Cillian Murphy's 'Small Things Like These' & Other New Films Reviewed

Small Things Like These: Cillian Murphy's Passion Project

• 💡 Small Things Like These is a character study designed around Cillian Murphy's star persona, highlighting his performance as a working-class family man.
• 🎯 Murphy's character discovers a Magdalen laundry, a penitentiary for unwed mothers, hidden in his village, testing his strong moral core.
• 🎭 The film's moody and impressionistic style aims to place viewers in the headspace of a man facing a difficult decision: call out the church or live with cowardice.
• 🏆 This film is a culmination of Murphy's career, featuring co-stars he's known for over 20 years and produced with Matt Damon.

The Shrouds: David Cronenberg's Personal Exploration

• 🧠 David Cronenberg's latest film, The Shrouds, delves into a mix of technology, medicine, conspiracy, and body modification.
• 💔 The protagonist, played by Vincent Cassell, has created a technology to monitor loved ones from beyond the grave, which becomes entangled in international intrigue.
• 🎭 The film is deeply personal for Cronenberg, with Cassell's character serving as a stand-in for the director, exploring his own grief after losing his wife.
• 🌌 The narrative uses a dreamlike logic, where the logic of grief overrides the often nonsensical strands of conspiracy.

Rumours: A Darkly Comedic G7 Summit

• 🧟 Rumours is a dark comedy that imagines a G7 summit descending into apocalyptic chaos with zombies and disease.
• satirizes political leaders, with characters riffing on figures like Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden, and Cate Blanchett playing a sardonic German chancellor.
• 🎬 The film blends surrealism with a dry, deadpan style, creating a unique and acquired taste of humor.
• 🎭 Even the stars found it difficult to summarize, highlighting its blend of comedy, tragedy, and horror.

Un Homme et Une Femme: A Cannes Classic

• 💖 The re-release of Claude Lelouch's Un homme et une femme is honored as the official poster for the Cannes Film Festival.
• 🏆 The 1966 film, an elemental love affair, won the Palme d'Or and two Academy Awards, with a memorable score by Francis Lai.
• 🌟 The film and its stars, Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant, have become film icons, inspiring the festival's posters.