GABRIELE NEHER draws attention to an astoundingly skilled Flemish painter who defied the notion that women cannot paint like men
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It’s positivity that wins the day
Maria Duarte is charmed by this teenage gay rom com that, although predictable, is highly engaging and topical
The Bard pays homage to Hull’s finest promoter and venue, and awards Douze Points to Laibach
KEVIN DONNELLY outlines how the bourgeois institutions inhibit our ability to to view art in revolutionary ways, and suggests some tactics to overturn it
ANDY HEDGECOCK welcomes an accessible - and optimistic - take on our relationship to new technology
JOHN GREEN suggests that a new, biased, and highly readable re-hash of the story of the Cambridge Five be taken with a large pinch of salt
BRENT CUTLER welcomes a timely reminder of the long history of protests and the outdoor spaces in which they takes place
Love, Simon (12A)
Directed by Greg Berlanti
★★★★
It has been long in coming but finally Hollywood's first teenage gay rom com which is sweet, funny, totally disarming and an entertaining joy.
Based on Becky Albertalli’s young adult novel it centres on 17-year-old Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) who hasn't told his liberal parents (Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel) or his friends his greatest secret that he is gay. In the meanwhile he falls for an anonymous classmate online.
When he is threatened and blackmailed with being outed by the obnoxious school idiot (Logan Miller) it forces him to come to terms with his real identity.
With its John Hughes undertones director Greg Berlanti delivers a rich and smart coming of age tale that most teenagers, regardless of their sexuality, will be able to relate to.
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