Culture Representation: Taking place in an alternate version of New York City, the fantasy action film “Dust Bunny” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A 10-year-old girl hires her mysterious neighbor to find and kill the monster whom she believes ate her parents.
Culture Audience: “Dust Bunny” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, writer/director Bryan Fuller, and movies that combine whimsical fantasy with gritty action.
Sophie Sloan, Madds Mikkelsen and Sigourney Weaver in “Dust Bunny” (Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions)
Quirky and visually striking, the fantasy/action film “Dust Bunny” overcomes its plodding dialogue with engaging performances from the principal cast. It’s like 1994’s Leon: The Professional but set in a magical, alternate version of New York City. The movie takes a while before it gets to its most action-packed scenes, but the rapport and emotional bond that develop between the two main characters is worth seeing.
Written and directed by Bryan Fuller, “Dust Bunny” had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. “Dust Bunny” is Fuller’s feature film directorial debut. He is best known for his work in television, including being a creator/executive producer/writer for the TV series “Pushing Daisies” (which was on the air 2007 to 2009) and “Star Trek: Discovery,” which was on the air from 2017 to 2024. In “Dust Bunny,” a 10-year-old girl named Aurora Jacoby (played by Sophie Sloan) lives in an apartment building with her parents Cecil Jacoby and Karen Jacoby. Aurora is terrified of that a dust bunny monster lives under her bed. Her parents don’t believe her.
Across the hall from the Jacoby family lives a mysterious assassin, who doesn’t have a name in the movie. In the film’s end credits, he is listed as Intriguing Neighbor (played by Mads Mikkelsen), who is noticed by Aurora. One day, Aurora’s parents disappear, and Aurora is convinced that her parents were eaten by the dust bunny monster. And so, Aurora hires a reluctant Intriguing Neighbor to find the monster and kill it.
The heart of the movie is the unlikely pairing of this hardened assassin with a previously sheltered girl who has to grow up fast as they get into dangerous situations. Supporting cast members include Sigourney Weaver as Intriguing Neighbor’s domineering colleague Laverne; Sheila Atim as a Child Family Services employee named Brenda Bautista; and David Dastmalchian as an unnamed assassin, who is listed in the end credits as Conspicuously Inconspicuous Man.
The “Dust Bunny” production design and visual effects are above-average. Viewers must have patience because the movie’s energy is sometimes too low for what this story needs. However, the story in “Dust Bunny” gets better as it goes along and has a conclusion that should appeal to most viewers.
Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate released “Dust Bunny” in select U.S. cinemas on December 12, 2025. The movie was released on digital and VOD on January 13, 2026.
Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin (Naija) and English with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in Nigeria, in 1993, the dramatic film “My Father’s Shadow” features an African cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: A father and his two pre-teen sons experience various challenges and emotional bonding when he takes them to Lagos for a short visit during political unrest.
Culture Audience: “My Father’s Shadow” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching a drama that shows the intersections between government turmoil and family relationships.
Chibuike Marvelous Egbo, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù and Godwin Egbo in “My Father’s Shadow” (Photo courtesy of MUBI)
“My Father’s Shadow” makes an emotional impact not from melodrama but from showing the quiet steadiness of a father’s guidance and love as he spends time with his two sons. The ending of the movie is jarring and unforgettable. “My Father’s Shadow” is an example of how time with loved ones can be precious and should not be taken for granted.
Directed by Akinola Davies Jr., “My Father’s Shadow” was written by Akinola Davies and his brother Wale Davies. The movie is Akinola Davies’ feature-film directorial debut. “My Father’s Shadow” had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, and then made the rounds at several other film festivals in 2025, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival and AFI Fest. The movie is the United Kingdom’s official selection for Best International Feature Film for the 2026 Academy Awards, but the movie didn’t make the shortlist to be nominated in this category.
“My Father’s Shadow” takes place in Nigeria in 1993. The movie was filmed in the Nigerian cities of Ibadan, Nigeria. Most of the movie takes place over a two-day period when the father and his sons make a short trip to Lagos. This trip takes place before, during, and immediately after Nigeria’s presidential election on June 12, 1993. There were widespread protests after military dictator General Ibrahim Babangida annulled the victory of Chief MKO Abiola.
“My Father’s Shadow” begins in an unnamed Nigerian city, where a man named Folari (played by Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) has returned home after spending many weeks away because he has a job in Lagos. Folari is dismayed to see that his wife Bola (played by Efòn Wini) is not at home to look after their two sons: 11-year-old Remi (played by Chibuike Marvelous Egbo) and 8-year-old Aki (played by Godwin Egbo, Chibuike’s real-life younger brother), who say that Bola has made a short trip into “the village.”
Folari is there for a brief stay and then has to go back to Lagos. Instead of waiting for his wife to come home, Folari invites his sons to go with him. Remi is more excited than Bola to take this trip. Folari leaves a note for Bola to let her know that their sons are with him.
Folari (who has some type of factory job) has not been paid for the past six months. He’s been promised that he will get the salary that’s owed to him after the presidential election. Part of the movie shows the frustrating experience that Folari has when trying to get paid. But the political unrest is simmering like a powder keg ready to burst.
The trip has several unexpected tension-filled occurrences, as well some lovely moments of family bonding, especially when Folari and his sons take a spontaneous trip to a beach. At the beach, Folari reveals something from traumatic from his past that deeply affects him. It also affects Folari’s perspective as a father who doesn’t have the privilege to see his sons every day. “I have missed you bows growing up,” Folari says. “You are growing up so fast.”
Dìrísù gives wholly credible performance as a father trying to do the best for his family whole facing an uncertain future during this tumultuous time in Nigerian history. Real-life brothers Chibuike Marvelous Egbo and Godwin Egbo also do well in their roles. Most of the movie revolves around these three actors. “My Father’s Shadow” is a movie has a way of catching viewers off guard. Just when you think the movie might end a certain way, something is revealed that packs an emotional wallop that will change viewers’ perception about many of the things that happened before in the movie.
MUBI will release “My Father’s Shadow” in select U.S. cinemas on February 6, 2026. The movie was released in Nigeria on September 19, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place in France, the comedy/drama film “A Private Life” features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A psychiatrist plays amateur detective with her ex-husband when she suspects that a former client died by murder instead of suicide.
Culture Audience: “A Private Life” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and well-acted movies that combine dark comedy with psychological drama.
Jodie Foster and Virginie Efira in “A Private Life” (Photo by Jérôme Prébois/Sony Pictures Classics)
“A Private Life” is an occasionally uneven dark comedy about a psychiatrist who teams up with her ex-husband when she suspects a former client was murdered. Jodie Foster’s appealing performance keeps the movie interesting. To its credit, “A Private Life” doesn’t get too convoluted when it comes to the investigation for this suspected murder.
Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, “A Private Life” was written by Zlotowski, Anne Berest and Gaëlle Macé. The movie had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and made the rounds at other film festivals in 2025, including the Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. “A Private Life” takes place primarily in Paris and was filmed on location in Paris and in Normandy, France.
In “A Private Life,” Foster is protagonist Lillian Steiner, a psychiatrist who leads an orderly life. Lilian, who lives alone and who works from her home office, has been divorced from her ex-husband Gabriel “Gaby” Haddad (played by Daniel Auteuil) for at least 20 years. Lillian and Gaby have one child together: a adult son named Julien Haddad-Park (played by Vincent Lacoste), who has recently become a first-time father to an infant son named Joseph. Lillian adores her grandson but is slightly uncomfortable with the reality that she is now a grandmother.
Near the beginning of the movie, Lillian is concerned that her client Paula Cohen-Solal (played by Virginie Efira) has skipped their past three sessions. Paula has been Lillian’s client for the past nine years. Paula is a cellist in a classical music orchestra. Paula’s husband Simon Cohen-Solal (played by Mathieu Amalric), who is domineering and arrogant, is the orchestra’s conductor.
Meanwhile, another client named Pierre Hallam (played by Noam Morgensztern) tells Lillian during a session that it will be his last session with her. Pierre had been trying to quit smoking, and he says he recently underwent hypnotism, which he believes has “cured” him of the desire to smoke. Therefore, Pierre tells Lillian, he no longer needs Lillian as a therapist, and this will be their last session together.
Soon after Lillian loses Pierre as a client, Lillian gets even worse news: Paula has died. Lillian finds out when Paula’s young adult daughter Valérie Cohen-Solal (played by Luàna Bajrami) tells Lillian about Paula’s death, which has officially been ruled as a suicide. Valérie asks Lillian if Lillian knows why Paula would want to kill herself, but Lillian says she can’t reveal that information because of patient/therapist confidentiality.
Valérie invites Lillian to the shiva wake for Paula. At the shiva wake, Simon verbally lashes out at Lillian, whom he blames for Paula’s death. Simon orders Lillian to leave. Lillian knew that Paula was unhappily married to Simon. Simon’s hostile reaction to Lillian makes her wonder if Paula was murdered.
The rest of “A Private Life” shows Lillian’s suspicions increasing as she finds out other things that indicate Paula could have been murdered, especially when she discovers that Simon had a mistress named Perle Friedman (played by Aurore Clément). Lillian tells Gaby about her suspicions, and they decide to become amateur sleuths. Along the way, the former spouses also confront past resentments and unresolved issues about the demise of their marriage. Gaby was the one who wanted the divorce because he felt that Lillian didn’t love him anymore.
“A Private Life” features a few quirks to the story. Lillian has a vivid dream that she was a male musician colleague of Paula’s in the same orchestra, and Paula was having a secret affair with this colleague. Lillian begins to wonder if she has psychic abilities. Lillian’s eyes also keep watering for unknown reasons.
During the investigation, Lillian discovers more about Paula and more about herself. Foster and Auteuil’s scenes together are entertaining to watch, as Lillian and Gaby feel rekindled sparks of attraction to each other and have to decide whether or not to act on this attraction. Despite a few areas of the movie that drag, “A Private Life” is a relatively brisk psychological mystery that has engaging performances and should satisfy most viewers who are inclined to be interested in this genre.
Sony Pictures Classics released “A Private Life” in select U.S. cinemas on December 5, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on January 16, 2026. The movie was released in France on November 26, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Chimney Rock, New York, the comedy/drama film “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” (the third movie in the “Knives Out” series) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A controversial and domineering monsignor of a Christian church is murdered, and during the investigation, it’s revealed that several people had reasons to want him dead.
Culture Audience: “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, filmmaker Rian Johnson, the “Knives Out” franchise and murder mysteries with charismatic lead investigators.
Pictured clockwise, from left to right: Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Kerry Washington, Thomas Haden Church, Glenn Close and Daryl McCormack in “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” (Photo by John Wilson/Netflix)
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” maintains the “Knives Out” franchise’s mix of an intriguing murder investigation with memorable characters, engaging performances and some cheeky comedy. This third movie in the series skewers fanatical worship of cult-like leaders. Although much of the mystery is set in and around a Christian church, the movie does not make any statements for or against religion but rather shows how religious beliefs (or non-beliefs) affect people in different ways.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson, “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. The “Knives Out” movie series—which began with 2019’s “Knives Out” and continued with 2022’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”—has a different murder mystery in each movie, which features debonair American Southern gentleman Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig), who is a private investigator, as the lead detective investigating the murder case. It’s eventually revealed in each “Knives Out” movie who hired Benoit for the investigation.
The “Knives Out” series is very much inspired by Agatha Christie novels (Benoit Blanc has been compared to Christie’s eccentric Belgian detective Hercule Poirot), with each investigation having several suspects, who don’t all make it out alive by the time the case is solved. And just like Christie’s novels, each “Knives Out” movie usually has some type of satire or wry observation about social class differences among the suspects. The lead investigator is also usually considered an “outsider” in the place where the investigator is doing the sleuthing.
In “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” Benoit doesn’t appear until about 40 minutes into this 144-minute movie. Instead, the movie’s first-person perspective comes from Father Jud Duplencity (played by Josh O’Connor), a Catholic priest who becomes a prime suspect in the murder of his boss: Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (played by Josh Brolin), a controversial leader of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude Parish, located in Chimney Rock, New York. (“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” was actually filmed in Leavesden, England.)
Father Jud is the movie’s narrator. In the beginning of the movie, he explains that he was transferred from Albany, New York, to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude after he punched a colleague named Deacon Clark (played by Kit Burden) during a fight. During a disciplinary hearing that is presided over by Bishop Langstrom (played by Jeffrey Wright), Bishop Langstrom mentions that one of the options would be to transfer Father Jud to a different parish. Father Jud pleads for mercy by saying, “The world needs love so bad. You give me one more shot, and I promise I’ll do that.”
And so, Father Jud relocates from Albany to the much smaller city of Chimney Rock. All that he knows before he gets to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude is that it’s a parish led by Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, and the parish’s population is dwindling. When Father Jud sees Monsignor Wicks give a sermon for the first time, he finds out why people have been leaving the parish. Monsignor Wicks is a “fire and brimstone” type of preacher, who condemns almost every trivial sin while also demonstrating that he is homophobic and sexist. Several people walk out of the church before the sermon is over.
Monsignor Wicks is also a weirdo who gets pleasure from making people uncomfortable. During Father Jud’s first day on the job, Monsignor Wicks orders Father Jud to listen to Monsignor Wicks’ confessions. Monsignor Wicks then process to describe how many times he masturbated since Monsignor Wicks’ previous confession. Monsignor Wicks also into detail about what happened during these masturbation sessions.
Father Jud doesn’t want to show too much emotion during this confession, but the expression on his face indicates that he’s shocked and somewhat disgusted. Monsignor Wicks continues to force Father Jud to listen to Monsignor Wicks’ masturbation confessions. As time goes on, Father Jud tries to make the parish a more compassionate place for parishioners, but control freak Monsignor Wicks thwarts those attempts. It isn’t long before Monsignor Wicks and Father Jud are openly arguing with each other.
Father Jud finds out that Monsignor Wicks abuses his power because Monsignor Wicks inherited this parish from his deceased grandfather Rev. Prentice Wicks (played by James Faulkner, seen in flashbacks), who founded Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. Prentice Wicks’ daughter Grace Wicks (played by Annie Hamilton, seen in flashbacks) was a “wild child” prodigal daughter who was a single mother to Jefferson until Grace died from a brain aneurysm when Jefferson was about 4 or 5 years old. Shortly before she died, Grace had some type of emotional meltdown over something she believed her father did to hurt her, and she committed extreme vandalism in the church building.
Even though Monsignor Wicks has alienated many of his former parishioners, some have remained as his loyal followers. As expected, Monsignor Wicks wasn’t as pious and upstanding as he proclaimed himself to be to his admiring supporters, many of whom were willing to do anything for him. It’s eventually revealed that all of these parishioners could have a reason to want Monsignor Wicks dead, even though Father Jud remains the prime suspect for most of the story.
Father Jud comes under the most suspicion because he told some of the parishioners about his troubled past when he tried to connect with them in a parish outreach meeting when Monsignor Wicks was still alive. Before he became a priest, Father Jud was a boxer who killed a man during a boxing match. Father Jud said this killing motivated him to turn his life around and was one of the main reasons why he became a priest. Some of the parishioners also heard why Father Jud was transferred, so they wonder if Father Jud still has violent tendencies that would make him a murderer.
Monsignor Wicks dies a church service, when goes into a side room to start serving the communion, but he collapses and never wakes up. It’s soon revealed that he was drugged by a tranquilizer and then stabbed with a knife that has devil’s head for a handle. All of the parishioners who eventually become persons of interest were in the church when this murder happened. Father Jud was not seen for about nine seconds before Monsignor Wicks died, which is another reason why he’s the prime suspect.
These are the parishioners who are involved in the case as witnesses and possibly more:
Martha Delacroix (played by Glenn Close) is the oldest parishioner, who was part of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, ever since she was a girl (played by Cecilia Blair, seen in flashbacks), when Jefferson’s grandfather Prentice was the parish’s leader. Martha is the most devoted of Monsignor Wicks’ followers. She works as the parish’s office manager and was Monsignor Wicks’ personal assistant.
Samson Holt (played by Thomas Haden Church) is Martha’s husband, who adores her immensely and works as the church’s groundskeeper. Samson is a simple man who tends to go along with whatever Martha wants.
Vera Draven (played by Kerry Washington) is a shrewd and cynical attorney who has a law practice that she used to share with her deceased father. Vera, who is a bachelorette, isn’t overly religious, but she attends the church services out of a sense of duty.
Cy Draven (played by Daryl McCormack) is Vera’s adopted son. It’s mentioned early in the story that Cy is believed to actually be the illegitimate son of Vera’s father, who asked adult Vera to raise Cy as her son when Cy was an infant. Cy is a bachelor and an aspiring politician who is a conservative Republican. Cy currently makes a living as a social media influencer who discusses politics and religion.
Dr. Nat Sharp (played by Jeremy Renner) is a divorced sad sack, who is despondent because his ex-wife Darla (played by Nicola Hughes, seen in a brief flashback) left him because she thinks that he doesn’t make enough money for her. Nat is still pining over Darla and feels shame and bitterness that he is divorced.
Lee Ross (played by Andrew Scott) is a bachelor and science-fiction writer who moved to Chimney Rock from New York City about 10 years ago. Lee’s popularity as an author has been on the decline. He wrote a book called “The Holy Man and the Troubadour” about Monsignor Wicks.
Simone Vivane (played by Cailee Spaeny) is a bachelorette and “world-class cellist” who was forced to retire five years ago because of her chronic pain. Simone often uses a wheelchair. It’s hinted that her pain is psychosomatic. Simone is the biggest financial donor to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, but shortly before Monsignor Wicks’ death, she began to suspect he was a con artist who was cheating her out of her money.
Chimney Rock is apparently so small, the only police officer who is shown as a homicide investigator is Geraldine Scott (played by Mila Kunis), who is quick to pass judgment on people and is certain that Father Jud is guilty. And when Benoit shows up and demands that there before thorough investigation before anyone is arrested, Geraldine predictably feels that Benoit is overstepping his bounds and interfering in her jurisdiction. Expect to see conflicts between Benoit and Geraldine.
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” unfolds at a pace that is sometimes leisurely and sometimes rushed. Father Jud has a spirituality crisis during this investigation. He also begins to doubt his sanity. All of the parishioner characters have fairly interesting backstories, except for Samson, Lee and Simone, whose characters are underdeveloped.
“Wake Up Dead Man” gets its title because there’s a part of the story where Monsignor Wicks (who is buried in a mausoleum) is believed to have risen from the dead. This supposed resurrection increases the tension because it separates the “believers” from the “non-believers.” And there’s a persecution mentality that exists whenever someone else comes under suspicion.
More than previous “Knives Out” movies, “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” gives a great deal of the perspective from the point of view of the prime suspect. Benoit is not a supporting character in the movie, but his relatively late arrival in the story is not typical for a murder mystery series where the lead investigator is always the star of the series. All of the cast members give skilled performances, but O’Connor and Craig get the most screen time.
“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” has the expected twists and turns in the story. And although much of the cinematography is visually striking, there are parts of the movie that look like they were filmed in front of a green screen. This artificiality can be somewhat of a distraction, but it doesn’t ruin the movie. The movie’s total runtime is a little too long and would have been better served by have a shorter lead-up to Monsignor Wicks’ murder. “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” has an overly contrived ending, but this suspenseful movie is ultimately a satisfying addition to the “Knives Out” franchise.
Netflix released “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” in select U.S. cinemas on November 26, 2025. The movie premiered on Netflix on December 12, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place in 1916, in Ramsden, England, the dramatic film “The Choral” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: After the Choral Society in Ramsden loses several members (including its choir master) to military service, another choir master is reluctantly takes over, and he recruits several new members who otherwise wouldn’t have been considered.
Culture Audience: “The Choral” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of star Ralph Fiennes and dramas about choirs who need to be trained under a new leader.
Jacob Dudman, Taylor Uttley, Oliver Briscombe and Shaun Thomas in “The Choral” (Photo by Nicola Dove/Sony Pictures Classics)
Dull and superficial, “The Choral” is a series of anecdotal scenes instead of a cohesive story about a revamped choir in 1916 England. This drama has underdeveloped characters with cliché and cardboard personalities. By the end of the film, you will hardly learn anything about the main characters except who is pursuing whom in a few romantic relationships among the young people.
Directed by Nicholas Hytner (who is one of the movie’s producers) and written by Alan Bennett, “The Choral” had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie screened at other festivals in 2025, including the BFI London Film Festival and AFI Fest. The movie takes place in 1916, in the small village of Ramsden, England. “The Choral” was filmed on location in England, at Saltaire Village, West Yorkshire and Versa Leeds Studios.
“The Choral” follows many of typical formulas in yet another movie about a cranky/stern choir director who has a limited time to train a singing group to be good enough for an upcoming competition or big performance. In this movie, the singing group is the Choral Society, a group of men and women who have recently lost several members (including the Choral Society’s choir master) to military service during World War I. Before the new choir master takes over in “The Choral,” the movie rushes through some scenes that show some of the people who are impacted by these changes in the Choral Society.
“The Choral” begins by showing two best friends in their late teens named Ellis (played by Taylor Uttley) and Lofty (played by Oliver Briscombe), who have the unpleasant job of delivering telegrams informing military families that one of their loved ones died in the war. Ellis is very flippant about this serious and depressing job. After they deliver a telegram to a weeping young woman (played by Fiona Morgan) with the news that her brother has died in the war, Ellis comments to Lofty as they walk away that Lofty could’ve used the opportunity to make romantic moves on the woman. “You could’ve gotten in there, Lofty,” Ellis smirks. “Grief. It’s an opportunity.”
Ellis is a one-note character who sees almost every moment of his life as an opportunity to flirt with women, chase women, or make comments on whether or not he thinks a woman’s physical appearance is attractive enough for him. It might be the movie’s attempt to show Ellis as a carefree ladies’ man, but Ellis just comes across as a self-absorbed creep. Lofty is a passive and somewhat generic character whose biggest worry is that he will still be a virgin when he turns 18 years old.
Ellis and Lofty have two other close friends (who are about the same age) in their social circle. Mitch (played by Shaun Thomas) is an earnest go-getter. Clyde (played by Jacob Dudman) is a military soldier who is missing in action in the beginning of the movie. The movie’s trailer and other marketing materials already reveal that Clyde shows up later, when he is discharged from the military for reasons that are shown in the movie.
Meanwhile, four decision makers for the Choral Society have to decide who will replace the people who’ve left the Choral Society because of military service. Bernard Duxbury (played by Roger Allam) is an alderman who sees himself as the leader of the decision makers. The other three decision makers are undertaker Herbert Trickett (played by Allun Armstrong), photographer Joe Fytton and Reverend Woodhead (played by Ron Cook), who have their opinions but find it difficult to persuade stubborn Bernard to change his mind on certain things.
An early scene in the movie shows Bernard and Herbert asking Ellis and Lofty to audition for the Choral Society. Later, during a meeting, the four decision makers lament the fact that Gilbert Pollard (played by Thomas Howes), the Choral Society’s previous choir master, left for military service because he volunteered and was not conscripted. After some discussion, the name Dr. Henry Guthrie is mentioned as a possible replacement for Gilbert.
Dr. Henry Guthrie (played by Ralph Fiennes), a bachelor with no children, is a talented musician who has recently returned to his native England after living several years in Germany. At the moment, he is working as a pianist at the Queens Hotel, which is not too far away from Ramsden. Henry is somewhat mysterious. Considering the tense relations between Germany and the United Kingdom during World War I, some people in the community look at Henry’s long residency in Germany and sudden return to England with suspicion.
Is Henry a spy? A secret political supporter of the German government? “The Choral” hints that it could have this intrigue, but ultimately “The Choral” just makes Henry an inscrutable and often-grumpy character who reluctantly accepts the offer to become the Choral Society’s new choir master. Henry takes the job on the condition that Henry will get to work with his pianist friend Robert Horner (played by Robert Emms), even though Bernard says that Robert’s job with the choir will be an unpaid position.
“The Choral” then shows a very boring series of auditions that result in new members of the Choral Society. Ellis and Lofty are among those who make the cut. So does Bella Holmes (played by Emily Fairn), a young woman who had been dating Clyde before he went off to war. Bella is no longer interested in Clyde but doesn’t want to tell a lot of people that while he is still missing in action. After Clyde is found and is discharged from the military, he returns to Ramsden and joins the Choral Society.
Clyde finds out that Ellis has been courting Bella, who is mutually attracted to Ellis. “The Choral” wastes an opportunity to show Clyde as a well-rounded person who is dealing with the aftermath of war, including long-term physical and mental effects. Instead, “The Choral” makes him somewhat of a token disabled veteran (he lost his right arm during the war) who accepts Bella wanting to move on from Clyde so she can date Ellis, as long as Bella can still give Clyde the occasional hand job. That is literally the gist of Clyde’s story arc in “The Choral.”
Another new addition to the Choral Society is Mary Lockwood (played by Amara Okereke), a prim and proper Salvation Army worker. From the first few moments that Mary is on screen, it’s obvious she will be the star singer of the choir. During her audition, Mary gets wary reactions from longtime choir members Miss Muschamp (played by Carolyn Pickles) and Mrs. Pemberton (played by Angela Curran), whose only purpose in the movie is to play stereotypical uptight elderly women who feel threatened by someone who’s younger and more talented.
The Choral Society is preparing to perform songs from the oratorio “The Dream of Gerontius,” written by Sir Edward Elgar (played by Simon Russell Beale), who is very picky about who gets to perform this oratorio and how it’s performed, because it’s widely considered to be his masterpiece. The Choral Society is under pressure to do a performance that would make Sir Edward proud. Yawn.
In between monotonous rehearsal scenes, where choir master Henry does his expected scolding and scowling, there’s some very uninteresting drama that is only shown on a surface level. Mitch wants to date virginal Mary, who is afraid of dating anyone and wants to focus on her work. Robert is a closeted gay man at who might or might not be secretly in love with Henry.
“The Dream of Gerontius” is about a dead elderly man’s soul on a journey of death. In a community devastated by war deaths, this oratorio takes on particular significance. But you wouldn’t know it from the way this movie treats grief on a surface level.
Bernard had a son who died in the war. Bernard’s unnamed wife (played by Eunice Roberts) is briefly seen at their home as someone who is dressed entirely in black and who spends time sitting around and staring into space. Bernard tells her in an exasperated voice: “This house can’t become a mausoleum.” She replies, “You’re free to live entirely as you please, Bernard.” That’s the extent of which the movie addresses any grief in Bernard’s family.
A character named Mrs. Bishop (played by played by Lindsey Marshal) is a widow whose husband died in the war. Chronic flirt Ellis constantly eggs on Lofty to get some sexual action from Mrs. Bishop. In Ellis’ mind, Mrs. Bishop must be a horny widow who would welcome the chance to have a fling with a good-looking young man who wants to lose his virginity. The movie panders to this notion and makes Mrs. Bishop merely a prop who’s waiting around for male attention that’s shallow and fleeting.
“The Choral” is utterly phony when it comes to how it depicts race relations. Mary is black in a community where less than 1% of the population is black, but not once is her race mentioned in this nearly all-white community. Not once does anyone—not even Mary’s unnamed mother (played by Cecilia Noble), who has a scene talking to Mitch about his romantic interest in Mary—ask Mitch if he’s prepared for any backlash to having an interracial relationship.
Although it would be nice to think that this small village in 1916 England is so progressive that it’s a color-blind society where no one talks about different races, this type of community is an “only in a fictional movie” community for the time and place that it’s supposed to depict. Social class differences are barely acknowledged in “The Choral,” during a time when working-class men are disproportionately conscripted to war combat because they don’t have the resources to get out of this type of military service, compared to rich men. And the movie has a very trite depiction of what it must have been like for a gay man like Robert to live in this time and place.
As for the music and singing in “The Choral,” they are not very impressive and can be downright grating. “The Angel’s Farewell” is the big song performed in the movie’s climax. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a majority of people who see “The Choral” who will remember key components to this song. Fiennes and many of “The Choral” cast members are talented, but there’s only so much they can do when they are given two-dimensional characters to play. Instead of “The Choral,” this movie should be titled “The Bore All.”
Sony Pictures Classics will release “The Choral” in select U.S. cinemas on December 25, 2025. The movie was released in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place from 1742 to 1784, in England and in New York state, the musical biopic “The Testament of Ann Lee” (based on true events) features an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: Ann Lee becomes the leader of a controversial religious group called the Shakers, who practice celibacy and believe in gender equality, even when identifying who God is.
Culture Audience: “The Testament of Ann Lee” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of star Amanda Seyfried, filmmaker Mona Fastvold, and movies about unconventional religious leaders.
Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, Stacy Martin, Lewis Pullman, Scott Handy and Matthew Beard in “The Testament of Ann Lee” (Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)
“The Testament of Ann Lee,” just like its title character, is compelling but might be too weird for some people. This musical biopic of controversial religious leader Ann Lee is visually striking but often monotonous and saved by a noteworthy performance by Amanda Seyfried. Although “The Testament of Ann Lee” is a musical, the song-and-dance numbers are sometimes awkwardly placed in the story, giving the impression that this movie would’ve been better as a pure drama.
Directed by Mona Fastvold (who co-wrote “The Testament of Ann Lee” with Brady Corbet), “The Testament of Ann Lee” had its world premiere at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival and its North American premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie takes place from 1742 to 1784, in England and in New York state. The movie was filmed on location at the Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts.
Although “The Testament of Ann Lee” is a biography, Fastvold explains in the movie’s production notes why she wanted to make the movie a musical: “I felt there was ample room within this historical biography for big gestures, bold theatrics, and operatic scale.” To be sure, there are some memorable scenes that show the Shakers in musical and religious ecstasy. Where the movie stumbles is in the some of the dreary dialogue that tends to drag.
The movie’s song selection consists almost entirely of traditional Shaker spirituals, such as “Worship,” “Beautiful Treasures,” “I Never Did Believe,” “Hunger and Thirst,” “Today Today, ” All Is Summer,” “Row Down O Zion,” “Building and Growing,” “I Love Mother (Pretty Mother’s Home),” “Stone Prison” and “Down to the Deep.” The movie’s two original songs are “John’s Running Song” (written by Fastvold and “The Testament of Ann Lee” composer Daniel Blumberg) and awards-bait tune “Clothed by the Sun,” written by Blumberg and performed by Seyfried.
“The Testament of Ann Lee” is told in three chapters, all in chronological order. The movie has hindsight narration by Mary Partington (played by Thomasin McKenzie), a young woman who became a loyal follower of Ann. This narration, although performed well, isn’t really necessary. Some viewers might find the narration a distraction because the narration just says what is eventually shown in screen.
Mary says in the beginning of the movie’s narration that from a very young age, Ann Lee was preoccupied with religion. At 6 years old, Ann (played by Millie-Rose Crossley) is living in her hometown of Manchester, England. She becomes the second of eight children born to her unnamed parents (played by Willem van der Vegt and Maria Sand), who are poor and uneducated. In real life, Ann’s father’s name was John, and he was a blacksmith.
One night, 6-year-old Ann sees her parents having sex. She seems to instinctively know that what her parents are doing is for adults only. When she tells her father, “I know what you do to her [Ann’s mother],” her father hits Ann hard on her hands. It’s the beginning of Ann associating sex with pain, fear and sadness.
At 12 years old, Ann (played by Esmee Hewett) has no formal education but she becomes immersed in the teachings of a Quakers sect call Society of Friends because her parents are members of this group. Ann’s lifelong best friend is her brother William Lee (played by Harry Conway), who is two years younger than Ann. During her adolescent years, Ann remains serious about religion, uninterested in dating, and receptive to the idea of gender equality.
As young adults, Ann (played by Seyfried) and William (played by Lewis Pullman) remain close and are the guardians of their niece Nancy (played by Viola Prettejohn), who is the daughter of the siblings’ deceased sister. A married couple named James Wardley (played by Scott Handy) and Jane Wardley (played by Stacy Martin) are the leaders of a Society of Friends offshoot that eventually become known as Shakers because they are Quakers who shake uncontrollably and speak in tongues during religious services.
Meanwhile, even though Ann doesn’t really want to get married, she attracts romantic interest from a local blacksmith named Abraham Standerin (played by Christopher Abbott), who is eager to start a family. Ann and Abraham have a fairly quick courtship and get married. However, Ann experiences childbirth trauma when she gives birth to four babies who all die in infancy. Sensitive viewers be warned: The childbirth and death scenes are explicit.
Ann becomes more fanatical about her religion and eventually believes that celibacy is the best way to be closest to God. You can easily predict how Abraham will react to Ann’s celibacy and what it does to their marriage. Through a series of events, the Shakers begin to believe that Ann is a messiah, so she becomes the leader of the Shakers. Ann is given the nickname Mother Ann during her leadership.
Facing persecution in England, the Shakers eventually relocate to New York’s Albany County, where they live fairly separatist, self-sufficient rural lifestyles. At the Shakers’ peak, their membership was about 6,000 people. However, the movie shows how the Shakers find out the hard way that the utopian society that they strive for can never really escape hatred from religious bigots.
“The Testament of Ann Lee” tends to get repetitive with these scenarios: Shakers religious ceremonies, followed by some type of persecution from bigoted people, followed by more Shakers religious ceremonies. The movie doesn’t pass judgment on the Shakers but it also doesn’t fully examine the internal dark sides of the cult-like aspects of this group. Any religious group that believes a human leader is a divine “superhuman” with unexplained abilities and is blindly loyal to that leader is a group that is in danger of imploding or doing other harm.
Seyfried’s performance will make viewers feel many aspects of Ann’s volatile emotional journey as a religious leader, a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend and a feminist. However, because Ann is put on such a proverbial pedestal in the movie, the supporting characters seem underdeveloped in comparison. Pastor Reuben Wright (played by Tim Blake Nelson) and James Whittaker (played by Matthew Beard) become ardent Shaker allies of Ann, but their characters are a bit too generic and needed more personality. There are no bad performances in the film, but it’s very much a showcase for Seyfried, instead of being a deeply layered story of a community with an ensemble cast of fully developed characters.
“The Testament of Ann Lee” misses an opportunity to give more context to how the Shakers made people in the surrounding community feel uncomfortable because of the Shakers’ “radical” ideas of gender equality (even daring to say that God is female) and the Shakers’ religious ceremonies where people seem to become possessed by spirits that make them scream, howl and shake uncontrollably. “The Testament of Ann Lee” mainly depicts bigoted non-Shakers as weapon-carrying men who randomly show up to invade the Shakers’ property and cause hateful violence and other damage. The insidiousness of religious bigotry exists in more subtle ways, but the movie chose to show this prejudice in the most extreme ways.
Aside from skilled performances from the movie’s principal cast members, “The Testament of Ann Lee” has admirable costume design, production design and cinematography. The movie has some surrealistic elements when depicting some of Ann’s mental unraveling. “The Testament of Ann Lee” succeeds in bringing more public awareness to Ann Lee, a pioneering feminist who was ahead of her time. The movie, just like Ann Lee, gets muddled and confused about where how these ideas can work for a religion that preaches gender-equality social changes in a democracy that wants to have a separation of the church and state.
Searchlight Pictures will release “The Testament of Ann Lee” in select U.S. cinemas on December 25, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Palestine’s Gaza Strip, on January 29, 20204, the docudrama film “The Voice of Hind Rajab” (based on true events) features an all-Arba cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class.
Culture Clash: Volunteers at a Red Crescent emergency call center frantically try to save a 6-year-old girl trapped in a car during an outdoor military attack.
Culture Audience: “The Voice of Hind Rajab” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania and are interested in seeing realistic depictions of innocent people caught in the crossfire of war.
Motaz Malhees with a photo of Hind Rajab in the foreground in “The Voice of Hind Rajab” (Photo courtesy of Willa)
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” is a heartbreaking docudrama about the devastation caused by war, as told through the voice of a 6-year-old girl trapped in a car after a military attack in Gaza in 2024. This movie effectively depicts the race against time to save her, from the perspectives of emergency call center employees. “The Voice of Hind Rajab” uses the real voice of the trapped girl, whose name was Hind Rajab, and uses transcripts from the recorded calls as the bases for the scripted parts of the movie.
Written and directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” had its world premiere at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival, where it won several prizes: ARCA CinemaGiovani Award – Best Film of Venezia 81, CICT – UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni Award Croce Rossa Italiana Award, Edipo Re Award, Leoncino d’Oro Award, Sorriso Diverso Venezia Award for Best Foreign Film, and the UNIMED Award. The movie takes place in Palestine’s Gaza Strip and was actually filmed in Tunisia. “The Voice of Hind Rajab” is Tunisia’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film for the 2026 Academy Awards.
The scripted majority “The Voice of Hind Rajab” takes place on January 29, 2024. The movie, which clocks in at 89 minutes, aims to present the story as if it were happening in real time. The movie’s epilogue includes some real-life news footage of what happened after this day. The real names of the emergency responders are used in the movie.
A caption in the beginning of the film explains that on this day, residents of Gaza’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood have been ordered to evacuate by Israeli military. The movie is based on emergency phone calls made that day. At the Red Crescent emergency call center, which is staffed mostly by volunteers Palestine Red Crescent Society, a phone call comes in to Omar A. Alqam (played by Motaz Malhees), who hears a woman on the other line screaming, “They’re shooting at us!”
The phone then goes silent, and no one is responding on the other line. Omar knows the woman has most likely died. He is deeply affected because he knows he has probably been an earwitness to murder.
Another frantic call for help comes into the call center. This time, it’s a man saying his 6-yeaer-old niece Hind Rajab Hamada, who has the nickname Hanood, is trapped in a car outside while there is still active gunfire and bombings. She and other family members had been trying to escape in the car, which got caught in the battle zone and can no longer move. Omar doesn’t want to take this call, but his co-worker Rana Hassan Faqih (played by Saja Kilani) persuades him to take the call. “You were trained for this,” Rana tells Omar.
Omar hears from the uncle that Hind was in the car with a female cousin named Layan, but Layan was able to escape, and Hind is the only known family member who is alive. And then, the phone calls from Hind begin. She describes being frightened and that everyone in the car with her is covered in blood and not moving. Hind seems to know that these family members are dead. She repeatedly pleads for someone to come get her.
Having been unable to rescue someone earlier, Omar is now determined to save this girl, even if it means that he won’t follow protocol. Omar has clashes with a co-worker named Mahdi M. Aljamal (played by Amer Hlehel), who insists that Omar not interfere in Mahdi’s job of being the contact liaison for emergency rescuers. Omar grows impatient and tries to contact emergency rescuers himself.
Rana and another female co-worker named Nisreen Jeries Qawas (played by Clara Khoury) also get involved in talking to Hind on the phone. Rana is the calmer of these two women, and she shows more sympathy for Omar when he gets frustrated or has arguments with Mahdi. Another co-worker named Leila (played by Nesbat Serhan) helps as much as she can.
The movie focuses on Omar, Rana, Mahdi and Nisreen as the main people who are in communication with Hind and with other people who are involved in trying to rescue Hind. The biggest challenge is to find out exactly where Hind is located when she doesn’t know exactly where she is. Based on the gunshots and explosions heard in the background, she’s in an active war zone and could be killed at any moment by bullets or a bomb.
Help is not easy to come by in this emergency. The American Red Cross doesn’t want to get involved when asked by the Red Crescent call center to give assistance. Two emergency rescuers named Youssef Zaino and Ahmed Al-Madhoun end up being the ones to drive to where they think Hind is located. All of the cast members give convincing performances.
Ben Hania’s documentary-styled direction of “The Voice of Hind Rajab” fully immerses viewers into the panic, fear, hope, tension and feelings of helplessness that people have on both ends of the phone calls that are depicted and heard in this harrowing movie. Through it all, the voice of Hind will haunt everyone who hears her, as she desperately wants to live and be reunited with her family. It’s a voice that transcends politics and speaks to basic human decency and compassion when basic human decency and compassion are hard to find during atrocious acts of war.
Willa released “The Voice of Hind Rajab” in select U.S. cinemas on December 17, 2025. The movie was released in Tunisia on September 10, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place at the end of the 16th century in Denmark, the animated film “Scarlet” (inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”) features characters who live in a kingdom and who exist in an Otherworld afterlife.
Culture Clash: After her king father is murdered by his evil brother, a princess vows to avenge and finds herself in a mysterious Otherworld afterlife, where she meets a guy from the 21st century who shows her a different way of thinking.
Culture Audience: “Scarlet” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda and time-traveling fantasy anime films that blend action adventure with existential life philosophies.
Hijiri (voiced by Masaki Okada) and Scarlet (voiced by Mana Ashida) in “Scarlet” (Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” the visually dazzling anime film “Scarlet” has some predictable action in this adventure story about a princess avenging her father’s murder. The movie has a few surprises that save the narrative. “Scarlet” is a fairly simple story that has some deeper philosophical messages about revenge versus forgiveness.
Written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda, “Scarlet” had its world premiere at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival and its North American premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. “Scarlet” is not an exact replica of “Hamlet.” It borrows elements from “Hamlet,” but is a completely different story.
In the beginning of “Scarlet” (which takes place at the end of the 16th century in Denmark), a princess named Scarlet (voiced by Mana Ashida) has an idyllic life. Her kind and gentle father Amlet (voiced by Masachika Ichimura), who is the king of Denmark, adores her and spends quality time with her. Scarlet, who is an only child, wants to make her father proud. “I’ll be the princess you want to be,” she tells Amlet. Scarlet is definitely a “daddy’s girl” because she barely interacts with her mother Gertrude (voiced by Yuki Saito), who will further alienate herself from Scarlet later in the story.
The character of Scarlet is based on the character of Hamlet. Just like in “Hamlet,” Denmark and Norway are feuding with each other. Amlet has an evil brother named Claudius (voiced by Koji Yakusho), who wants to be king. Claudius has Amlet branded as an unpatriotic traitor to Denmark, which leads to Amlet being executed in public. Scarlet witnesses this horrific murder.
With Amlet dead, Claudius becomes king and marries Gertrude. In this movie, Gertrude is shown having a secret affair with Claudius before Amlet died. Scarlet wants to avenge her father’s death and begins training to become a warrior. Claudius wants to get rid of any possible threat to his power as king, so he poisons Scarlet.
Scarlet ends up in an Otherworld afterlife (which looks like a desert with mountains), inhabited by beings who could be dead or alive in the real world. While in this afterlife, she meets a young man from the 21st century named Hijiri (voiced by Masaki Okada), who is friendly and optimistic, in contrast to Scarlet, who is consumed with anger and rage. Over time, Hijiri and Scarlet develop an attraction to each other, but they come from two different worlds. In the production notes for “Scarlet,” Hosoda says that the character of Hijiri is inspired by the character of Ophelia in “Hamlet.”
Most of “Scarlet” consists of Scarlet and Hijiri battling various opponents in this Otherworld afterlife, while Scarlet is determined to find Claudius so she can kill him. Characters from “Hamlet” are also characters in “Scarlet.” Polonius (voiced by Kazuhiro Yamaji) is Claudius’ trusted adviser. Laertes (voiced by Tokio Emoto) is Polonius’ son. Rosencrantz (voiced by Munetaka Aoki) and Guildenstern (voiced by Shota Sometani) are two courtiers who are sent by Claudius to find and kill Scarlet in this afterlife.
The ghost of Amlet makes multiple appearances. And there’s a graveyard scene in “Scarlet” that is a very different version of the graveyard scene in “Hamlet.” In one part of the movie, Scarlet gets a glimpse of what her life would be like if she lived in the 21st century with Hijiri. The movie ends with a revelation that’s meant to pack an emotional punch.
“Scarlet” has some harrowing scenes involving the supernatural and deadly beasts, such as a dragon. The movie’s voice performances are perfectly adequate but don’t particularly elevate the movie. If there’s any criticism for some of the fight scenes, there are a few too many times that the movie has a “damsel in distress” scenario where Hijiri has to come to the rescue. Even with all the action sequences, the movie is at its best with its emotional dilemmas, when Scarlet has to confront her revenge motives, decide how far she’s willing to go, and wonder if it was all worth it in the end.
Sony Pictures Classics will release “Scarlet” in select U.S. cinemas on December 12, 2025. The movie will be re-released in select U.S. cinemas on February 6, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on February 13, 2025.
Culture Representation: The non-fiction film “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” features a predominantly African American group of people (with a few white people) in a montage collection of images that evoke pages from the non-fiction book “Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience.”
Culture Clash: Various cultures and eras are represented in the movie, which includes archival news footage, still photos, re-enactment footage, and clips from movies and TV shows.
Culture Audience: “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in unconventional movies that explore African and African American cultures.
A scene from “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” (Photo courtesy of Rich Spirit)
“BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” is more of a visual feast than a wealth of information. It’s formatted less like a documentary and more like a museum art installation that interprets the 1999 non-fiction book “Africana.” These visual images include archival news footage, still photographs, re-enactment footage, and clips from movies and TV shows.
Directed by Kahlil Joseph, “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” is his feature-film directorial debut. “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and made the rounds at several other festivals in 2025, including the Berlin International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. Kwame Anthony Appiah’s 1999 book “Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience” is given a cinematic portrait in this movie, which takes pages from the book in non-sequential order and assigns visual images to those pages.
The movie begins with an image of someone (whose hands are only shown on screen) opening the book. A caption from director Joseph explains that he and his younger brother got the book as a gift from their father on February 28, 2000. It was the dream of sociologist/writer/scholar W.E.B. Du Buois to write this type of book. He started the project at six months before he died in 1963, at the age of 95.
The movie includes details of Dubois’ 1962 visit to newly independent Ghana, at the invitation of president Kwame Nkrumah. In the movie’s re-enactment footage, Peter Jay Fernandez portrays an elderly Du Bois, while Kaneza Schaal has the role of young adult Du Bois. To give further context the Ghanaian history presented in the movie, “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” include 2023 news footage Business Incorporated about Ghana’s economy in 2023.
The movie’s still photos fly quickly by in montage form, showing a wide variety of prominent public figures, historical events and lifestyles from African and African American cultures. Some of what’s included in these montages are images of jazz, James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni, Rastafarianism, Jamaica, Marcus Garvey, Whitney Houston, Willie Mays, voodoo, and Haiti.
“BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” also features Shaunette Renée Wilson as a journalist named Sarah, who is investigating an exhibit of new and artifact items that have been returned. This scene couldn’t be more timely during a political climate when museums devoted to African and African American culture have come under anti-“DEI” attacking criticisms that sometimes demand the removal of certain items in these museums that present the shameful history of racism against black people. The anti-DEI critics often argue that these items are “racist” against white people.
Other people featured in “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” include transgender activist/author Hope Giselle and Bria Henderson as American feminist Fannie Lou Hamer. The movie experiments with images, such as showing a photo of people in an African American barbershop that has a video screen with these words superimposed on the screen: “Radical Critique of the Present. BLKNWS 2017- Present.”
Joseph has a background in directing music videos (he’s collaborated with Beyoncé multiple times, most notably for her 2016 “Lemonade” video album), so the quick-cutting visual style of music videos is very much present in “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions.” It’s an adventurous and unconventional film that won’t be to everyone’s liking if a viewer is seeking a more traditional format for a non-fiction movie. A captioned announcement in the beginning of the film emphatically states: “This is not a documentary.” “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” is a collage of images that can take viewers on a somewhat shallow but interesting journey.
Rich Spirit released “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” in select U.S. cinemas on November 26, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in an afterlife location called The Junction, the fantasy comedy/drama film “Eternity” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans, Latin people and Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: A dead woman must choose if she’s going to spend eternity with her first dead husband or her second dead husband.
Culture Audience: “Eternity” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and charming movies about the afterlife.
John Early and Da’Vine Joy Randolph in “Eternity” (Photo by Leah Gallo/A24)
“Eternity” skillfully blends comedy and drama in this unique tale of a dead woman who must choose if she’s going to spend eternity with her first dead husband or her second dead husband. The movie has some twists and turns. Some of these plot developments are predictable, while others are not. “Eternity” has a few tearjerking moments, but they aren’t laid on too thick.
Directed by David Freyne (who co-wrote the “Eternity” screenplay with Pat Cunnane), “Eternity” had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. The beginning of the movie takes place in Oakdale, New York, but the majority of “Eternity” takes place in a purgatory-like place called The Junction. “Eternity” was filmed in the Vancouver area.
“Eternity” begins in the year 2020, by showing an elderly married couple named Larry Cutler (played by Barry Primus) and Joan Cutler (played by Betty Buckley) in a car that Larry is driving. Joan and Larry have been married for 65 years. They’re about to go to a gender reveal party for an unborn great-grandchild. Joan has medical tubes in one of her arms.
During this car ride, Larry and Joan argue about where they want to spend their next vacation. Larry wants to go to a beach in Florida for their vacation. Joan would rather go to a place in the Rocky Mountains. “We’re not really Florida people,” she says. The conversation turns somber when Larry switches the subject and says, “We have to tell them.” Joan says, “I know.”
The couple’s big secret, which they will eventually reveal to family members, is that Joan (who is a retired librarian) has cancer and is in the final stage of her cancer. Even though Joan is expected to die before Larry, he’s the one who actually dies first. It happens unexpectedly at the gender reveal party, where Larry choked on a pretzel and died.
Larry finds out that he’s dead when he ends up on a train that goes to a place resembling a train station called The Junction. It’s a purgatory (a transition place between life and eternity) where dead people go in the bodies that they had when they were happiest in their lives. Larry (played by Miles Teller) is in his mid-30s when he is at The Junction. Larry finds out that each person is assigned an afterlife coordinator (AC), who helps makes decisions on what type of afterlife the deceased person will choose.
There are different types of afterlife behind several doors at The Junction. For example, one afterlife where people are perpetually at a beach. Another afterlife is where people are perpetually at a nightclub. Another afterlife is where people are perpetually on a cruise ship. Another afterlife is where people are perpetually in a rural wooded area.
Each afterlife realm has a name that reflects its primary lifestyle. Some of the names include Capitalist World, Man-Free World, Surf World and Infantilization World. Various salespeople are in The Junction, where they act like real-estate agents trying to sell different eternity worlds to undecided people in The Junction.
Larry’s AC is outspoken and friendly Anna (played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who tells Larry the ground rules of choosing where he will spend eternity. The biggest rule is that once someone chooses a specific eternity and enters that realm, the person can’t change the decision. Anyone who changes a decision can be stuck in a dark eternal place called The Void. Another rule is that the dead people can’t use ACs or anyone else to pass notes or messages to other dead people. Communication between the dead people must be directly with each other.
Larry also finds out from Anna that most people stay in The Junction for one of three reasons (1) they can’t accept death; (2) they can’t decide which eternity to choose; or (3) they are waiting for a loved one to show up at The Junction so that they and the loved one can decide together which eternity to choose. Larry wants to wait for Joan at The Junction because he wants to spend eternity with her. Anna tells Larry to avoid going through any red doors, which are implied to be doors to hell.
While Larry is waiting at The Junction, he goes into a bar lounge, where he is served by an amiable bartender. Larry eventually finds out that the bartender is Joan’s first husband Luke (played by Callum Turner), who was newly married to Joan when U.S. military soldier Luke died in combat during the Korean War. Larry and Joan got married in 1955, two years after Luke died in 1953. Joan and Luke did not have any children together, although they had planned to start a family before Luke’s untimely death. In The Junction, Luke is in his late 20s, the age range that he was when he was married to Joan, which was the happiest time in Luke’s life.
It should come as no surprise that Luke has been waiting for Joan at The Junction. Luke’s AC is flamboyant and sarcastic Ryan (played by John Early), who has had a longtime rivalry with Anna, who also happens to be Ryan’s ex-girlfriend. When the inevitable happens, and Joan dies and shows up at The Junction. She appears in the body that she had when she was in her late 20s.
Ryan is also Joan’s AC. Ryan would rather see Joan end up with Luke in eternity, so Ryan will no longer have to look after Luke and because Ryan thinks Luke was deprived of a having a long life with Joan. By contrast, Anna wants Joan to end up with Larry because she thinks Larry and Joan have a more meaningful love story. Joan has difficulty deciding which husband to choose. Predictably, Luke and Larry begin competing with each other to be Joan’s eternity choice.
Even though Luke and Larry never knew each other when they were alive, they know enough about each other to feel that the other rival is the inferior choice. There’s also jealousy between the two men. Larry has been envious of Luke’s good looks and image as a near-perfect “war hero” who was more romantic than Larry. Luke has been envious that Larry had 65 years of marriage with Joan, with a family that includes the descendants of Larry and Joan.
Joan befriends an elderly Junction occupant named Karen (played by Olga Merediz), who gives Joan practical advice about life choices. Most people in The Junction are not in elderly bodies, but Karen (who was a closeted lesbian for most of her life) says she was happiest when she was 72. That was the age Karen was when and went on a three-month vacation with her female best friend/lover and was free to be who she really was for the first time in her life. Karen went back to her closeted life (which included being married to a man) after this vacation.
“Eternity” has an uncomplicated premise that becomes a little more complex because of how well the principal characters are written. Olsen gives the standout performance in the cast because of all the wide range of emotions that Joan feels and expresses throughout this story. Joan has to choose between an eternity where she can find out what life would be like during a marriage that was cut short, an eternity where she can continue in an imperfect but happy marriage that she already knows very well, or she can make another eternity choice that doesn’t involve spending her eternity with Larry or Luke.
Teller’s nuanced performance as Larry succeeds in showing that Larry has a lot more in his inner life than being just a “regular guy.” Larry is clearly meant to be the most “relatable” character in “Eternity.” Turner gives a solid performance as Luke, who isn’t just a “pretty face” but has a lot of passion and thoughtful romance to offer to Joan. “Eternity” has some laugh-out-loud moments and some tender emotional scenarios, as Joan spends time with Luke and Larry to make her decision. Larry and Luke also have a few moments where they get to know each other better in this purgatory environment.
Although it’s very believable that Joan was in love with Larry and Luke when she was married to each of them, it’s never believable that Anna and Ryan used to be lovers. “Eternity” tries hard to convince viewers that Anna and Ryan still have sexual tension with each other, but Anna and Ryan come across more like platonic “frenemies” rather than people who ever had a romantic interest in each other. However, Randolph and Early have great comedic timing as Anna and Ryan, since the purpose of Anna and Ryan is mostly to be the movie’s “comic relief” characters.
“Eternity” is not a manipulative film that tries to be all things to all people. The dialogue is often witty and incisive but never preachy or overly judgmental. Although a few parts of the movie feel repetitive, when it comes to Joan dragging out the time that she takes to make her decision, “Eternity” keeps viewers guessing about what choice Joan will make. And when Joan makes her final decision, “Eternity” unapologetically celebrates it. It’s a movie that takes an optimistic view about true love and how life choices—even if they are mistakes—are still worth learning from in anyone’s journey of being honest about the difference between what we want versus what we need.
A24 will release “Eternity” in U.S. cinemas on November 26, 2025. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on December 23, 2025.
