela introduces to him.

As soon as Lena arrives at the party and isn’t one of the women fawning over Salim, you just know he’s going to take an interest in her. Lena and Salim begin talking. When he asks her what she’s doing with her life, Salim seems impressed by Lena’s honesty when she tells him, “What do I do? I disappoint my parents.” And when Lena says that she’s taking some time to figure out what she wants to do with her life, Salim tells her: “I think it’s great that you’re allowing yourself to be working it out.”

Meanwhile, Ria doesn’t have a very good impression of Salim. At the party, Ria tells an acquaintaince named Jezah (played by Tia Dutt), who’s close to Ria’s age, what she thinks about Salim as soon as she sees him: “What a prick.” Jezah openly swoons about how handsome and rich Salim is and says to Ria: “I hear he’s quite nice.” Ria says in sarcastic response: “Biscuits are nice.”

Ria is bored at this party, so she goes wandering around the mansion. And she makes a discovery that further raises her suspicions: In a study room, she finds a desk with several individual photos of women on it. Lena is one of the women in these photos. It looks like someone is planning which women could possibly date Salim. This type of planned matchmaking is very common in South Asian cultures, but Ria thinks it’s offensive.

It’s already revealed in the trailer for “Polite Society” that Lena and Salim get engaged. It’s a whirlwind courtship where Salim proposed to Lena after they were dating for only one month. Ria, who vehemently disapproves of this relationship, gets even more upset when she finds out that Lena and Salim plan to move to Singapore after the wedding. Ria also thinks it’s alarming that Salim is a “mama’s boy” who seems overly attached to his mother.

The rest of “Polite Society” is about Ria’s schemes to stop the wedding by any means necessary. She enlists the help of Clara and Alba. And the three pals also get some assistance from an unlikely person. There’s a lot of slapstick comedy in “Polite Society” but also some emotional moments about family relationships.

“Polite Society” takes a satirical look at the lengths that some people might go to climb up a social ladder or to stroke their own egos. The movie is filled with examples of how several people want to be accepted by those who are rich and powerful, while those who are rich and powerful often want to make other people feel inferior. In the beginning of the movie, Lena likes to think of herself as bohemian and edgy, but even she gets caught up in the idea of being a pampered trophy wife who is the opposite of bohemian and edgy.

Even with all the jokes and over-the-top action scenes, “Polite Society” also depicts examples of how women and girls can be “gaslighted” into thinking that they’re “crazy” for pursuing certain goals or for trusting their gut instincts. Although much of the plot is about Ria trying to stop Lena from getting married, the movie isn’t anti-marriage. It’s against the idea that people, especially women, have to give up who they are, in order to fit into someone else’s idea of what a “perfect spouse” should be.

One of the reasons why “Polite Society” is so entertaining to watch is because of the believable chemistry between the cast members. Kansara and Arya are especially convincing as sisters who have a volatile relationship that still has a lot of love. Bucha has some standout moments as Raheela, who becomes Ria’s biggest nemesis in the story.

“Polite Society” doesn’t present Ria as always being correct. It would be very easy to portray Ria as a crusading feminist who has all the answers, but the movie doesn’t make that lazy mistake. Ria is realistically presented as a flawed human being. Ria can get obnoxious in trying to prove her point, because one of Ria’s flaws is that she thinks she is always right. And it causes an even bigger rift between Ria and Lena.

In the last third of “Polite Society,” there’s a plot development that some viewers might not like because they’ll think the movie is taking a sharp turn into science fiction. However, there are clear indications throughout the movie that this story is a heightened version of reality. It’s not easy to balance wacky comedy with serious commentary about how women and girls are constantly being dictated to about how they should look or act when living their lives. “Polite Society” handles this balance as skillfully as an agile stunt performer.

Ria makes some comments in the movie that are criticisms of patriarchy, but “Polite Society” is not a feminist film that’s about bashing men. It’s a movie that encourages tolerance for women’s choices in life. Some of those choices might be mistakes, but people should be given an opportunity to learn from those mistakes.

Ria has to learn that her way of approaching life might not work for other people. Ria’s first impulse is to “rescue” her sister Lena from a life that Ria thinks will make Lena unhappy, but does Lena really need Ria to tell Lena what should make Lena happy? These types of meaningful observations make “Polite Society” better than the average female-oriented action comedies, which often depict feminism as shallow scenarios instead of experiences that truly embody female empowerment.

Focus Features released “Polite Society” in U.S. cinemas on April 28, 2023.

Review: ‘Rye Lane,’ starring David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah

April 2, 2023

by Carla Hay

David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah in “Rye Lane” (Photo by Chris Harris/Searchlight Pictures/Hulu)

“Rye Lane”

Directed by Raine Allen-Miller

Culture Representation: Taking place in London, the comedy film “Rye Lane” features a cast of white and black characters (with a few Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A man and a woman in their 20s, who have opposite personalities and have had recent romantic breakups with other people, meet by chance in a public restroom and start a banter-filled relationship that could turn into more than a friendship. 

Culture Audience: “Rye Lane” will appeal primarily to fans of quick-paced romantic comedies that skillfully blend realistic and fantastical elements.

David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah in “Rye Lane” (Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures/Hulu)

“Rye Lane” takes the usual romantic comedy formula, gives it a witty spin, and drenches it in Great Britain’s vibrant South London culture. Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson give winning performances in this funny and endearing movie. “Rye Lane” is the type of romantic comedy that could charm viewers who don’t like most romantic comedies, as long as viewers who understand the English language are willing to tolerate the heavy London accents in the movie.

Directed by Raine Allen-Miller, “Rye Lane” (her feature-film directorial debut) brings a dynamic visual aesthetic that is very reminiscent of hip-hop videos of the mid-to-late 1990s: bright hues, fish-eye lens camera shots, and fantasy sequences interspersed with the main characters’ “reality.” (Olan Collardy is the cinematographer for “Rye Lane.”) This visual flair greatly complements the appealing “Rye Lane” screenplay, which was written by Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia. “Rye Lane” had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

“Rye Lane” (which takes place entirely in South London) begins with overhead views of the camera looking down at various people in toilet stalls in a unisex public restroom at a trendy art exhibit. One of the people in the stalls is a mild-mannered accountant in his mid-20s named Dom (played by Jonsson), who is privately weeping over a breakup he had three months ago with a girlfriend he had dated for six years. An outspoken woman, who’s about the same age as Dom, enters the toilet stall next to his stall during his heartbroken sobbing.

Her name is Yas (played by Oparah), which is short for Yasmin. Dom doesn’t know it yet, but Yas will soon become a part of his life. Yas notices that Dom is crying and tells him that she can hear him. A startled Dom says that Yas is in the men’s room, but Yas corrects him and says that the restroom is actually unisex. Yas peeks underneath the stall and sees the lower half of what Dom is wearing. An embarrassed Dom quickly leaves the restroom.

The art exhibit is for Dom’s friend Nathan Armstrong (played by Simon Manyonda), an avant-garde photographer whose current specialty is taking close-up photos of people’s body parts. For this particular exhibit, the photos are close-ups of people’s open mouths. It’s an interesting metaphor for this dialogue-driven movie, where the two protagonists get to know each other through snappy conversations that later turn into heartfelt revelations.

Dom is obviously still reeling from the breakup. He gets upset with Nathan when he finds out that Nathan had brunch at the home that Dom used to share with Dom’s ex-girlfriend Gia (played by Karene Peter). Dom later mentions that he and Nathan have been friends since they were teenagers. They also used to work together at Kentucky Fried Chicken. At this event, Nathan is hyper and more concerned about what people think about his art exhibit than whatever breakup blues that Dom is experiencing.

It doesn’t take long for Yas to find Dom in this exhibit space. She strikes up a conversation with him. Dom explains why he was crying in the restroom. Yas says she broke up with her most recent boyfriend Jules, also known as Julian (played by Malcolm Atobrah), about a month ago, because he cheated on her with his life coach Tabby (played by Alice Hewkin).

It turns out that Dom’s relationship with his ex-girlfriend Gia also ended because of infidelity. Dom tells Yas that he caught Gia cheating on him with his best friend Eric (played by Benjamin Sarpong-Broni). Dom found out that Eric and Gia were lovers during a video chat with Gia, when he saw a naked Eric in the background of the apartment where Dom and Gia lived. There’s a little more to the story about how Dom found out about this betrayal, but those are comedy details that won’t be revealed in this review.

In Dom’s first version of this breakup story, he tells Yas that after he found out about the cheating, he immediately stormed over to the apartment and gave Eric a beatdown. This scenario is shown in the movie. But then, Dom quickly admits that this version isn’t the truth. In reality, when Dom found out about this infidelity, he went to see a movie by himself and cried in the theater.

“Rye Lane” has several scenes where the characters tell their versions of the truth or express fantasies that come alive on screen. Dom and Yas continue their conversation after leaving the exhibit. She wants him to tell her about his life: “I’m interested in people who have messes,” Yas says. “Everyone has a mess.”

Dom says that, believe it or not, he always wanted to be an accountant. By contrast, his friends wanted to get rich and famous as “footballers or YouTube sensations.” He currently lives rent-free with his parents. Dom’s father (played by Andrew Francis) wanted Dom to be more athletic. Dom’s mother (played by Sandra Daley) is overprotective and pampers him by bringing meals to him in bedroom. His mother has fixation on making hard-boiled eggs.

Yas does not reveal much about her background, except to say that when she was a child, she wanted to be like Prince during his “Purple Rain” era. Yas tells Dom that she’s currently a fashion buyer for “an online brand you’ve never heard of,” and her dream is to become a costume designer. “I’ll get there eventually,” she says with wistfulness. Yas has a supportive best friend Cass (played by Poppy Allen-Quarmby), who makes only a few brief appearances in the movie,

During the conversations between Yas and Dom, it’s obvious that they have different personalities. Yas is bold, brash and fast-talking. Dom is a little timid, more hesitant about himself, and he thinks more carefully about how his words can affect someone’s feelings. Yas says she’s ready to move on from her recent breakup, while Dom isn’t so ready to get over his breakup.

Dom believes he’ll able to get closure by accepting an invitation to meet with Gia and Eric (who are now a couple) for dinner at the same restaurant where Dom and Gia used to go on romantic dates. Dom mentions the name of the restaurant to Yas. Yas gives her unsolicited opinion that Dom will be “rolling over like a bitch” if he has this meeting.

Still, Yas offers to be Dom’s date to help him get through this meeting. He politely declines the offer, and she seems slightly hurt by this rejection. When Dom reaches out to shake her hand and say goodbye, Yas flippantly tells Dom: “Good luck not having an extraordinary life.”

But since “Rye Lane” is a romantic comedy, Dom hasn’t seen the last of Yas. Shortly after this awkward dinner meeting begins, Yas suddenly shows up at the restaurant, sits down next to Dom, and pretends that she’s his new lover. And she doesn’t hold back on her sassiness and brutally honest opinions. It’s the beginning of an emotional roller coaster for Dom and Yas.

As good as the writing and direction are for “Rye Lane,” much of the movie’s liveliness comes from the believable chemistry between Jonsson and Oparah. It’s a case of “opposites attract” for Dom and Yas, but in a relatable way that will make viewers want to root for Yas and Dom to become a couple. “Rye Lane” also pokes some fun at working-class people who are social climbers and put on pretentious airs—as exemplified by Nathan and Jules, who makes very tacky art decorations and consider himself to be a high-end artist. Yas met Nathan because Nathan and Jules know each other, which is why Yas was invited to Nathan’s art exhibit, where she met Dom.

There’s a very contrived plot development of Yas and Dom trying to gain access to Jules’ home when he’s not there, because she wants to retrieve her vinyl album of A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Low End Theory” that she accidentally left behind in the breakup. The expected hijinks ensue, but “Rye Lane” still has some unexpected surprises. One of these surprises (that has no bearing on the plot) is an uncredited cameo by Colin Firth, as a food server named Colin at a Latino fast-food place called “Love Gua’ctually,” which is “Rye Lane’s” cheeky nod to Firth’s 2003 romantic comedy/drama “Love Actually” and the guacamole served at this fast-food place. Like all entertaining romantic comedies that resonate with audiences, “Rye Lane” has plenty of amusing moments but also shows the beauty of what happens when people open up and show their true selves when falling in love.

Hulu premiered “Rye Lane” on March 31, 2023. Searchlight Pictures released the move in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2023.

Review: ‘My Happy Ending,’ starring Andie MacDowell, Miriam Margolyes, Sally Phillips, Rakhee Thakrar, Tom Cullen, Michelle Greenidge and Tamsin Greig

March 11, 2023

by Carla Hay

Tamsin Greig and Andie MacDowell in “My Happy Ending” (Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions)

“My Happy Ending”

Directed by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon

Culture Representation: Taking place mainly in London, the comedy/drama film “My Happy Ending” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people and people of South Asian heritage) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: While in London to work in a West End play that flops, a famous American actress reluctantly gets treatment for Stage 4 colon cancer at in a public hospital, where she makes unexpected friends with three other female cancer patients. 

Culture Audience: “My Happy Ending” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Andie MacDowell and movies that have simple-minded depictions of cancer treatment.

Sally Phillips, Andie MacDowell, Miriam Margolyes and Rakhee Thakrar in “My Happy Ending” (Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions)

“My Happy Ending” is anything but joyful. The only happy ending that viewers might get from watching this poorly made and fake-looking cancer comedy/drama is when this boring train wreck is finally over. Tamsin Greig gives the movie’s only adequate performance. Everyone else’s acting falls flat.

Directed by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon, “My Happy Ending” is based on the play “Sof Tov,” written by Anat Gov. Rona Tamir wrote the shoddy adapted screenplay for “My Happy Ending.” Most of the movie takes place in the section of a London hospital where cancer patients are being treated. Anyone who endures the entirety of this dreadful film will have to sit through tiresome scenes that either show people complaining about something, gossiping about other people, or having fantasies about being in an exotic place.

Almost nothing about this movie looks authentic, including the fact that the story’s protagonist has Stage 4 colon cancer, but she never looks like she’s sick or in pain. Cancer just seems to be used as a cheap gimmick to get laughs from listless and unfunny dialogue posing as “jokes.” Cancer is a tricky subject to cover for entertainment. “My Happy Ending” fails miserably on every single level.

The improbably healthy-looking Stage 4 cancer patient who’s at the center of “My Happy Ending” is a famous American actress named Julia Roth (played by Andie MacDowell), who spends much of the movie whining that she doesn’t want to be at this hospital that isn’t private enough for her. Considering all the hospitals that exist in England, viewers will constantly be thinking this solution to Julia’s hospital problem: “Why don’t you just leave?” It’s the same question that viewers might be thinking if they’re stuck watching this movie somewhere and are debating whether or not to keep watching this mopey garbage.

The movie has this flimsy excuse for why Julia doesn’t leave the hospital that she’s constantly griping about: Her main physician Dr. Fletcher (who is never seen or heard in the movie), who is in the United States, recommended her to Dr. Ben Hanson (played by Tom Cullen), who only works at this particular hospital. Someone should have told Julia: “Haven’t you heard of getting another doctor’s opinion?”

Julia also reveals about halfway through the movie that she only recently found out that she has cancer, and she doesn’t know what Stage 4 cancer means. It means she needs to get a better doctor. And it means this movie needed a better screenplay.

These are just a few of many reasons why “My Happy Ending” falls off the rails over and over again in pathetic attempts to be a “female empowerment” film. Most of the scenes with the female cancer patients together show that the women are too gossipy and too catty to become real friends. Julia is uncomfortable because she’s put in an infusion therapy room with three other female patients who immediately recognize her. Julia throws a little bit of a diva tantrum, because she was promised her own private room for the infusion treatments, but she’s told by a no-nonsense nurse named Emilia (played by Michelle Greenidge) that Julia has no choice but to be in this shared room with other patients.

What is Julia doing in London? She recently starred in a West End play that flopped. (The play opened and closed during the same week.) Even though Julia is famous, her career peaked years ago. She blames her “has-been” status on sexism and ageism against women who are over the age of 50. It’s probably the only complaint that Julia makes that sounds believable and grounded in reality.

Julia has only told a few people she has cancer. Members of her immediate family do not know yet. Julia is also very paranoid that the media will find out about her cancer. Julia tries to hide in a section of the room that has a thin fabric partition, similar to a shower curtain, but it’s a futile attempt to get some privacy, because three nosy women in the room can still hear Julia talking on the phone and talking to hospital employees.

The three other cancer patients in the room are star-struck that celebrity Julia is in their midst while also envious that Julia still has a full head of hair. Middle-aged Mikey (played by Sally Phillips) is an intrusive busybody and a single mother who regrets being a neglectful parent when she was younger. Elderly cynic Miriam (played by Miriam Margolyes) is a Holocaust survivor who says she was born in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Young married mother Imaan (played by Rakhee Thakrar) is the quietest and most mild-mannered of these three women. It turns out that Mikey is a big fan of Julia and is kind of obsessed with her, which makes Mikey look creepy and weird.

Julia has a very hyper and snobby manager named Nancy (played by Greig), who is openly a lesbian and just so happens to be the sister of Julia’s ex-husband. (The ex-husband is never seen or heard in the movie.) Even though that marriage failed, the friendship of Nancy and Julia survived the divorce. Nancy is Julia’s closest friend, which is a sign that Julia is a lonely person if her closest friend is also her manager. Nancy, who is an ambitious schemer, is the only person in Julia’s inner circle who knows about Julia’s cancer.

Julia has a daughter in her 20s named Cassidy (played by Lily Travers), who is getting married in an upcoming wedding. Julia frets about what Julia will look like when she’s at the wedding. “My Happy Ending” has a scene where Julia reacts in horror when she imagines being at Cassidy’s wedding in a wheelchair and with no hair. Instead of worrying about how glamorous she wants to look at her daughter’s wedding, Julia should be more worried about living long enough to be at the wedding.

The first third of the movie is about Julia not being able to make up her mind if she wants to be friends with “common folks” like Mikey, Miriam and Imaan. They aren’t exactly welcoming to Julia either at first. Julia has to listen to these three (especially loudmouth Mikey) constantly make reaction comments as they eavesdrop on conversations that Julia has with Nancy or hospital employees. It’s just a “mean girls” scenario that is neither amusing nor interesting.

Julia asks Nancy to find her another hospital, but there are vague and weak excuses made that the nearest hospital that could treat Julia is just too far away. Meanwhile, the movie has a lot of time-wasting scenes of Julia clashing with Dr. Hanson, as if he’s the only person who could possibly be her doctor. The movie also drags on and on in stretching out the subplot of Julia deciding whether or not she will get chemotherapy.

Eventually (as shown in the “My Happy Ending” trailer), Julia decides that these three other cancer patients in the infusion room are worth getting to know. The movie then goes off on a very corny tangent where Mikey confides in Julia that they all have group fantasies together to take their minds off of their cancer issues. Mikey invites Julia to join in on their group fantasies, which range from frolicking in a forest to eating sumptuous banquets in open fields to having rave parties on exotic beaches.

There is so much that looks awkward and phony in “My Happy Ending,” including MacDowell’s very stiff acting. It’s a disappointment, because MacDowell is capable of doing much better, but there’s only so much she can do with a terrible screenplay and misguided direction. When she grits her teeth in the movie, it’s probably not because her Julia character is uncomfortable. It’s probably because MacDowell knows that she signed up to be in a bad movie.

British comedian David Walliams has a cameo as a hair stylist named Joey, who stops by the infusion room to bring Mikey some wigs to choose from, since Mikey is bald because of chemotherapy. And what a coincidence: Joey worked with Julia years ago on a movie adaptation of a Jane Austen novel. He’s surprised to see Julia in this hospital room for cancer patients, so Julia lies and tells Joey that she’s doing “research” for a movie role. Walliams’ cameo is so inconsequential, it just reeks of the “My Happy Ending” filmmakers thinking, “Oh, look, we’ve got David Walliams in our movie. Let’s not bother to have a good role for him. Stunt casting is enough.”

That’s not the only thing that reeks in “My Happy Ending.” This entire movie reeks of glib insincerity. Even though Julia wallows in a lot of self-pity about having Stage 4 cancer, the movie never actually shows her going through any real physical suffering that a Stage 4 cancer patient would experience. It’s such a fraudulent way of making a cancer film, it will surely offend people who’ve had cancer experiences in real life. “My Happy Ending” actually has a horrible ending that’s proof the filmmakers made the tacky decision to use cancer in an exploitative way, in order to get people interested in this awful movie.

Roadside Attractions released “My Happy Ending” in select U.S. cinemas on February 24, 2023.

2023 BAFTA Awards: ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is the top winner

February 19, 2023

Felix Kammermer in “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Photo by Reiner Bajo/Netflix)

With seven awards, including Best Film, Netflix’s World War I drama “All Quiet on the Western Front” was the top winner for the 76th annual BAFTA Film Awards, which were presented at London’s Royal Festival Hall on February 19, 2023. The ceremony (hosted by Richard E. Grant and Alison Hammond) was televised in the United Kingdom on BBC and in the U.S. on BBC America. Eligible films were those released in the United Kingdom in 2022. With 14 nominations going into the ceremony, German-language “All Quiet on the Western Front” made BAFTA history as the non-English-language movie with the most BAFTA nominations. The BAFTA Film Awards are nominated and voted for by the British Academy of Film and Television.

In addition to winning Best Film, “All Quiet on the Western Front” won the BAFTAs for Best Director (for Edward Berger), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Not in the English Language. Also winning multiple BAFTA Film Awards was Searchlght Pictures’ Irish comedy/drama “The Banshees of Inisherin” and Warner Bros. Pictures’ Elvis Presley biopic “Elvis,” which won four prizes each. “The Banshees of Inisherin” won Best British Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (for Barry Keoghan), and Best Supporting Actress (for Kerry Condon). “Elvis” took the prizes for Best Leading Actor (for Austin Butler), Best Casting, Best Costume Design, and Best Make Up and Hair. Cate Blanchett of “TÁR” won the prize for Best Leading Actress. Costume designer Sandy Powell was given the Fellowship Award, a non-competitive prize whose recipient is announced before the ceremony takes place.

Here is the complete list of winners and nominations for the 2023 BAFTA Film Awards:

*=winner

Best Film

“All Quiet on the Western Front”*
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
“Elvis”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“TÁR”

Outstanding British Film

“Aftersun”
“The Banshees of Inisherin”*
“Brian and Charles”
“Empire of Light”
“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”
“Living”
“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical”
“See How They Run”
“The Swimmers”
“The Wonder”

Best Director

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Edward Berger*
“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin Mcdonagh
“Decision to Leave” – Park Chan-wook
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
“TÁR” – Todd Field
“The Woman King” – Gina Prince-Bythewood

Best Leading Actor

Austin Butler, “Elvis”*
Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”
Daryl McCormack, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”
Paul Mescal, “Aftersun”
Bill Nighy, “Living”

Best Leading Actress

Cate Blanchett, “TÁR”*
Viola Davis, “The Woman King”
Danielle Deadwyler, “Till”
Ana De Armas, “Blonde”
Emma Thompson, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”
Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Supporting Actor

Brendan Gleeson, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin”*
Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Good Nurse”
Albrecht Schuch, “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Micheal Ward, “Empire of Light”

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
Hong Chau, “The Whale”
Kerry Condon, “The Banshees of Inisherin”*
Dolly De Leon, “Triangle of Sadness”
Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Carey Mulligan, “She Said”

Best Adapted Screenplay

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell*
“Living” – Kazuo Ishiguro
“The Quiet Girl” – Colm Bairéad
“She Said” – Rebecca Lenkiewicz
“The Whale” – Samuel D. Hunter

Best Original Screenplay

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin McDonagh*
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
“The Fabelmans” – Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg
“TÁR” – Todd Field
“Triangle of Sadness” – Ruben Östlund

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

“Aftersun” – Charlotte Wells (Writer/director)*
“Blue Jean” – Georgia Oakley (Writer/director), Hélène Sifre (Producer)
“Electric Malady” – Marie Lidén (Director)
“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” – Katy Brand (Writer)
“Rebellion” – Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sánchez Bellot (Directors)

Original Score

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Volker Bertelmann*
“Babylon” – Justin Hurwitz
“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Carter Burwell
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Son Lux
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” – Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – James Friend*
“The Batman” – Greig Fraser
“Elvis” – Mandy Walker
“Empire of Light” – Roger Deakins
“Top Gun: Maverick” – Claudio Miranda

Film Not in the English Language

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Edward Berger, Malte Grunert*
“Argentina, 1985” – Santiago Mitre, Producer(S) Tbc
“Corsage” – Marie Kreutzer
“Decision to Leave” – Park Chan-wook, Ko Dae-seok
“The Quiet Girl” – Colm Bairéad, Cleona Ní Chrualaoí

Documentary

“All That Breathes” – Shaunak Sen, Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” – Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons
“Fire of Love” – Sara Dosa, Shane Boris, Ina Fichman
“Moonage Daydream” – Brett Morgan
“Navalny” – Daniel Roher, Diane Becker, Shane Boris, Melanie Miller, Odessa Rae*

Animated Film

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” – Guillermo Del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar, Alex Bulkley*
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” – Dean Fleisher Camp, Andrew Goldman, Elisabeth Holm, Caroline Kaplan, Paul Mezey
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” – Joel Crawford, Mark Swift
“Turning Red” – Domee Shi, Lindsey Collins

Casting

“Aftersun” – Lucy Pardee
“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Simone Bär
“Elvis” – Nikki Barrett, Denise Chamian*
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Sarah Halley Finn
“Triangle of Sadness” – Pauline Hansson

Production Design

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Christian M. Goldbeck, Ernestine Hipper
“Babylon” – Florencia Martin, Anthony Carlino*
“The Batman” – James Chinlund, Lee Sandales
“Elvis” – Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Bev Dunn
“Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” – Curt Enderle, Guy Davis

Best Costume Design

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Lisy Christl
“Amsterdam” J.R. Hawbaker, Albert Wolsky
“Babylon” – Mary Zophres
“Elvis” – Catherine Martin*
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” – Jenny Beavan

Best Make Up and Hair

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Heike Merker
“The Batman” – Naomi Donne, Mike Marino, Zoe Tahir
“Elvis” – Jason Baird, Mark Coulier, Louise Coulston, Shane Thomas*
“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical” – Naomi Donne, Barrie Gower, Sharon Martin
“The Whale” – Anne Marie Bradley, Judy Chin, Adrien Morot

Best Editing

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Sven Budelmann
“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Mikkel E. G. Nielsen
“Elvis” – Jonathan Redmond, Matt Villa
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Paul Rogers*
“Top Gun: Maverick” – Eddie Hamilton

Best Sound

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Lars Ginzsel, Frank Kruse, Viktor Prášil, Markus Stemler*
“Avatar: The Way of Water” – Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Julian Howarth, Gary Summers, Gwendoyln Yates Whittle
“Elvis” – Michael Keller, David Lee, Andy Nelson, Wayne Pashley
“TÁR” – Deb Adair, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley, Steve Single, Roland Winke
“Top Gun: Maverick’ – Chris Burdon, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Mark Taylor, Mark Weingarten

Best Visual Effects

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Markus Frank, Kamil Jafar, Viktor Müller, Frank Petzold
“Avatar: The Way of Water” – Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon*
“The Batman” – Russell Earl, Dan Lemmon, Anders Langlands, Dominic Tuohy
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Benjamin Brewer, Ethan Feldbau, Jonathan Kombrinck, Zak Stoltz
“Top Gun: Maverick” – Seth Hill, Scott R. Fisher, Bryan Litson, Ryan Tudhope

British Short Animation

“The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse” – Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy, Cara Speller, Hannah Minghella*
“Middle Watch” – John Stevenson, Aiesha Penwarden, Giles Healy
“Your Mountain Is Waiting” – Hannah Jacobs, Zoe Muslim, Harriet Gillian

British Short Film

“The Ballad of Olive Morris” – Alex Kayode-kay
“Bazigaga” – Jo Ingabire Moys, Stephanie Charmail
“Bus Girl” – Jessica Henwick, Louise Palmkvist Hansen
“A Drifting Up” – Jacob Lee
“An Irish Goodbye” – Tom Berkeley, Ross White*

EE Rising Star Award (public vote)

Aimee Lou Wood
Daryl McCormack
Emma Mackey*
Naomi Ackie
Sheila Atim

2023 BAFTA Film Awards: ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is the top nominee

Jaaury 19, 2023

Felix Kammermer in “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Photo by Reiner Bajo/Netflix)

With 14 nominations, Netflix’s World War I drama “All Quiet on the Western Front” was the top nominee for the 76th annual BAFTA Film Awards, which will be presented at London’s Royal Festival Hall on February 19, 2023. The ceremony will be televised in the United Kingdom on BBC and in the U.S. on BBC America. Eligible films were those released in the United Kingdom in 2022. The German-language “All Quiet on the Western Front” made BAFTA history as the non-English-language movie with the most BAFTA nominations. The BAFTA Film Awards are nominated and voted for by the British Academy of Film and Television.

Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2023 BAFTA Film Awards:

Best Film

“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
“Elvis”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“TÁR”

Outstanding British Film

“Aftersun”
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
“Brian and Charles”
“Empire of Light”
“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”
“Living”
“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical”
“See How They Run”
“The Swimmers”
“The Wonder”

Best Director

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Edward Berger
“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin Mcdonagh
“Decision to Leave” – Park Chan-wook
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
“TÁR” – Todd Field
“The Woman King” – Gina Prince-Bythewood

Best Leading Actor

Austin Butler, “Elvis”
Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”
Daryl McCormack, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”
Paul Mescal, “Aftersun”
Bill Nighy, “Living”

Best Leading Actress

Cate Blanchett, “TÁR”
Viola Davis, “The Woman King”
Danielle Deadwyler, “Till”
Ana De Armas, “Blonde”
Emma Thompson, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”
Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Supporting Actor

Brendan Gleeson, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Good Nurse”
Albrecht Schuch, “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Micheal Ward, “Empire of Light”

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
Hong Chau, “The Whale”
Kerry Condon, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Dolly De Leon, “Triangle of Sadness”
Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Carey Mulligan, “She Said”

Best Adapted Screenplay

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell
“Living” – Kazuo Ishiguro
“The Quiet Girl” – Colm Bairéad
“She Said” – Rebecca Lenkiewicz
“The Whale” – Samuel D. Hunter

Best Original Screenplay

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin McDonagh
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
“The Fabelmans” – Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg
“TÁR” – Todd Field
“Triangle of Sadness” – Ruben Östlund

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

“Aftersun” – Charlotte Wells (Writer/director)
“Blue Jean” – Georgia Oakley (Writer/director), Hélène Sifre (Producer)
“Electric Malady” – Marie Lidén (Director)
“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” – Katy Brand (Writer)
“Rebellion” – Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sánchez Bellot (Directors)

Original Score

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Volker Bertelmann
“Babylon” – Justin Hurwitz
“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Carter Burwell
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Son Lux
“Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” – Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – James Friend
“The Batman” – Greig Fraser
“Elvis” – Mandy Walker
“Empire of Light” – Roger Deakins
“Top Gun: Maverick” – Claudio Miranda

Film Not in the English Language

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Edward Berger, Malte Grunert
“Argentina, 1985” – Santiago Mitre, Producer(S) Tbc
“Corsage” – Marie Kreutzer
“Decision to Leave” – Park Chan-wook, Ko Dae-seok
“The Quiet Girl” – Colm Bairéad, Cleona Ní Chrualaoí

Documentary

“All That Breathes” – Shaunak Sen, Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” – Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons
“Fire of Love” – Sara Dosa, Shane Boris, Ina Fichman
“Moonage Daydream” – Brett Morgan
“Navalny” – Daniel Roher, Diane Becker, Shane Boris, Melanie Miller, Odessa Rae

Animated Film

“Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” – Guillermo Del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar, Alex Bulkley
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” – Dean Fleisher Camp, Andrew Goldman, Elisabeth Holm, Caroline Kaplan, Paul Mezey
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” – Joel Crawford, Mark Swift
“Turning Red” – Domee Shi, Lindsey Collins

Casting

“Aftersun” – Lucy Pardee
“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Simone Bär
“Elvis” – Nikki Barrett, Denise Chamian
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Sarah Halley Finn
“Triangle of Sadness” – Pauline Hansson

Production Design

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Christian M. Goldbeck, Ernestine Hipper
“Babylon” – Florencia Martin, Anthony Carlino
“The Batman” – James Chinlund, Lee Sandales
“Elvis” – Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Bev Dunn
“Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” – Curt Enderle, Guy Davis

Best Costume Design

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Lisy Christl
“Amsterdam” J.R. Hawbaker, Albert Wolsky
“Babylon” – Mary Zophres
“Elvis” – Catherine Martin
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” – Jenny Beavan

Best Make Up and Hair

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Heike Merker
“The Batman” – Naomi Donne, Mike Marino, Zoe Tahir
“Elvis” – Jason Baird, Mark Coulier, Louise Coulston, Shane Thomas
“Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical” – Naomi Donne, Barrie Gower, Sharon Martin
“The Whale” – Anne Marie Bradley, Judy Chin, Adrien Morot

Best Editing

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Sven Budelmann
“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Mikkel E. G. Nielsen
“Elvis” – Jonathan Redmond, Matt Villa
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Paul Rogers
“Top Gun: Maverick” – Eddie Hamilton

Best Sound

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Lars Ginzsel, Frank Kruse, Viktor Prášil, Markus Stemler
“Avatar: The Way of Water” – Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Julian Howarth, Gary Summers, Gwendoyln Yates Whittle
“Elvis” – Michael Keller, David Lee, Andy Nelson, Wayne Pashley
“TÁR” – Deb Adair, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley, Steve Single, Roland Winke
“Top Gun: Maverick’ – Chris Burdon, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Mark Taylor, Mark Weingarten

Best Visual Effects

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – Markus Frank, Kamil Jafar, Viktor Müller, Frank Petzold
“Avatar: The Way of Water” – Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon
“The Batman” – Russell Earl, Dan Lemmon, Anders Langlands, Dominic Tuohy
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” – Benjamin Brewer, Ethan Feldbau, Jonathan Kombrinck, Zak Stoltz
“Top Gun: Maverick” – Seth Hill, Scott R. Fisher, Bryan Litson, Ryan Tudhope

British Short Animation

“The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse” – Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy, Cara Speller, Hannah Minghella
“Middle Watch” – John Stevenson, Aiesha Penwarden, Giles Healy
“Your Mountain Is Waiting” – Hannah Jacobs, Zoe Muslim, Harriet Gillian

British Short Film

“The Ballad of Olive Morris” – Alex Kayode-kay
“Bazigaga” – Jo Ingabire Moys, Stephanie Charmail
“Bus Girl” – Jessica Henwick, Louise Palmkvist Hansen
“A Drifting Up” – Jacob Lee
“An Irish Goodbye” – Tom Berkeley, Ross White

EE Rising Star Award (public vote)

Aimee Lou Wood
Daryl McCormack
Emma Mackey
Naomi Ackie
Sheila Atim

Review: ‘Double XL,’ starring Sonakshi Sinha, Huma Qureshi, Zaheer Iqbal and Mahat Raghavendra

November 10, 2022

by Carla Hay

Sonakshi Sinha and Huma Qureshi in “Double XL” (Photo courtesy of T-Series Films)

“Double XL”

Directed by Satram Ramani

Hindi with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in India and in London, the comedy/drama film “Double XL” features a predominantly Indian cast (with some white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Two plus-sized women in their 30s—one who’s an aspiring sportscaster, the other who’s an aspiring fashion designer—become fast friends in London, where they are pursuing their dreams but experience discrimination because of their body sizes. 

Culture Audience: “Double XL” will appeal primarily to people interested in movies centered on plus-sized women and issues about weight discrimination, but the movie mishandles those issues with far-fetched situations and sappy solutions.

Huma Qureshi, Zaheer Iqbal, Mahat Raghavendra and Sonakshi Sinha in “Double XL” (Photo courtesy of T-Series Films)

“Double XL” wants to preach about body positivity and female empowerment, but this inept dramedy is overloaded with witless clichés and irksome performances. Weight prejudices and low self-esteem are used as silly gimmicks in many unrealistic scenarios. Instead of making women look independent and capable of handling their own career decisions, “Double XL” sends a very contradictory and socially backwards message that women need love interests who can help women with their careers.

Directed by Satram Ramani, “Double XL” had the potential to be a good movie, based on the overall concept: Two plus-sized women meet by chance, quickly become friends, and encourage each other to pursue their career dreams, despite being discriminated against because of their weight. “Double XL” is pretending to be that type of female-empowerment movie. But it’s really a messy junkpile of bad rom-com platitudes pushing the misgyonistic belief that men have to set examples for women on how to be confident and make the right decisions.

“Double XL” (with an uninspired screenplay written by Mudassar Aziz and Sasha Singh) is just another lazy and outdated movie that follows an over-used formula of women acting like whiny ditzes until they have male love interests who come to their rescue and help make their dreams come true. The women scream, cry or pout when things don’t go their way. Their male companions are the voices of reason who give pep talks to the women to help boost the women’s self-esteem and give them advice about their careers.

It should absolutely be applauded when people are emotionally supportive of each other and help each other with their careers. But when a movie defines it along gender lines, as one gender being “smarter” (intellectually and emotionally) than another gender, that’s when it’s sexist and problematic. People who have the misfortune of watching “Double XL” will see that the women in the movie are always seeking advice and help from men, but men don’t seek advice or help from women. And that’s why “Double XL” is a fake feminist film.

“Double XL” begins with the biggest stereotype of stereotypical romantic comedies: A woman having a fantasy about meeing a handsome Prince Charming. In this opening scene, Rajshri Trivedi (played by Huma Qureshi) is in her bed, dreaming about being at a fancy gala, where cricket star Shikhar Dhawan (playing a version of himself) sees her and asks her to dance. Her dream is interrupted by the shrieking of her demanding mother (played by Alka Kaushal), who is in the room and ordering Rajshri to wake up.

Rajshri, who is in her mid-30s, lives with her parents and paternal grandmother (played by Shobha Khote) in the rural town of Meerut, India. Rajshri’s father (played by Kanwaljeet Singh) is passive and quiet—the complete opposite of his wife. Rajshri’s mother is the worst stereotype of an angry and pushy mother who demands that her daughter should be a wife and mother by a certain age. And if the daughter can’t meet this demand, she will be considered a failure.

Rajshri knows that she’s not ready to get married at this point in her life, but her mother won’t listen to her and insists on matchmaking for Rajshri. Needless to say, Rajshri has not found a good match with any of the suitors who are introduced to her. The movie shows her having an awkward “date” with a guy named Tito, who is visiting the Trivedi home in a matchmaking setup from Rajshri’s mother.

When Rajshri asks Tito what his dreams and goals are, he says he wants to open a ball bearing shop. Rajshri tells Tito that she wants to be a TV sportscaster (cricket is her favorite sport), and she shows him some test sportscasting videos that she wrote and directed herself. Tito then tactfully tells Rajshri that he’s not attracted to her body size. And then, he bluntly tells her that if she wants to be a TV sportscaster, “you’ll have to lose weight for that too, because the rest of the world is an idiot like me.”

Meanwhile, in New Delhi, another plus-sized woman in her 30s is in a clothing store, where she’s trying on a blouse that’s size XL. She’s an aspiring fashion designer named Saira Khanna (played by Sonakshi Sinha), who is very outspoken about her opinions. Sara wears a lip ring and has green streaks in her hair, so she doesn’t look like a traditional fashion designer. Her tacky choice of clothes that she wears is also questionable for someone who wants to be taken seriously as a fashion designer, but that’s a whole other issue.

The blouse that she’s trying on is too small for her arm area, which causes the blouse to rip. Saira is infuriated because she thinks any blouse labeled size XL should automatically fit her. She marches over to the store’s sales clerk, tells him why the blouse ripped, and she yells at the sales clerk for mislabeling the blouse as XL. Saira also refuses to pay for the ripped blouse because she says that it’s the store’s fault that the blouse didn’t fit her.

It’s misplaced anger, because more than likely it was the blouse’s manufacturer, not the store, that mislabeled the blouse. As an aspiring fashion designer, Saira should know that, but this movie makes the leading female characters look very ignorant about the industries where they want to have professional careers. Saira lectures the store clerk about how she’s a fashion designer, and she would never label a blouse as XL if it’s too small for her to wear. The store clerk sheepishly says he’s sorry and admits that maybe the blouse size was mislabeled.

After going on that ill-tempered rant, Saira gets some good news at home: A company is interested in investing in her work so that she can possibly start her own fashion label. She has to go to London for this job opportunity, and she accepts this offer with no hesitation.

Saira is next seen at a house party while she’s still in India. Her boyfriend Viren (played by Danish Pandor) is also at the party, and she can’t wait to find him to tell him the good news. While he’s in another area of the house, Saira overhears a younger woman named Nomi (played by Isha Dhillon) cattily tells some female friends that Viren is just using Saira for money and sex, and that Saira can’t get a better man because of Saira’s physical appearance. Saira looks hurt by these remarks, but she doesn’t let Nomi know she overheard this insult.

Saira has a best friend named Meera (played by Dolly Singh), who doesn’t approve of Viren and thinks Saira should break up with him. At the party, Saira finds Viren and tells him the good news about the job opportunity in London. He is very happy for her and congratulates her. But Saira looks like she’s secretly bothered about what she heard Nomi say about her.

Meanwhile, in Meerut, Rajshri can no longer take the pressure from her mother to find a husband. During a heated argument, Rajshri finally tells her meddling mother that she wants to have a career as a TV sportscaster, and she’s going to pursue this career in London. Her mother thinks it’s a foolish dream.

But they both make a compromise and a bet with each other: If Rajshri can accomplish her goal of becoming a professional sportscaster within a year, then her mother will stop pressuring Rajshri to get married. If Rajshri can’t accomplish this goal within a year, then Rajshri has to move back to India and let her mother find a husband for Rajshri.

Saira and Rajshri both end up in London, but they don’t meet each other immediately. Saira has an older brother (played by Sachin Shroff) who lives in London, so she stays with him while she’s there. Rajshri is staying with her married aunt named Rolie Mausi (played by Swati Tarar), who welcomes Rajshri with open arms.

As soon as viewers find out that Saira has a best friend who doesn’t like or trust Saira’s boyfriend, it should come as no surprise what happens next. Saira has to end her trip to London sooner than she expected. When she’s back in India, she goes over to Viren’s home for an unannounced visit. He looks very surprised to see her and is reluctant to let her inside.

Saira insists on going inside and is suspicious about why Viren is nervous. He tells her nothing is wrong, but she goes from room to room, to find out if Viren is hiding anything from her. And sure enough: A woman is hiding outside on the bedroom balcony, wearing nothing but a blanket. This no-longer-secret lover is Nomi, the woman from the party who was insulting Saira.

Saira predictably has a screeching meltdown, while Viren tries to appease her. His lies and pleas don’t work. Saira, who thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with Viren, breaks up with him. And then she says out loud that she should’ve listened to what her best friend Meera said about Viren.

Saira goes back to London, where she is rejected to be the director of a fashion travelogue because of her physical appearance. Around the same time, Rajshri goes on an open audition to be a sportscaster, but she’s also rejected because of her body size. It also doesn’t help that Rajshri doesn’t dress like a professional sportscaster during a job interview but dresses more like she’s a frumpy schoolteacher or a nanny.

After these rejections, Saira and Rajshri end up sobbing in the same public restroom. They tell each other why they’re crying and find out that they’ve both experienced discrimination because of their body sizes. And just like that, Saira and Rajshri decide that they’re going to become friends who will help each other fulfill their career dreams.

Saira’s brother works at a TV station, so that’s how Saira meets mild-mannered Srikanth Sreevardhan (played by Mahat Raghavendra), a camera operator who is Tamil and barely fluent in Hindi. Saira has decided to do a video fashion shoot of her fashion designs, so Srikanth has been recommended to her as the camera operator. Srikanth has a co-worker friend named Zorawar Rahmani (played by Zaheer Iqbal), nicknamed Zo, a line producer who is a hyper and talkative partier. Srikanth and Zorawar are both bachelors who don’t have girlfriends.

Even though “Double XL” is ostensibly about Saira and Rajshri helping each other, all the big breaks they get are only because of actions taken by their new male companions. Rajshri unrealistically gets to interview real-life, retired cricket star Kapil Dev (playing himself in the movie) because Zorawar set up the interview. “Double XL” makes a point of mentioning that it was Zorawar’s idea for Rajshri to do the interview, and he took the initiative to arrange for the interview to happen, so that he could give Rajshri a pleasant surprise.

But this accomplishment is tainted, because in order to get the interview, Zorawar lied and said that Rajshri operates an orphanage for 150 children. Kapil thinks he’s doing an interview for a charity. This interview (which is not on TV but recorded for Rajshri’s intended demo reel) becomes the source of some ridiculous hijinks that complicate Rajshri’s sportscaster dreams.

Meanwhile, the storyline about Saira’s fashion career becomes a time-wasting drag where her biggest “challenge” is filming models on the streets of London without a permit. She only chooses slender models for her first fashion shoots. And then, Saira has an “a-ha moment” that you know is coming as soon as the movie had that scene with Saira getting angry about trying on a size XL blouse that was too small for her.

“Double XL” is very lopsided in presenting the storylines of Saira and Rajshri, because Rajshri’s storyline takes up the bulk of the anxiety-ridden “drama” in the movie. Saira has a lot more self-confidence than Rajshri has. Saira’s career struggles aren’t as bleak, because she has a talent to create things on her own and just has to find enough people to buy her designs. Fashion designers (unless they are also models) are not judged as harshly for their physical appearance as people whose job is to be in front of a camera.

By contrast, Rajshri’s TV career goal is entirely dependent on being a hired by a mainstream media company that will judge her on how she looks, including her body size. And there’s also the matter of Rajshri being from a rural area and getting used to living in a big city. Saira has been a resident of a big city for a long time, so her adjustment to being in London is a lot easier than Rajshri’s adjustment. The movie has plenty of moments where Rajshri is depicted as a naïve “country bumpkin.”

With “Double XL” focusing almost all of the career problems and self-confidence issues on Rajshri, Saira’s storyline looks less significant in comparison. The biggest thing that Saira does for Rajshri in her career is predictably give her a fashion makeover. But what does Rajshri really do for Saira’s career? Not much, except tag along at her fashion shoots because Saira asked her.

Because’s Saira’s storyline become so uninteresting and limp—literally limp, because Saira sprains her ankle during a photo shoot—”Double XL tries to spice it up by making Saira annoyed with Zorawar and his irresponsible ways. And when a formulaic movie like “Double XL” has two unmarried people of the opposite sex who get irritated with each other but have to spend a lot of time together, you know where everything is going with this contrived relationship.

Rajshri is so caught up in trying to get a job as a TV sportscaster, she doesn’t notice that Srikanth has quietly become attracted to her. He opens up to Rajshri that his dream is to become a feature-film director. Srikanth says that his father encouraged this dream but didn’t live long enough to see Srikanth fulfill this goal. Srikanth eventually makes a huge move to show his affection and admiration for Rajshri.

One of the major problems with “Double XL” is that the characters are more like caricatures. Viewers with enough life experience and common sense will have a hard time connecting to the four main “Double XL” characters, who all are very immature for their ages. They act more like people in their early-to-mid-20s rather than in their 30s. Rajshri’s storyline is much worse than Saira’s because of all the “only in a movie” fakeness in her plot developments.

Rajshri is also hopelessly ignorant about how the sportscasting industry really works. “Double XL” tries to make this ignorance look like Rajshri is just a sweet, innocent ingenue. But in reality, her ignorance makes her look unprofessional and undeserving of all the lucky breaks that she expects to rapidly come her way, just because she’s in London.

Rajshri gives up too easily, but Srikanth is there to tell her all the right things and improve her confidence. Rajshri knows that her body size could be an obstacle to getting certain jobs, but the movie makes Rajshri use her body size as a self-defeating crutch/excuse for every single failure that she has in life. After a while, this self-pity becomes pathetic. Rather than portraying Rajshri as enterprising and clever, “Double XL” makes her into a “damsel in distress” who needs a man to rescue her—in other words, the opposite of female empowerment.

The movie’s dialogue is very trite and mostly not very funny at all. The acting isn’t much better, although Sinha (as Saira) fares the best out of all the principal cast members when it comes to comedic timing and delivering her lines in a way that tries to look natural. All of the other characters in the movie are either too bland or too obnoxious.

“Double XL” has predictable scenes of Saira and Rajshri complaining to each other about how society can body shame women, especially women who are plus-sized. And what do Saira and Rajshri do to further wallow in their misery? They go to a fast-food place and order as much junk food as they can on the menu.

It’s supposed to be an act of defiance, but what are they trying to prove? No one else in the movie cares that Saira and Rajshri want to binge on junk food. This gluttony scene is the type of “comedy” that “Double XL” is desperately trying to convince viewers is funny, but it’s really a thinly veiled mockery of plus-sized women. “Double XL” gets worse as it goes along until it eventually becomes a thinly veiled mockery of real female empowerment.

T-Series Films released “Double XL” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on November 4, 2022.

Review: ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,’ starring Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert, Lambert Wilson, Alba Baptista, Lucas Bravo, Ellen Thomas and Jason Isaacs

July 11, 2022

by Carla Hay

Pictured in front: Lambert Wilson, Lesley Manville, Guilaine Londez, Dorottya Ilosvai and Alba Baptista in “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” (Photo by Dávid Lukács/Focus Features)

“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”

Directed by Anthony Fabian

Culture Representation: Taking place in 1957, in London and Paris, the comedy/drama film “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” features a nearly all-white cast of characters (with a few black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A widowed housekeeper in London goes to Paris, where she wants to fulfill her dream of buying a haute couture Dior gown, but she experiences obstacles and bigotry from snobs who think she isn’t worthy because of her working-class background.

Culture Audience: “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of star Lesley Manville and the book on which the movie is based, as well as to people who are interested in 1950s high fashion history and stories about working-class people navigating in upper-class society.

Isabelle Huppert and Roxane Duran in “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” (Photo by Dávid Lukács/Focus Features)

Despite a tendency to be cloying and cliché, the comedy/drama “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” has exuberant charm that’s hard to resist. Lesley Manville shines in this fairytale-like story about a woman who believes it’s never too late to chase a dream. On the surface, her dream is to buy a haute couture Dior gown, but the gown represents something much bigger to her: an ability to go outside her comfort zone to get what she wants in the pursuit of happiness.

Directed by Anthony Fabian, “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” is based on Paul Gallico’s 1958 novel “Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris.” The novel was also made into a 1992 TV-movie of the same name, starring Angela Lansbury in the title role. In the “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” movie directed by Fabian, the title character is played by Manville. Fabian co-wrote the movie’s adapted screenplay with Carroll Cartwright, Olivia Hetreed and Keith Thompson.

“In Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” it’s 1957, and Mrs. Harris is Ada Harris, a widowed housekeeper who’s in her 50s and who lives in London. (“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” was filmed in London and Paris—the two cities where the story takes place—but the movie was also filmed in Budapest to simulate Paris in the 1950s.) Ada dreams of having a more glamorous life. Ada’s often cheerful demeanor often hides her sadness over not knowing what happened to her husband Eddie, a military man who went missing in action during World War II in 1944.

Because Eddie hasn’t contacted her for all of these years, he’s presumed dead, but Ada can’t bring herself to face this probability. Ada, who lives alone and has no children, has not had a special man in her life since Eddie disappeared. She has long since given up on finding love because she thinks because of her age, occupation and physical appearance, she’s not very desirable.

“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” spends a little too much time in the first third of the movie showing Ada stuck in her drab routine life in London. There are repetitive scenes of her going to a bridge at night, where she talks out loud to her long-lost husband Eddie. Viewers of “Mrs. Harris Go to Paris” will have to have some patience before the movie gets to what the movie’s title is all about.

Ada’s best friend is Vi Butterfield (played by Ellen Thomas), a Caribbean immigrant who is around the same age as Ada. Vi (who also lives alone and has no children) is as confident as Ada is insecure. When Ada and Vi go out together at social clubs, Vi often has to give Ada pep talks to help boost Ada’s self-esteem. When they go out to these clubs, Ada is more likely to play cards at a table than to mingle and dance.

It’s at this nightclub, when Ada and Vi are sitting together at a table, where Ada gets the courage to open a package from the U.K. military that she has been dreading to open in front of Vi. Inside the package are a telegram and some of her husband Eddie’s personal possessions, including what appears to be a university ring.

Ada reads the telegram out loud to Vi. The telegram confirms that Eddie is dead. He was killed in action near Warsaw, Poland, on March 2, 1944. Ada is saddened but not too surprised. After getting this news, she goes to the bridge again and stares mournfully at Eddie’s ring, as if she’s trying get closure over the reality that Eddie won’t be coming back.

Someone whom Ada and Vi see often is their mutual friend Archie (played by Jason Isaacs), a middle-aged local bookie whose social manners are a little rough around the edges. Archie is a bachelor who thinks of himself as a seductive ladies’ man. Whenever, Ada and Vi see Archie at a nightclub, he always seems to have a different woman as his date.

During one scene in the movie, Archie has brought his two dogs Spring and Summer to the nightclub where Ada and Vi frequently go. Archie asks Ada and Vi to look after the two dogs while he goes on the dance floor with his date. Ada sighs and says to Vi about how the men at this club don’t see them as attractive enough: “We’re invisible women.” Vi’s sassy response is: “Speak for yourself! They see me coming!”

Two of the women who are Ada’s regular clients are very different from each other. Pamela Penrose (played by Rose Williams) is a 23-year-old aspiring actress who looks like a cross between Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe. Pamela is constantly worried about auditions and whether or not she will ever make it big as a movie actress, which is her life goal. Even though Pamela rents an apartment that she can barely afford, she pays Ada on time and appreciates Ada’s cheerful kindness.

The same can’t be said for Lady Dant (played by Anna Chancellor), a middle-aged socialite who spends lavishly but who has come up with many excuses not to pay Ada for the past several weeks. The latest excuse is that Lady Dant has to pay for her daughter’s wedding, which Lady Dant claims is financially draining. When Ada tactfully and politely asks Lady Dant when she can be paid the money that’s owed to Ada, Lady Dant is haughtily dismissive and scolds Ada to be more patient and understanding. Lady Dant also tells Ada that her work hours will be reduced, effective immediately.

Christian McKay is under-used in a small role as Giles Newcombe, one of Ada’s housecleaning clients. A running gag in the movie is that Ada often passes by Mr. Newcombe on a flight of stairs as Ada is arriving and he is leaving the building with a woman who looks young enough to be his daughter, whom he always introduces as his “niece.” The implication is that Mr. Newcombe is married, these young women are really his mistresses, and they have their trysts at the apartment he has in this building.

Ada and Mr. Newcome always greet each other in a friendly manner, with Ada seeming to know that Mr. Newcombe isn’t the “uncle” of these women. Ada is discreet and plays along with the charade though, because Mr. Newcombe is always kind to her. Ada doesn’t judge whatever Mr. Newcombe’s extramarital activities might be because she doesn’t know all the details of his marriage. It’s also this movie’s way of showing that Ada isn’t a nosy gossip.

One day, Ada is doing some housecleaning in Lady Dant’s home, when she sees a stunning floral print sequined dress displayed on a bed. Ada is enchanted by this dress and can’t resist picking up the dress and holding it up to herself while she looks in a mirror. Lady Dant catches Ada admiring the dress, but Lady Dant doesn’t seem to mind.

Lady Dant brags to Ada that the gown is haute couture Dior and that she paid £500 for the dress during a recent trip to Paris. Lady Dant orders Ada not to tell Lady Dant’s husband about this purchase because he will think that she overpaid. As soon as Ada hears about how and where Lady Dant got the dress, it sparks an a near-obsession for Ada to do the same thing.

Ada begins saving her money for a trip to Paris. She also starts a small business on the side called Invisible Mending, where she does seamstress work and other sewing jobs. However, Ada gets a temporary setback when she places a losing £100 bet at a dog-racing track where Archie works.

But then, in an “only in a movie” sequence of events, three things happen literally within minutes of each other that change her fortunes: (1) Ada gets a visit from a military official telling her that the military owes her back payments for being a war widow; (2) Ada gets reward money for returning a lost diamond pin; and (3) Archie shows up at her home to tell her that he actually placed her bet on the racing dog that won, not the losing dog she wanted to bet money on for the race.

And so, with enough money to travel and buy her dream Dior haute couture gown, Mrs. Harris goes to Paris. At the train station in Paris, she meets three homeless winos, and one of them is kind enough to show here where the House of Dior is. Ada notices that there’s a lot of garbage on the streets of Paris, so the homeless man tells her that it’s because garbage collectors are currently on strike. This worker strike is used as a few plot developments later in the movie.

Outside the House of Dior, a model who’s running late for a fashion show, stumbles out of car and trips in front of the entrance. Her name is Natasha (played by Alba Baptista), and she accidentally drops her purse without noticing. Ada picks up the purse and goes inside the building to return it to Natasha, who is grateful.

But those pleasantries are about to end when the pompous House of Dior director Claudine Colbert (played by Isabelle Huppert) notices that Ada is treating the House of Dior like a regular retail store, where people can just walk right in and buy what they want if they have the money for it. Madame Colbert snootily tells Ada that Dior’s haute couture customers have invitation-only access.

Ada most definitely does not have an invitation. Ada gets upset and hastily explains to Madame Colbert that she’s a housekeeper from London who saved up all of her money for this trip and she won’t leave without buying a Dior haute couture gown. When Ada takes out the wads of cash that she has with her, Madame Colbert is even more disgusted by what she sees as crassness from Ada.

However, a society gentleman named Marquis de Chassagne (played by Lambert Wilson), who has been invited to Dior’s upcoming haute couture collection show, notices Ada’s plight and generously tells Ada that she can be his guest at the show. Madame Colbert is miffed, but there’s nothing she can do about it. Unbeknownst to the general public, Dior has secretly been having financial problems, so Madame Colbert tells Dior accountant André Fauvel (played by Lucas Bravo), who has been observing Madame Colbert’s attempted shunning of Ada, that at least they might get a sale out of Ada being there.

Another person who’s annoyed that a “common” housekeeper is attending the show is a spiteful socialite named Madame Avallon (played by Guilaine Londez), who is attending the show with her pouty young adult daughter Mathilde Avallon (played by Dorottya Ilosvai). Madame Avallon gets even more irritated when she sees that Ada will be sitting next to her at the show. And guess who wants the same gown as Ada?

Ada is dazzled by the runway show, but two gowns in particular get her the most excited. Her first choice is a red stunner called Temptation. Ada also literally gasps when she sees an emerald green gown called Eden. Madame Colbert makes sure that Madame Avallon gets the Temptation gown. Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan did top-notch, award-worthy costume for “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.”

As a consolation for not getting the Temptation gown, Ada is told that she can be fitted for the Eden gown. However, these fittings would require Ada to be in Paris for several more days. Ada can’t afford to stay in Paris for longer than she had planned, As a show of generous support, André invites Ada to stay for free at the house of his sister, who is away on a trip. Ada eagerly accepts this offer.

A meticulous Dior atelier employee named Monsieur Carré (played by Bertrand Poncet) oversees the fittings for Ada. Predictably, he is sometimes irritated by Ada’s ignorance of haute couture traditions and customs. Fashion icon Christian Dior (played by Philippe Bertin) makes a few brief appearances, as this movie depicts the last year of Dior’s life. (On October 24, 1957, Dior died of a heart attack at the age of 52.) As expected, Ada is star-struck to be in the presence of Dior.

House of Dior’s seamstresses, including seamstress director Marguerite (played by Roxane Duran), are charmed by Ada’s working-class pluckiness in the face of upper-class elitism, so they are rooting for her behind the scenes. While Ada is starting to befriend Isabel and André, she notices that André has romantic feelings for Isabel. And you know what that means: Ada is going to try to play matchmaker for André and Isabel. Meanwhile, Marquis de Chassagne has taken a liking to Ada and asks her out on a date. Could this be the beginning of a romance for him and Ada?

“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” often goes down a very formulaic route, but it’s always watchable, due in large part to the talented cast members, led by Manville. Huppert plays her “villain” role to the hilt, but Madame Colbert shows some vulnerability and warmth later in the movie. Not everything in the movie is predictable, but there’s enough familiarity in how this story is told that “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” is like having comfort food with a longtime friend.

Focus Features will release “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” in U.S. cinemas on July 15, 2022.

2022 Critics Choice Awards: ‘The Power of the Dog,’ ‘Ted Lasso’ are the top winners

March 13, 2022

by Carla Hay

With four prizes, including Best Picture, Netflix’s Western drama “The Power of the Dog” was the top winner at the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards, which were presented on March 13, 2022. Also winning four prizes, including Best Comedy Series, was Apple TV+’s soccer sitcom “Ted Lasso.” For the first time in Critics Choice Awards history, the show was held in two cities: in Los Angeles (at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel) and in London (at the Savoy Hotel), in order to accommodate attendees of the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards in London, which was held on the same night.

Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer hosted the 2022 Critics Choice Awards ceremony, which was televised in the U.S. on The CW and TBS. Eligible movies were those released in the U.S. in 2021. Eligible TV shows were those with new episodes that premiered in 2021. The Critics Choice Association nominates and votes for the awards.

“The Power of the Dog” director/screenwriter/producer Jane Campion at the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on March 13, 2022. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)

“The Power of the Dog,” which is about a dysfunctional rancher family in 1925 Montana, won the awards for Best Picture, Best Director (for Jane Campion), Best Adapted Screenplay (also won by Campion) and Best Cinematography (for Ari Wegner, the first woman to win in this Critics Choice Awards category). Focus Features’ Northern Ireland drama “Belfast” won three Critics Choice Awards: Best Original Screenplay (for Kenneth Branagh), Best Young Actor/Actress (for Jude Hill) and Best Acting Ensemble. Also winning three Critics Choice Awards was Warner Bros. Pictures’ sci-fi remake “Dune,” which took the prizes for Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects and Best Score.

In the TV categories, “Ted Lasso” won these four prizes: Best Comedy Series, Best Actor in a Comedy Series (for Jason Sudeikis), Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (for Hannah Waddingham) and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (for Brett Goldstein). HBO’s “Succession” received three awards: Best Drama Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (for Sarah Snook) and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (for Kieran Culkin). TV shows that won two Critics Choice Awards each in 2022 were HBO’s “Mare of Easttown,” Netflix’s “Squid Game” and HBO’s “The White Lotus.”

“Ted Lasso” co-stars Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein and Hannah Waddington at the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards at the Savoy Hotel in London on March 13, 2022. (Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association)

In non-competitive prizes announced several weeks before the show, Halle Berry received the SeeHer Award (for advocacy of positive female representation on screen), while Billy Crystal was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Presenters includes Ava DuVernay, Carey Mulligan, Jamie Dornan, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Kristen Wiig, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mandy Moore, Zoey Deutch, Joel McHale, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, J.K. Simmons, Ray Romano, Ken Jeong, Alan Kim, Angelica Ross, Annie Mumolo, Dominique Jackson, Dylan O’Brien, Hailie Sahar, Indya Moore, Jacob Bertrand, Jung Ho-yeon, Kaci Walfall, Lee Jung-jae, Maria Bakalova, Mayim Bialik, Nasim Pedrad, Park Hae-soo, Ralph Macchio, Robin Thede, Los Angeles Rams Coach Sean McVay, Veronika Khomyn, Shawn Hatosy, Sonequa Martin-Green, Issa Rae and Jimmy Kimmel.

The following is the complete list of nominees and winners for the 2022 Critics Choice Awards:

*=winner

FILM

BEST PICTURE

  • Belfast
  • CODA
  • Don’t Look Up
  • Dune
  • King Richard
  • Licorice Pizza
  • Nightmare Alley
  • The Power of the Dog*
  • tick, tick…Boom!
  • West Side Story

BEST ACTOR

  • Nicolas Cage – Pig
  • Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
  • Peter Dinklage – Cyrano
  • Andrew Garfield – tick, tick…Boom!
  • Will Smith – King Richard*
  • Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth

BEST ACTRESS

  • Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye*
  • Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
  • Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
  • Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
  • Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
  • Kristen Stewart – Spencer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Jamie Dornan – Belfast
  • Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
  • Troy Kotsur – CODA*
  • Jared Leto – House of Gucci
  • J.K. Simmons – Being the Ricardos
  • Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Caitríona Balfe – Belfast
  • Ariana DeBose – West Side Story*
  • Ann Dowd – Mass
  • Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
  • Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
  • Rita Moreno – West Side Story

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

  • Jude Hill – Belfast*
  • Cooper Hoffman – Licorice Pizza
  • Emilia Jones – CODA
  • Woody Norman – C’mon C’mon
  • Saniyya Sidney – King Richard
  • Rachel Zegler – West Side Story

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

  • Belfast*
  • Don’t Look Up
  • The Harder They Fall
  • Licorice Pizza
  • The Power of the Dog
  • West Side Story

BEST DIRECTOR

  • Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
  • Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
  • Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog*
  • Guillermo del Toro – Nightmare Alley
  • Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
  • Denis Villeneuve – Dune

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  • Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
  • Zach Baylin – King Richard
  • Kenneth Branagh – Belfast*
  • Adam McKay, David Sirota – Don’t Look Up
  • Aaron Sorkin – Being the Ricardos

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

  • Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog*
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
  • Siân Heder – CODA
  • Tony Kushner – West Side Story
  • Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth – Dune

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • Bruno Delbonnel – The Tragedy of Macbeth
  • Greig Fraser – Dune
  • Janusz Kaminski – West Side Story
  • Dan Laustsen – Nightmare Alley
  • Ari Wegner – The Power of the Dog*
  • Haris Zambarloukos – Belfast

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

  • Jim Clay, Claire Nia Richards – Belfast
  • Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau – Nightmare Alley
  • Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo – The French Dispatch
  • Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo – West Side Story
  • Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos – Dune*

BEST EDITING

  • Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn – West Side Story*
  • Úna Ní Dhonghaíle – Belfast
  • Andy Jurgensen – Licorice Pizza
  • Peter Sciberras – The Power of the Dog
  • Joe Walker – Dune

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

  • Jenny Beavan – Cruella*
  • Luis Sequeira – Nightmare Alley
  • Paul Tazewell – West Side Story
  • Jacqueline West, Robert Morgan – Dune
  • Janty Yates – House of Gucci

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP

  • Cruella
  • Dune
  • The Eyes of Tammy Faye*
  • House of Gucci
  • Nightmare Alley

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

  • Dune*
  • The Matrix Resurrections
  • Nightmare Alley
  • No Time to Die
  • Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

BEST COMEDY

  • Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
  • Don’t Look Up
  • Free Guy
  • The French Dispatch
  • Licorice Pizza*

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

  • Encanto
  • Flee
  • Luca
  • The Mitchells vs the Machines*
  • Raya and the Last Dragon

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

  • A Hero
  • Drive My Car*
  • Flee
  • The Hand of God
  • The Worst Person in the World

BEST SONG

  • Be Alive – King Richard
  • Dos Oruguitas – Encanto
  • Guns Go Bang – The Harder They Fall
  • Just Look Up – Don’t Look Up
  • No Time to Die – No Time to Die*

BEST SCORE

  • Nicholas Britell – Don’t Look Up
  • Jonny Greenwood – The Power of the Dog
  • Jonny Greenwood – Spencer
  • Nathan Johnson – Nightmare Alley
  • Hans Zimmer – Dune*

TELEVISION

BEST DRAMA SERIES

  • Evil (Paramount+)
  • For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
  • The Good Fight (Paramount+)
  • Pose (FX)
  • Squid Game (Netflix)
  • Succession (HBO)*
  • This Is Us (NBC)
  • Yellowjackets (Showtime)

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

  • Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)
  • Mike Colter – Evil (Paramount+)
  • Brian Cox – Succession (HBO)
  • Lee Jung-jae – Squid Game (Netflix)*
  • Billy Porter – Pose (FX)
  • Jeremy Strong – Succession (HBO)

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

  • Uzo Aduba – In Treatment (HBO)
  • Chiara Aurelia – Cruel Summer (Freeform)
  • Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
  • Katja Herbers – Evil (Paramount+)
  • Melanie Lynskey – Yellowjackets (Showtime)*
  • MJ Rodriguez – Pose (FX)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

  • Nicholas Braun – Succession (HBO)
  • Billy Crudup – The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
  • Kieran Culkin – Succession (HBO)*
  • Justin Hartley – This Is Us (NBC)
  • Matthew Macfadyen – Succession (HBO)
  • Mandy Patinkin – The Good Fight (Paramount+)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

  • Andrea Martin – Evil (Paramount+)
  • Audra McDonald – The Good Fight (Paramount+)
  • Christine Lahti – Evil (Paramount+)
  • J. Smith-Cameron – Succession (HBO)
  • Sarah Snook – Succession (HBO)*
  • Susan Kelechi Watson – This Is Us (NBC)

BEST COMEDY SERIES

  • The Great (Hulu)
  • Hacks (HBO Max)
  • Insecure (HBO)
  • Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
  • The Other Two (HBO Max)
  • Reservation Dogs (FX on Hulu)
  • Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)*
  • What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

  • Iain Armitage – Young Sheldon (CBS)
  • Nicholas Hoult – The Great (Hulu)
  • Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
  • Kayvan Novak – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
  • Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
  • Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)*

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

  • Elle Fanning – The Great (Hulu)
  • Renée Elise Goldsberry – Girls5eva (Peacock)
  • Selena Gomez – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) 
  • Sandra Oh – The Chair (Netflix)
  • Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)
  • Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)*

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

  • Ncuti Gatwa – Sex Education (Netflix)
  • Brett Goldstein – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)*
  • Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
  • Brandon Scott Jones – Ghosts (CBS)
  • Ray Romano – Made for Love (HBO Max)
  • Bowen Yang – Saturday Night Live (NBC)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

  • Hannah Einbinder – Hacks (HBO Max)
  • Kristin Chenoweth – Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+)
  • Molly Shannon – The Other Two (HBO Max) 
  • Cecily Strong – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
  • Josie Totah – Saved By the Bell (Peacock)
  • Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)*

BEST LIMITED SERIES

  • Dopesick (Hulu)
  • Dr. Death (Peacock)
  • It’s a Sin (HBO Max)
  • Maid (Netflix)
  • Mare of Easttown (HBO)*
  • Midnight Mass (Netflix)
  • The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime Video)
  • WandaVision (Disney+)

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

  • Come From Away (Apple TV+)
  • List of a Lifetime (Lifetime)
  • The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (Amazon Prime Video)
  • Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (Lifetime)
  • Oslo (HBO)*
  • Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (The Roku Channel)

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

  • Olly Alexander – It’s a Sin (HBO Max)
  • Paul Bettany – WandaVision (Disney+)
  • William Jackson Harper – Love Life (HBO Max)
  • Joshua Jackson – Dr. Death (Peacock)
  • Michael Keaton – Dopesick (Hulu)*
  • Hamish Linklater – Midnight Mass (Netflix)

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

  • Danielle Brooks – Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (Lifetime)
  • Cynthia Erivo – Genius: Aretha (National Geographic)
  • Thuso Mbedu – The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime Video)
  • Elizabeth Olsen – WandaVision (Disney+)
  • Margaret Qualley – Maid (Netflix)
  • Kate Winslet – Mare of Easttown (HBO)*

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

  • Murray Bartlett – The White Lotus (HBO)*
  • Zach Gilford – Midnight Mass (Netflix)
  • William Jackson Harper – The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime Video)
  • Evan Peters – Mare of Easttown (HBO)
  • Christian Slater – Dr. Death (Peacock)
  • Courtney B. Vance – Genius: Aretha (National Geographic)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

  • Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus (HBO)*
  • Kaitlyn Dever – Dopesick (Hulu)
  • Kathryn Hahn – WandaVision (Disney+)
  • Melissa McCarthy – Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu)
  • Julianne Nicholson – Mare of Easttown (HBO)
  • Jean Smart – Mare of Easttown (HBO)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES

  • Acapulco (Apple TV+)
  • Call My Agent! (Netflix)
  • Lupin (Netflix)
  • Money Heist (Netflix)
  • Narcos: Mexico (Netflix)
  • Squid Game (Netflix)*

BEST ANIMATED SERIES

  • Big Mouth (Netflix)
  • Bluey (Disney Junior)
  • Bob’s Burgers (Fox)
  • The Great North (Fox)
  • Q-Force (Netflix)
  • What If…? (Disney+)*

BEST TALK SHOW

  • The Amber Ruffin Show (Peacock)
  • Desus & Mero (Showtime)
  • The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC)
  • Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)*
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
  • Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (Bravo)

BEST COMEDY SPECIAL 

  • Bo Burnham: Inside (Netflix)*
  • Good Timing with Jo Firestone (Peacock)
  • James Acaster: Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999 (Vimeo)
  • Joyelle Nicole Johnson: Love Joy (Peacock)
  • Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American (Netflix)
  • Trixie Mattel: One Night Only (YouTube)

2022 BAFTA Film Awards: ‘The Power of the Dog,’ ‘Dune’ are the top winners

March 13, 2022

Netflix’s Western drama “The Power of the Dog” and Warner Bros. Pictures’ sci-fi remake “Dune” were the biggest winners at the 75th annual BAFTA Film Awards, which were presented at London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 13, 2022. Rebel Wilson hosted the ceremony, which was televised in the United Kingdom on BBC and in the U.S. on BBC America. Eligible films were those released in the United Kingdom in 2021.

“The Power of the Dog” took the prize for Best Film, while Jane Campion received the Best Director prize for helming “The Power of the Dog.” Meanwhile, “Dune” went into the ceremony with the most nominations (11) and ended up winning five BAFTA Film Awards: Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.

Here is the complete list of winners and nominations for the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards:

*=winner

Best Film

“Belfast”
“Don’t Look Up”
“Dune”
“Licorice Pizza”
“The Power of the Dog”*

Outstanding British Film

“After Love”
“Ali & Ava”
“Belfast”*
“Boiling Point”
“Cyrano”
“Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”
“House of Gucci”
“Last Night in Soho”
“No Time to Die”
“Passing”

Best Director

Aleem Khan, “After Love”
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car”
Audrey Diwan, “Happening
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”
Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”*
Julia Ducournau, “Titane”

Best Leading Actor

Adeel Akhtar, “Ali & Ava”
Mahershala Ali, “Swan Song”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Don’t Look Up”
Stephen Graham, “Boiling Point”
Will Smith, “King Richard”*

Best Leading Actress

Lady Gaga, “House of Gucci”
Alana Haim, “Licorice Pizza”
Emilia Jones, “CODA”
Renate Reinsve, “The Worst Person in the World”
Joanna Scanlan, “After Love”*
Tessa Thompson, “Passing”

Best Supporting Actor

Mike Faist, “West Side Story”
Ciarán Hinds, “Belfast”
Troy Kotsur, “CODA”*
Woody Norman, “C’mon C’mon”
Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog”
Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”

Best Supporting Actress

Caitríona Balfe, “Belfast”
Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”*
Ann Dowd, “Mass”
Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard”
Ruth Negga, “Passing”

Best Adapted Screenplay

“CODA,” Siân Heder*
“Drive My Car,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
“Dune,” Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve
“The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal
“The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion

Best Original Screenplay

“Being the Ricardos,” Aaron Sorkin
“Belfast,” Kenneth Branagh
“Don’t Look Up,” Adam McKay
“King Richard,” Zach Baylin
“Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson*

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

“After Love,” Aleem Khan (writer/director)
“Boiling Point,” James Cummings (writer), Hester Ruoff (producer) [also written by Philip Barantini and produced by Bart Ruspoli]
“The Harder They Fall” – Jeymes Samuel (writer/director) [also written by Boaz Yakin]*
“Keyboard Fantasies” – Posy Dixon (writer/director), Liv Proctor (producer)
“Passing” – Rebecca Hall (writer/director)

Original Score

“Being the Ricardos,” Daniel Pemberton
“Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell
“Dune,” Hans Zimmer*
“The French Dispatch,” Alexandre Desplat
“The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood

Cinematography

“Dune,” Greig Fraser*
“Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen
“No Time to Die,” Linus Sandgren
“The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel

Film Not in the English Language

“Drive My Car,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Teruhisa Yamamoto*
“The Hand of God,” Paolo Sorrentino, Lorenzo Mieli
“Parallel Mothers,” Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
“Petite Maman,” Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
“The Worst Person in the World,” Joachim Trier, Thomas Robsahm

Documentary

“Becoming Cousteau,” Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan
“Cow,” Andrea Arnold, Kat Mansoor
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström
“The Rescue,” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, John Battsek, P. J. Van Sandwijk
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel*

Animated Film

“Encanto,” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, Clarke Spencer*
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen. Monica Hellström
“Luca,” Enrico Casarosa, Andrea Warren
“The Mitchells vs the Machines,” Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Casting

“Boiling Point,” Carolyn Mcleod
“Dune,” Francine Maisler
“The Hand of God,” Massimo Appolloni, Annamaria Sambucco
“King Richard,” Rich Delia, Avy Kaufman
“West Side Story,” Cindy Tolan*

Production Design

“Cyrano,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
“Dune,” Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos*
“The French Dispatch,” Adam Stockhausen, Rena Deangelo
“Nightmare Alley,” Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau
“West Side Story,” Adam Stockhausen, Rena Deangelo

Best Costume Design

“Cruella,” Jenny Beavan*
“Cyrano,” Massimo Cantini Parrini
“Dune,” Robert Morgan, Jacqueline West
“The French Dispatch,” Milena Canonero
“Nightmare Alley,” Luis Sequeira

Best Make Up and Hair

“Cruella,” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne
“Cyrano,” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Siân Miller
“Dune,” Love Larson, Donald Mowat
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Justin Raleigh*
“House of Gucci,” Frederic Aspiras, Jane Carboni, Giuliano Mariana, Sarah Nicole Tanno

Best Editing

“Belfast,” Úna Ní Dhonghaíle
“Dune,” Joe Walker
“Licorice Pizza,” Andy Jurgensen
“No Time to Die,” Tom Cross, Elliot Graham*
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Joshua L. Pearson

Best Sound

“Dune,” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Doug Hemphill, Theo Green, Ron Bartlett*
“Last Night in Soho,” Colin Nicolson, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin, Dan Morgan
“No Time to Die,” James Harrison, Simon Hayes, Paul Massey, Oliver Tarney, Mark Taylor
“A Quiet Place Part II,” Erik Aadahl, Michael Barosky, Brandon Proctor, Ethan Van Der Ryn
“West Side Story,” Brian Chumney, Tod Maitland, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom

Best Visual Effects

“Dune,” Brian Connor, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Gerd Nefzer*
“Free Guy,” Swen Gillberg, Brian Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Daniel Sudick
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” Aharon Bourland, Sheena Duggal, Pier Lefebvre, Alessandro Ongaro
“The Matrix Resurrections,” Tom Debenham, Hew J Evans, Dan Glass, J. D. Schwaim
“No Time to Die,” Mark Bokowski, Chris Corbould, Joel Green, Charlie Noble

British Short Animation

“Affairs of the Art,” Joanna Quinn, Les Mills
“Do Not Feed the Pigeons,” Jordi Morera*
“Night of the Living Dread,” Ida Melum, Danielle Goff, Laura Jayne Tunbridge, Hannah Kelso

British Short Film

“The Black Cop,” Cherish Oteka*
“Femme,” Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping, Sam Ritzenberg, Hayley Williams
“The Palace,” Jo Prichard
“Stuffed,” Theo Rhys, Joss Holden-rea
“Three Meetings of the Extraordinary Committee,” Michael Woodward, Max Barron, Daniel Wheldon

EE Rising Star Award (public vote)

Ariana DeBose
Harris Dickinson
Lashana Lynch*
Millicent Simmonds
Kodi Smit-McPhee

Copyright 2017-2023 Culture Mix
CULTURE MIX