MARIA DUARTE recommends a remarkable study of the friendship between a Palestinian and a Pakistani, broken by a hostile state
Latest editorial
Comic cuts in Caledonia
ALAN FRANK enjoys a comic chiller about an oddball Glasgow barber and the hunt for a serial slasher
MATTHEW HAWKINS rakes through un-fancy words and flair-free summaries to find who and what might be flamboyant
PETER MASON is exhilarated by an exciting, well-considered and historically minded tribute to the great Trinidadian instrument
Reducing historical lives to ‘male’ and ‘female’ roles, we lose the nuance of those lives and a clearer understanding of past societies, suggests CLAIRE ISABELLA GILMOUR
CHRIS SEARLE relishes the genius of pianist Alexander Hawkins, his many ensembles, and his new album
The Legend of Barney Thomson (15)
Directed by Robert Carlyle
4/5
THE MOST entertaining Thomson in this deeply dark black comedy is not the eponymous Barney but rather Emma Thompson. Memorably funny, she’s unrecognisable in a barmy red wig and ageing make-up as his mother.
Barney Thomson is played by Robert Carlyle who doubles — and rather well too — as director in this, his debut behind the camera.
Similar stories
ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MARIA DUARTE review On The Sea, A Useful Ghost, Brunello: The Gracious Visionary, and Pinocchio Unstrung
DOUGLAS FIELD relishes the hard-boiled language, satire and humour of the third and last of the Harlem trilogy
ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Synthetic Sincerity, Our Hero, Balthazar, Heartstopper Forever, and A Year In London
MARIA DUARTE, JAMES WALSH and ANDY HEDGECOCK review The Invite, My Father’s Island, Nirvanna: the Band, the Show, the Movie, and Oh My Goodness!