RUTH AYLETT recommends two anthologies: one that bears witness to refugee and immigrant experiences, and the other to our political relationship to water
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An error occurred while searching, try again later.Film round-up: November 7, 2024
Lego synaesthesia, a tender portrait of poverty, bear-faced capers and premature Santa: The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Piece By Piece, Bird, Paddington in Peru and Red One
SETH SANDRONSKY appreciates a fresh take on a 100-year-old novel that helps to contextualise the current moment of conspicuous wealth, waste and climate chaos
A no-nonsense ex-Garda female cop, Scandi-noir’s newest flawed hero, the lure of Aussie gold, and unexpected decency in Silicon valley
JAN WOOLF doubts that soft-core musical is the best way to transmit an important story of heroism and resistance
Reviews of Ella Fitzgerald, My Morning Jacket, and Toria Wooff
GORDON PARSONS admires a version of Marlowe’s grim tragedy that strips it down to its gay essentials
When Cassy’s father fails to connect with his daughter — and misses out on
an evening in the Bitter End — a stranger’s self-mocking charm brings seething resentment.
Piece By Piece (PG)
Directed by Morgan Neville
★★★★
THE closing film at this year’s London Film Festival, Morgan Neville’s psychedelic and innovative documentary chronicles the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams through a Lego lens.
Williams, his wife, his close friends and colleagues including renowned stars such as Jay-Z, Missy Elliot, Gwen Stefani and Snoop Dogg all appear as Lego figures as they are interviewed although these artists apparently weren’t informed of that little detail at the time.
The loud and brightly coloured Lego settings are initially very distracting as you are captivated by the colourful figures and backdrops rather than what they are saying. It isn’t until you are halfway through the film that the novelty wears off.
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ANGUS REID applauds the inventive stagecraft with which the Lyceum serve up Stevenson’s classic, but misses the deeper themes