Back from a mini tour of Yorkshire and Stockport and cheering for supporting act Indignation Meeting
Film round-up: March 31, 2022
The Star's critic Maria Duarte reviews True Things, The Novice, Coppelia, and Morbius
Ruth Wilson
ALISTAR FINDLAY is mesmerised by this multiple ‘Visions of Scotland’ assault on the audience’s eyes and senses
The Star's critics ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MICHAL BONCZA reviews I Am Love, The Penguin Lessons, Freaky Tales, The Thicket
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
New releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
Peter Mitchell's photography reveals a poetic relationship with Leeds
A uncomfortably misogynistic authorial voice that sometimes seems to lack insight troubles FIONA O’CONNOR
True Things (15)
Directed by Harry Wootliff
★★★
A BENEFIT claims officer finds herself heading into an intoxicating car-crash relationship after a chance encounter with a charismatic, blond stranger in this slow-burning sexual drama from co-writer-director Harry Wootliff.
Warned by her co-worker and friend (Hayley Squires) that becoming involved with a client is a sackable offence, thirty-something Kate (Ruth Wilson) can’t help but be swept away by Blond (Tom Burke), an ex-con who awakens her from her stupor.
Unfortunately, he stamps all over her self-esteem as quickly as he lifts it up. Though an intelligent woman, she begins to define herself through him in a tale sadly as old as time.
Based on Deborah Kay Davies’s novel, this is a complex, character-driven work about toxic relationships, elevated by Wilson and Burke’s stunning performances and sizzling chemistry.
The pair are exquisite to watch as they bring their characters to life, ending in a hopeful and satisfactory conclusion.
More from this author
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Sebastian, Four Mothers, Restless, and The Most Precious of Cargoes
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a drama that explores the formative years of Richard Burton’s life
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a deliciously dark thriller that explores the complex loyalties within a marriage
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE review Cottontail, Memoir of a Snail, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, and Captain America: Brave New World
