THE OUTRUN packs a meaningful story and tremendous performance from Ronan
by Megan Bailey, Staff Writer
The emotional core of The Outrun is incredibly strong, and Ronan holds that center very well.
SEE HOW THEY RUN is an absolute delight.
by Rosalie Kicks, Editor in Chief and Old Sport
Every so often a flick comes along that makes me wonder how the filmmaker slipped it by the Hollywood moguls. Was it a work of hypnosis? Maybe a possession of sorts?
Ammonite
Written and directed by Francis Lee
Starring Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones, and Fiona Shaw
Running time 2 hours
MPAA rating: R for longing looks and lesbian love
by Jaime Davis, The Fixer
There are countless historical lesbian melodramas out there in the world, like the gorgeous Carol, perfect The Handmaiden, and the exquisite Portrait of a Lady on Fire, just to name a select few. And now in 2020, there’s Ammonite, blazing bright with the star power of Saoirse Ronan and Kate Winslet, beautiful in its gray melancholia, but lacking much in the way of feeling behind the central tale. I’m not even going to attempt to discuss why there are so many lesbian period films, because this piece by Kira Deshler in Screen Queens provides theories far superior to anything I could ever cobble together. Deshler argues that many of these (mainstream) films exist because of a potent combination of audience tastes, beauty, and aesthetics. Studios are keen to produce these films as they’re commonly considered less sexually explicit while their disconnection from the current time period allows for a lack of overt political commentary, hence them being safer choices at the box office. Basically, what we’re left with are movies about sad white women in restrictive clothing falling in love and fumbling with petticoats.
Read MoreLittle Women (2019)
Written for the screen and directed by Greta Gerwig
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson and Florence Pugh
MPAA rating: PG for thematic elements and brief smoking
Running time: 2 hours and 15 minutes
by Fiona Underhill
Full confession: I bought the Little Women book a few months ago, with the intention of reading it before the latest film adaptation (this time, directed by Greta Gerwig) came out. However, I ran out of time. So my previous knowledge going into this was based on the 1994 version (directed by Gillian Armstrong). I could remember the ‘big’ moments – Amy burning Jo’s book, Jo cutting and selling her hair, Amy falling through the ice and, of course, when bleep dies. A lot of my feelings towards Little Women up until now have been wrapped up in my teen crushes on Winona Ryder and Christian Bale. Now, a new generation of teen heartthrobs – Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet and Florence Pugh get to bring the story to a 2019 audience. When it was announced that Gerwig was directing “yet another” version of Louisa May Alcott’s book, many questioned whether we really needed another Little Women film. However, with themes that are this contemporary, fresh and relevant to each new generation that discovers the story of the March sisters, who cares?
Read MoreMary Queen of Scots
Directed by Josie Rourke
Written by Beau Willimon
Starring: Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie
Running time: 2 hours, 4 minutes
MPAA rating: A lady experiences sexual pleasure, therefore, RATED R
by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport
“Marriage is dangerous.”
Being Queen...nah, not today.
I couldn’t help but see this film as a quasi public service announcement. The message being, the life of a Queen, just plain sucks (well maybe, except for the WIG selection). Josie Rourke’s two hour and four minute directorial debut is based on the untold TRUE story of the relationship between Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) and Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie).
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