Movies For A Sunday Night

Hamnet

England, 1580. Poor Latin schoolteacher Will and the free spirited Agnes fall deeply in love and marry. Together they raise three children. As Will builds his reputation in London's thriving theater scene, Agnes is left to care for their family alone.

Is it worth watching?

🟢🟢🟢🟢

• Jessie Buckley is A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y phenomenal. A truly disarming performance.
• Paul Mescal is also excellent, delivering a restrained, deeply internal performance.
• Chloé Zhao finds her voice again as a director, creating beautiful imagery through a naturalistic approach.
• I found the ending incredibly powerful and moving.
• A heartfelt tribute to the cathartic power of art.
• Gorgeous cinematography.
• An outstanding recreation of the period.
• A layered exploration of profound grief.

🔴🔴🔴🔴

• It drags a little in certain parts.
• The pacing is uneven, which occasionally makes it feel slow.
• At times, the emotional impact felt a bit forced.

The Housemaid

Trying to leave her troubled past behind, Millie accepts a job as a live in housemaid for the wealthy Nina and Andrew Winchester. But what begins as the perfect opportunity quickly unravels into something far more dangerous.

Is it worth watching?

🟢🟢🟢🟢

• It has the feel of a classic 1990s thriller, which immediately won me over and made its box office success easy to understand.
• Amanda Seyfried is outstanding in the second half of the film.
• Sydney Sweeney is perfectly fine in the role and delivers exactly what's required.
• It's an entertaining, easy watch, largely because it never pretends to be anything more than a fun thriller.
• Some of the twists work really well, even if they're not entirely original.
• Elizabeth Perkins makes a strong impression despite her limited screen time as the mother in law.
• The pacing is solid, with effective escalation throughout.
• Confident, efficient direction.

🔴🔴🔴🔴

• The erotic elements feel too tame. I wanted something bolder. 🤷‍♂️
• Amanda Seyfried is less convincing in the first half, where her performance felt a bit over the top.
• Brandon Sklenar has screen presence, but he feels slightly inexperienced for the demands of the role.
• At times, the film is more stylized than I would have liked.
• It relies on a few familiar genre clichés, exaggerations, and narrative shortcuts.
• I couldn't stop laughing at Michele Morrone. His character serves almost no purpose. 🤷‍♂️