Release Date – 19th April 2024 , Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 16 minutes, Director – Jeymes Samuel

As debts begin piling up Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) poses himself as the messiah in order to make money, however this comes with its own consequences.

When being interviewed about the controversy surrounding the then newly-released Life Of Brian on Friday Night, Saturday Morning John Cleese responded to Tim Rice’s question about ‘why Brian?’ simply stating “It’s one of the funny names, isn’t it? It’s like Trevor and Kevin, they’re just funny”. Now, joining the ranks of amusingly named not-messiahs is Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) – the low-achieving twin brother of disciple Thomas (also Stanfield). Before premiering at this year’s London Film Festival multiple comparisons were between The Book Of Clarence and Life Of Brian, yet in this case you can actually see those similarities coming through, with plenty of extra spark and originality. While Brian was desperate not to be the messiah, Clarence is trying his best to come across as just that, and in the process is a very naughty boy.

Owing a growing amount of money Clarence devises a scheme to pose himself as the messiah, with the help of friend Elijah (RJ Cyler), in order to rake in the cash. As things start to look up for the pair, and those they rope into their con, it could be so easy for Clarence to come across as a much louder comedic character, yet he’s consistently reined in by Stanfield and writer-director Jeymes Samuel – previously working together on Samuel’s debut The Harder They Fall, where Stanfield stood out amongst a great ensemble cast.

Once again Samuel brings together an almighty ensemble cast (including David Oyelowo – very funny as John The Baptist – Alfre Woodard, Omar Sy, James McAvoy, Micheal Ward and Benedict Cumberbatch), each putting in great performances and matching his directorial flair and energy. Continuing from his debut feature there’s a clear punchy style from the director, and his scores too which also help to bring more traditional genres – in this case the biblical epic – up to date. Mix in the laughs, and there are a great many to be found here, and there’s a consistently entertaining piece of work. Even when nearing and past the two-hour mark the laughs still manage to flow in. It’s humour which feels so much a part of the characters and world that it naturally springs up yet still comes with an unexpected hit each time.

It helps to keep things going within a narrative which, while enjoyable, occasionally feels like it goes from A to C to get X for Y to get to B, before somewhat skimming around in the third act as it knows it needs to wrap things up. Yet, there’s still plenty to like about the energy and humour that the occasional narrative bumps don’t come through too often. Allowing for the dramatic tones in the later stages to be well-handled and led into for even more effect. It’s here where even more of the originality comes through with the themes and ideas that Samuel has been playing with coming more to the fore. Even the comedy beforehand plays into the impact.

It’s rare that a comedy exceeds two-hours and largely works, but by focusing on the characters – even if the story occasionally seems somewhat winding – and the way they develop and interact over the course of the narrative The Book Of Clarence successfully hits. Infused with Jeymes Samuel’s energetic and modern-feeling style the humour helps influence the later drama with both comedic and eventually narrative effect. The starry cast put in good performances with an excellent lead from Stanfield who powers through with a subtle depiction of growing confidence, and regret and fear. It brings an extra layer to this interesting and up-to-date, not to mention hilarious, biblical take filled with drive and energy. It feels destined to be looked back on very fondly in years to come.

Flashy and original there’s a lot to like about The Book Of Clarence’s punchy style and energy, all while still feeling effectively held in thanks to Stanfield’s excellent performance, backed by a great supporting cast. Helping both the comedy and eventual dramatic beats.

Release Date – 21st June 2024, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 56 minutes, Director – Jeff Nichols

A photographer and reporter (Mike Faist) tracks the lives of a 60s motorcycle club as their dynamic shifts with the changing times and faces.

The Bikeriders is dominated by an aesthetic of ‘old school cool’. The style leads much of what comes across in the chapters and sequences which construct the development of a 1960s Chicago motorcycle club. All united by a love of riding bikes, and talking about riding bikes, the group – led by Tom Hardy’s Johnny – simply want to go about their business. They’re not a gang of tough guys, they’re family people. But, of course, they’re misunderstood by the rest of the city, seen as figures of unrest, particularly due to the actions of the younger generation who particularly misperceive the central bikeriding group.

A photographer and reporter Danny (Mike Faist) surveys and interviews the group the dynamic changes over the years. The shift comes through in bits and pieces, largely in the second half, within the chapters. There isn’t much of a narrative in place throughout writer-director Jeff Nichols’ latest, instead more a series of moments capturing that aforementioned vibe and aesthetic so key to the way in which the film wants to come across. So much of what we see is down to the initial external appearance. From the look of the gang, the roar of the bikes – there’s a clear attention to detail in the sound design – and on some occasions the accents.

Jodie Comer plays Kathy, the wife of key rider Benny (Austin Butler). She sums his reckless driving and attitude up with the statement “Benny thinks that when you die you’re better off than when living”. Benny is pitched as the successor to Johnny’s leadership of the group, maybe if he could get his act together, and the film seems to want to pitch Butler as a lead yet never really gives him enough to do to justify this. Meanwhile, Comer narrates much of the film with her outside view on the events and relationships of the core group, and while her performance is good it largely feels characterised by the accent.

With so much external detail happening on screen it does feel like the story is sometimes left behind. It’s hard to engage with some of the events and characters simply due to the main link being the bikes and same characters with little narrative happening alongside. The style is the personality and this would be more fine if there was more to the film as a whole. What we get is fine, and it has its moments and interesting beats, but it’s not always enough, especially in the first half before the changing face of motorcycle clubs leads to gangs and violence, to make for a more steady piece of work.

The plot beats, when arriving over halfway through, are skipped through with enough detail to have an effect while keeping the lingering embers of ‘old school cool’ in place to get across the point of “the end of the golden age of motorcycles”. In capturing the feeling of a photo collection – like the film is based on – things jump around and try to look back with largely the pictures and memories to go on. While this doesn’t quite construct a narrative to run throughout and properly tie things together it makes for something that works enough over the course of the film, even if not everything manages to grab your attention over the almost two hour run-time.

While there’s clear attention to detail in the overall aesthetic, look and feel of The Bikeriders the lack of story means it jumps through its sequences without always having something to engage with until the bigger developments of the second half.

Release Date – 26th January 2024, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 45 minutes, Director – Andrew Haigh

Struggling to write a script and potentially entering into a relationship with a neighbour (Paul Mescal), Adam (Andrew Scott) finds himself exploring what life would be like if his parents (Claire Foy, Jamie Bell) hadn’t passed away thirty years before.

The new block of flats that screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) lives in is almost entirely empty. The modern design somehow emphasises his isolation when he occasionally leaves his flat to wander the corridors or visit his parents. With each visit he’s greeted with warm smiles and welcoming hugs, a loving embrace from both mum (Claire Foy) and dad (Jamie Bell). In terms of real life ages Scott is older than both Foy and Bell, the seeming closeness of their characters’ ages is addressed later on when it’s revealed that Adam’s parents passed away thirty years before. He’s using their lives as inspiration for a screenplay he’s struggling to write, however the real reason may be closer to him simply confronting his long-lingering grief.

As he looks back on the past things begin to move forward with the only other person in his building, Harry (Paul Mescal). The two engage in simple back-and-forths to start with, clear interest shown between the pair towards the other, and overtime a relationship potential rears its head around the corner. Throughout the various conversations which make up the film very little is said, there’s plenty of breaks and silence capturing thought and hesitancy – “I play music, but it’s worse when it ends” Adam says about the quietness where he lives – characters say what they need to say and little else.

What’s said is frequently personal for the central character. Considered and believable conversations with his parents where he reverts back to his childhood state while still coming across as his adult self. The quietness is given time and space to settle in and have as much effect as possible, heightened by a set of great performances to boost the emotional core. Adam is trying to move ahead, but finds it difficult to do so as he continues to delve into the ‘what could have been’ of the past. While emotional at their core there’s a warmth to his interactions with his parents, and occasional humour. A scene involving him coming out to his mum is full of well-handled tonal changes as he tries to catch her up on the changes, and proved falsehoods, since the 80s.

Throughout Scott dives into the phrase “I’ve always said that writers know less about the real world than anyone else” as his potential fantasies make for a safe comfort, while the real world and his interactions with Harry, particularly a sequence in a night club, have their fair share of worry and uncertainty from Adam. Will he mess things up? Where will they go? Such thoughts are well combatted by Mescal’s more outgoing, highly flirtatious turn. One particular sequence set to Blur’s Death Of The Party particularly stands out for its effect – the soundtrack as a whole adds a good deal to the film.

Andrew Haigh brings a tenderness to the film through his direction, having also written the screenplay adapted from Taichi Yamada’s novel Strangers. Quiet, calm and thoughtful it injects feeling into the deeply personal set of events that Andrew Scott’s character goes through. The heart helps to power where the journey ends up going, and the confrontations and understandings he makes with his own grief. It invites us in and makes for a stronger connection with the characters as they interact with Adam, exploring his held-in emotions, potentially coming through in full if the events with his parents take place in his mind – the workings of that are up to the viewer. The worlds blend and work together to make for an emotionally intelligent and thoughtful drama.

Full of brilliantly performed personal conversations All Of Us Strangers emphasises thought and quietness in the emotional journey of Andrew Scott’s central figure, making for a tender portrait of stagnant grief and hesitant emotions.

Release Date – 19th January 2024, Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 13 minutes, Director – Alexander Payne

Forced to stay at the boarding school he teaches at to look after kids with nowhere to go at Christmas, Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) finds himself forming an understanding with a particularly troublesome student (Dominic Sessa).

“Adversity builds character, Mr Tully” Paul Giamatti’s Paul Hunham tells one of his smartest, yet most troublesome, students after the wider class fails a key exam he’s set just before the Christmas break. It’s a break that he and Dominic Sessa’s Angus Tully will be spending together when the ancient civilisations (he makes sure people know that he doesn’t teach history) teacher is placed on duty for looking after the students with nowhere to go at Christmas.

Tensions are already high between the pair after Angus’ family leave him alone at the last minute, and are uncontactable when all the other remaining students find a way to spend the season elsewhere. Everyone present, including school cook Mary (a standout Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who recently lost her son in the Vietnam War, is closed off and distant. It’s with these kind of characters that Alexander Payne has long best succeeded. Even more so in creating warmth as they gradually come together.

There’s a strong heart shown to the characters in their respective isolation and pain. While one struggles to control his emotions and the other guards himself behind a curmudgeonly persona Mary acts as something of the midway between the pair – further pushing the strength of Randolph’s truly excellent, awards-worthy turn. All three performances are great and have their tender touches, particularly the quiet subtleties of Giamatti’s turn. As the trio gather together for Christmas dinner the moment is simply allowed to exist as it is. The hesitancy drops and the characters slowly draw together to be less alone on that day, and not just for the sake of not being alone.

Natural human relationships are at the core of the film. Effectively stemming from David Hemingson’s screenplay which is scattered with sharp, witty lines of dialogue – Giamatti gets a plethora of hilarious insults throughout, at one point referring to a restaurant as a “fascist hash-foundry”. You buy into the developing bonds on-screen, perhaps propelled by the warm wintry tones of the closing days of the year.

Yet, while there’s humour from the initially distant relationship between Paul and Angus, Payne manages to bring out the more emotional beats and elements of their natures. Overtime, while humour is very much still present but with different focuses instead of a new style, you grow closer to them; feel their disappointment, sadness and even loneliness. There’s a very considered nature to the ways in which their written and performed, pushing the details further and making for an even more engaging character-led piece. One which makes for a simple, unflashy depiction of humanity. Distanced figures coming together when they most need an extended arm. The Holdovers extends such an arm of understanding to both the characters and the viewer.

Consistently funny and filled with warmth, The Holdovers shows Alexander Payne doing what he does best with three brilliantly performed characters coming together amongst emotional pain and isolation, it’s a welcome arm of human understanding.

Release Date – 12th January 2024, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 47 minutes, Directors – Kibwe Tavaras, Daniel Kaluuya

Whilst planning to move to a better apartment, Izi (Kane Robinson) takes in a bereaved child (Jedaiah Bannerman) to his home in The Kitchen, a block of flats regularly attacked by police trying to evict the residents.

There’s a believable design to the world of The Kitchen. Both the titular block of flats and the landscape outside of it. It’s nice to know that no matter how run down the streets of London are, at least Poundland still exists. Yet, it’s a place that the residents of The Kitchen visit little. They largely spend as much time as close to their flats as possible. The small space outside of the building is full of vibrant shops and stalls, easy to close in case the police break in.

Orders have been in place for an extensive time for the demolition of The Kitchen, however the residents refuse to leave – in part for not being able to afford a new, modern flat. Therefore, the police frequently run in capturing as many people who don’t make it back to their flats in time in scenes which maintain a chaotic intensity. The one person with little plan to stay is Kane Robinson’s Izi, he’s saving up to move to one of the various high-tech apartments surrounding his current home. However, he experiences a setback when he takes in bereaved child Benji (Jedaiah Bannerman) after seeing him at the funeral home he works at – where the dead are allowed to move on by being used to grow trees.

As the pair’s quiet and engaging relationship grows the raids on The Kitchen increase in frequency and brutality. It makes Izi even more intent on leaving, however Benji is making his plan more difficult: the flat he’s preparing to move into is only for one person and is strictly monitored. There’s a lot going on in the film in regards to its themes and the different strands that it follows for its central characters, and indeed the main location as we reach the halfway point it feels as if it starts to lose itself amongst them.

As things stretch on the various strands are kept in place, and as they continue it feels as if the story could be condensed into a short film, or as if it’s been adapted from one. Into the second half it starts to leave a somewhat cold feeling. Interest in the setting may be maintained, but with the way the themes are drawn out or tangled throughout the run-time means that things never quite have the same gripping nature as the occasional louder bursts. The themes and focuses shift from scene to scene and, again, almost bring a jumpy quality to the overall film, especially in the second half when the developments should be having more emotional impact.

While there’s interest in the world and engagement with the characters The Kitchen loses itself amongst its different strands, losing effect and feel as if it could be more condensed.

Release Date – 24th November 2023, Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 9 minutes, Director – Bradley Cooper

Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) looks back on his life, particularly his changing relationship with Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan).

Perhaps one of the best sequences in Maestro is a sequence solely focusing on an orchestra being conducted by Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper). He passionately leads the group as their music echoes across the stone walls of a brightly lit church. At the end as the final note faded a composer sat next to me, having expressed his interest in the film for the musical angle to me beforehand, simply said ‘wow’. Afterwards, when mentioning that his response was my favourite thing about the film, he didn’t know he’d made the quiet exclamation. Further showing the power of the scene, particularly to him.

It’s a moment solely focused on the music, and indeed Bernstein’s relationship to it. The opening stages could almost be plucked straight from a musical as a young Bernstein joyously bounds from his home into a music hall – a huge smile across his face. It’s an energetic start, further encapsulated by Cooper’s performance, getting into the voice and character very early on. While some more stylised sequences may somewhat stick out amongst the more natural, talky tone of the rest of the film, there’s a good early push to show the spark of Bernstein’s rise to fame. “Music is the most important thing I can do” he explains later in the film.

Yet, the relationship that Cooper’s latest directorial effort is more concerned with is that with his wife, Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan, doing a very good ‘old timey Hollywood’ accent). Bernstein looks back on his life in an interview which opens the film, the early days of the couple’s romance shown in black and white. Over time the relationships is tested, particularly when it comes to the central figure delving into his sexuality. It’s a point you wish the film itself would delve into more, alongside a number of other points throughout, as it often skims the surface of what feel like key areas to return to a whistle-stop tour of the central marriage.

Perhaps why the second half works somewhat better as elements relating to Bernstein’s affair and sexuality are reeled in for a focus on the later years of the pairs relationship. You still wish that some more detail would be provided on other matters, the film occasionally feels as if it wants to discuss them more but doesn’t want to push its run-time or get distracted. Therefore, it generally tries its best to stay on its path of looking at Bernstein and Montealegre’s relationship over the years. Like Bernstein with his music you sometimes wish that the film would get a bit more lost in these moments, dig in to find more and bring out the emotion. Instead it avoids doing so, occasionally bringing to mind thoughts that perhaps this might work best for people with a pre-existing knowledge of Bernstein and his work – one beyond his mention in R.E.M.’s It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (and yes, that does get a brief, smile-inducing play).

While what’s present is likable and does a good job of engaging you in the story of a man who “leaves the bathroom door open for fear of being alone” – helped particularly by Cooper’s great central performance – you simply wish that it did that bit more. Instead it sometimes feels as if things are slightly unfocused instead of hesitant, especially in the first half before a more direct nature comes in for the final stages. The later years where Bernstein’s career seems to take a different form, and to some extent the film does as well – although still keeping the more natural dialogue and depictions – showcase the more personal drama for Cooper and Mulligan and its as their relationship becomes more tense, and potentially distant, the things feel most focused.

While starting off with energy and promise, especially thanks to a great performance from Bradley Cooper, Maestro is held back by the fact that it rarely delves into multiple key and interesting points about its central figure, bringing them up but never developing them.