David R. Walker

One Battle After Another

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast: Leonardo di Caprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall, Chase Infiniti, Tony Goldwyn, Wood Harris, Alana Haim

Running Time: 2 hours and 41 minutes

Film Rating: 9 out of 10

Acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson who produced such brilliant films as The Master, Phantom Thread and There will be Blood returns to the big screen with his most audacious and relevant film One Battle After Another starring Oscar winners Leonardo di Caprio, Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro.

One Battle After Another is set in a semi-satirical world of America in which migrants have flooded into sanctuary cities and there is an urban terrorist group called the French 75 who are anarchists and there to disrupt any conventional authority whether this is freeing the migrants from internment camps or blowing up banks and federal buildings. Within this radical environment a love affair develops between Perfidia Beverly Hills and Bob, a paranoid loser who is incredibly good at explosives.

Perfedia Bevely Hills is a full on radical urban terrorist, brilliantly performed by Teyana Taylor (Coming 2 America) who deserves a best supporting actress Oscar nomination.

Perfedia is a strong and militant black woman who has an affair with the blue eyed Caucasian Bob, excellently played with the right balance of zealous and uncertainty by Oscar winner Leonardo di Caprio (The Revenant) who channels a similar crazy energy to his role in The Wolf of Wall Street except this time swapping the Wall Street suits for a dirty nightgown and black sunglasses. Di Caprio just hits the right amount of panic and paranoia especially as the film develops and he is the one looking after their love child, their daughter of the revolution, Willa superbly played by newcomer Chase Infiniti.

Auteur Paul Thomas Anderson always paints a broad and multi-dimensional cinematic canvas and in this film he creates the perfect villain in the form of Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw played with precision and brilliance by two time Oscar winner Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River) and he definitely deserves an Oscar for this role.

Penn is absolutely electrifying as the fanatical army colonel who is out to destroy the French 75, the dangerous lunatics, the scum of the earth that has stained the heart of white America. Lockjaw is one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best characters, an evil and slightly kinky army colonel who had the military on his side but whose fanaticism drives him to join a secret society of men that cherish racial purification involving a bizarre scene featuring Tony Goldwyn as the suave, yet sinister Virgil Throckmorton.

Lockjaw’s aim is to capture Bob and his daughter Willa and soon a bizarre and bloody chase ensues which ends in some startling revelations.

On one level One Battle After Another acts a satirical film about the social ills of 21^st century America from immigration to gun control, but on another it is a perceptive exploration of patriarchy and the woman that resist it, with names like Jungle Pussy and Perfidia Beverly Hills.

With an original script by Paul Thomas Anderson and outstanding performances by Di Caprio, Penn and del Toro, One Battle After Another is an exhilarating ride through the dark and deceptive underbelly of American society touching on every facet from racism to urban terrorism, from military power to the flaws of an underground movement that has lost its agency.

With a brilliantly shot car chase scene near the end to the captivating musical score by Oscar nominee Jonny Greenwood (The Power of the Dog, There will be Blood), One Battle After Another is an outrageous satire on contemporary America packed with dark humour and ominous warnings.

Drawing inspiration from Tarantino and the Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson creates a modern day masterpiece with One Battle After Another about subversion, conversion and the product of a love affair during the heady time of social revolution.

One Battle After Another gets a film rating of 9 out of 10 and is original cinema, expertly crafted with some memorable scenes which will imprint on the viewers psyche forever. Highly recommended viewing and a definite 2026 Oscar contender.

Unicorns

Directors: Sally El Hosaini & James Krishna Floyd

Cast: Ben Hardy, Kate Lindsey, Jason Patel, Sagar Radia, Ali Afzal, Taylor Sullivan

Running time: 1 hour and 59 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Festival: European Film Festival

PLEASE NOTE THIS FILM IS NOT FOR SENSITIVE VIEWERS

Unicorns is an odd mixture for a British film, at times fascination and other times, disturbing. From directing duo Sally El Hosaini & James Krishna Floyd, Unicorns explores the strange sexually charged relationship between a mechanic from Essex, the brawny Luke, superbly played by Ben Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody, X-Men: Apocalypse) and Aysha, an Indian drag queen well played by Jason Patel.

Aysha also known as Ashiq actually comes from a conservative Muslim family in Manchester but when living in London he transforms himself into the flamboyant and radiant Aysha, a sparkling drag queen for the Gasian community also known as the Gay Asian community.

Luke is a single dad to a 5 year old boy played by Taylor Sullivan but has split from the mother of his child, Charlie, a confused young woman who abandons her son and lets Luke take charge.

Sexually, Luke is an enigma as initially in the film’s provocative opening shot he is having sex with a woman on an open field outside an east London housing estate.

Aysha is all glamour and attitude and her pronouns are Legend and Icon. The two meet when Luke mistakenly walks through the back room of an Indian restaurant into a secret Gasian disco complete with drag queens and muscle boys, one in particular is Faiz who is Aysha’s designated driver.

Let’s face it drag queens don’t drive themselves to parties. Faiz is played by Industry star Sagar Radia who was brilliant in the British TV version of Succession as the foul mouthed, coke sniffing gambler Rishi Ramdani who marries into WASP privilege in the smart London set.

At the heart of Unicorns is the complex story of two people from very different worlds who meet, fall in love and ultimately navigate a tricky world between conservative Indian culture and the non-descript world of a working class mechanic in Essex who is dazzled by Aysha, a fascinating drag queen whose identity as a cross dresser is ultimately threatened in a vicious queer subculture which is as much about making money as it is about cutting edge glamour.

As Luke becomes Aysha’s driver around England usurping the sulky Faiz, their relationship gradually transforms from transactional to emotional.

While some of the Gasian subculture scenes are very frenetic and overdone, it is really the performances of the two main actors who make this uniquely queer love story riveting, while transcending traditional social, cultural and religious conformities.

The fabulous but gritty Unicorns gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is recommended viewing for those that enjoy queer love stories.

Le Mohican

Director: Frederic Farrucci

Cast: Alexis Manenti, Mara Taquin, Paul Garette, Marie-Pierre Nouveau

Running Time: 1 hour 27 minutes

Language: French with English subtitles

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Festival: The European Film Festival

French director Frederic Farucci combines the beauty of Corsica with a shadowy mafia in his new thriller Le Mohican (The Mohican) about a goat herder Joseph Cardelli who has a beautiful plot of land on the coast which greedy developers want to take from him and which he refuses to sell.

Cardelli well played by Alexis Manenti becomes a fugitive on the island and soon reaches folklore status after he accidentally kills the nephew of a Parisian crime boss, and subsequently goes on the run.

His tech savvy niece Vannina played by Mara Taquin makes Joseph an island hero on social media using the hashtag #LeMohican as he deftly evades the gangsters who also have the police on their payroll. Despite his efforts to escape to Sardinia, Joseph needs to confront the gangsters and protect his right to exist in an island which is beautiful yet increasingly becoming a target for crime, overdevelopment and urbanization.

Le Mohican had its world premiere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and is worth watching with a strong narrative about a fugitive, a decent and honest goat herder who stands up for his rights to continue existing in a pastoral fashion and not give in to the greed and corruption of organized crime.

With exquisite cinematography by Jeanne Lapoirie, Le Mohican is a gripping action film about survival and resilience while the continual threat of being hunted takes its bloody toll on the hero Joseph Cardelli. The violence is systemic and shocking while the storyline is straightforward with sparse dialogue which could have been elaborated upon.

Like many islands in the Mediterranean, Corsica is in danger of being over commercialized and Le Mohican shines a light on this issue as greedy mobsters plan on developing land meant for farming.

Le Mohican focuses on the story of an ordinary man’s survival and his niece’s uncanny ability to turn him into a local hero with the nickname the Mohican, the last of the coastal goat herders.

With a beautiful backdrop, Le Mohican gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is recommended viewing as a genre action film about one ordinary man fighting the mafia in a storyline which is distinctly French and unassuming. Worth seeing.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Director: Simon Curtis

Cast: Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Laura Carmichael, Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Dominic West, Phyllis Logan, Allen Leech, Robert James-Collier, Sophia McShera, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Penelope Wilton, Jim Carter, Lesley Nicol, Michael Fox, Harry Hadden-Paton, Douglas Reith, Simon Russell Beale, Arty Froushan

Running Time: 2 hours and 3 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

It’s the 1930 season in London and scandal erupts when at a royal gathering, Lady Petersfield played by Joely Richardson (Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Anonymous) discovers much to her shock and horror that Lady Mary Talbot of Downton Abbey, superbly played by Michelle Dockery, is divorced. Lady Mary resplendent in a ravishing red gown abruptly leaves the party with her reputation in ruin.

So begins the fractious premise of the final film Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale beautifully directed by Simon Curtis and featuring an all-star cast including newcomers Alessandro Nivola (American Hustle, Kraven the Hunter) as a scheming American Gus Sambrook and Persian American actor Arty Froushan as the witty playwright Noel Coward.

It is the age of Noel Coward and the Crawleys need to face some fresh challenges without the wit and sharp humour of the late Lady Gratham, a role written especially by screenwriter Julian Fellowes for the late Oscar winner Maggie Smith.

Besides Lady Mary’s divorce, there is the future of Lord and Lady Grantham, a sophisticated combination of British tradition and American wealth which is now on shaky ground. Paul Giamatti plays Lady Grantham’s brother Harold Levinson fresh off the boat from New York with startling news that the American wealth has somehow been depleted.

Lord Grantham played with vigour by Hugh Bonneville is facing the prospect of an early retirement, but screenwriter Julian Fellowes with skill and determination creates an elegant narrative tapestry expertly weaving several subplots into a brilliant storyline involving a character heavy story about a new decade in which old traditions are challenged and fresh ideas are hinting at an approaching modernity.

With beautiful costumes by Scottish designer Anna Mary Scott Robins particularly evident in the fabulous Ascot scene, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale brings all the joy of the original series along with the cinematic grandeur of the big screen as the film follows the final chapter of The Crawleys as they navigate a changing world in which many of their customs vanish while the noble family learn to adapt, survive and embrace change.

Some notable scenes are between Laura Carmichael and Alessandro Nivola and of course between Oscar nominees Elizabeth McGovern (Ragtime) and Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man, The Holdovers). It’s as if the supporting cast now has an opportunity to shine without the cynical gaze of Dame Maggie Smith looking at them with contempt. Although Maggie Smith’s absence in the film is felt keenly and Julian Fellowes acknowledges her ever lasting legacy.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is an exquisite film centred on a masterful script filled with wit, humour and nuance written so beautifully by Oscar winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) who has a knack of discovering the fine line between the landed gentry and the servants downstairs, whose lives are continually entwined.

If audiences enjoy etiquette, good wit and sophistication, then be sure not to miss Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale a lovely British film about the elegant transfer of power from one generation to the next in a rapidly changing world.

With a massive supporting cast, beautiful houses and gorgeous costumes, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale gets a film rating of 8 out of 10 and is highly recommended viewing especially for those that loved the TV series.

Caught Stealing

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Cast: Austin Butler, Matt Smith, Regina King, Zoe Kravitz, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, George Abud, Griffin Dunne, Carol Kane

Running Time: 1 hour 47 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Black Swan and The Whale director Darren Aronofsky returns with a zany and rambunctious crime thriller Caught Stealing set in New York City in 1998, just three years before the fall of the Twin Towers.

Things are not kosher when youngster Hank Thompson expertly played with a vulnerability and intuition by Oscar nominee Austin Butler (Elvis) is asked to look after his mad neighbour’s cat. The crazy neighbour is British punk rocker drug dealer, complete with a Mohawk, Russ superbly played by Matt Smith who shot to fame in Netflix’s elegant British drama The Crown.

The cat has a key in its cat box, which opens Russ’s secret stash of drugs and money which several criminal gangs are after including the Russians and the Hebrews.

Hank Thompson is just a regular bar tender who gets involved in a web of crime and intrigue while trying to stay sober and look after his beautiful girlfriend Yvonne played by the fabulous Zoe Kravitz (The Batman, Mad Max: Fury Road, Blink Twice). Soon the Russian mafia are after him and Hank reaches out to hardened New York detective Roman wonderfully played with menace by Oscar winner Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk).

Darren Aronofsky pays homage to the 1993 film True Romance in Caught Stealing capturing that gritty desperation which Hank feels as he gets thrust into a notoriously untrustworthy world in which he doesn’t seem capable of defending himself or escaping. He won’t use a gun or drive a car.

To add fire to the mix, screenwriter Charlie Huston, who adapted the screenplay from his book by the same name, introduces some lethal Hebrew brothers who also want Russ’s share of the money.

Liev Schreiber (Golda, Spotlight, The Manchurian Candidate) and Vincent D’Onofrio (The Cell, Magnificent Seven) play sociopathic brothers Lipa and Shmully who feel nothing at attacking a glitzy Russian disco in the middle of a wedding.

Caught Stealing is an ingenuous film in which the main character goes from being a barman to overcoming all fears, addictions included, as he strives to protect himself and Russ’s cat from any harm while trying to outwit a multitude of bad characters all heavily armed.

With minimal special effects, Caught Stealing is a riveting and comic crime drama about the underbelly of New York just before the city changed forever at the end of a century in which anything still felt possible.

With lots of plot twists and crazy car chases, Caught Stealing gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 held together by a brilliant performance by Austin Butler whose talent seems boundless.

If you enjoy original content, then this film is highly recommended viewing.

Freakier Friday

Director: Nisha Ganatra

Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Julia Butters, Mark Harmon, Sophia Hammons, Manny Jacinto, Chad Michael Murray

Running Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10  

Disney so needed a hit after the drama of Snow White early in 2025. Thankfully, Late Night and The High Note director Nisha Ganatra works her magic on the Freaky Friday sequel aptly entitled Freakier Friday.

Twenty two years after the first personality swapping comedy hit cinemas back in 2003, the original cast is back including Lindsay Lohan (Mean Girls, The Parent Trap, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen) as record producer Anna Colman opposite her screen mother Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything, Everywhere All At Once) playing Tess Colman along with Anna’s petulant daughter Harper Coleman played by Julia Butters (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Sophia Hammons as Harper soon to be step sister Lily Reyes.

When successful music producer Anna meets charming restaurant Guru Eric Reyes played by Filipino star Manny Jacinta, there is a wedding planned with one big problem. Both Anna’s daughter Harper and Eric’s stuck up British daughter Lily cannot stand each other to the point of becoming Frenemies.

After a bizarre visit to a dodgy palm reader, mother and daughter and step sister and granddaughter all swop personalities offering up some hilarious results along with Curtis playing a teenage version of herself and Julia Butters expertly playing a much older version of her character.

Lindsay Lohan takes on her daughter’s personality and behaves like a 17 year old while Harper tries to take charge of her mother’s career.

Intergenerational conflict reaches new heights as the evil versions of Harper and Lily decide to break up the impending marriage of Anna and Eric even roping in Anna’s hot ex-boyfriend Jake played once again by Chad Michael Murray (House of Wax) who was also in the original film.

Despite the garish antics, Freakier Friday doubles the plot twists and ensures that the bizarre yet funny storyline stays fresh in a 21^st century Los Angeles drenched in the Instagram age. Fortunately Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan manage to rekindle their original onscreen chemistry.

While the male characters have very little to do in a predominantly female centred film, Freakier Friday does hit all the right notes providing a fresh and vibrant comedy about intergenerational female relationships which are both clingy, complex and competitive. Fortunately director Nisha Ganatra has the knack of keeping this film light and breezy ensuring that even the serious moments are touched with a light poignancy which doesn’t drag down the dazzling tone of the film.

Good to see Lindsay Lohan back in action and Freakier Friday is a fun filled frothy comedy which definitely is better than the original film. Freakier Friday gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is lush and lightweight. Recommended viewing for some comic relief.

The Naked Gun

Director: Akiva Schaffer

Cast: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Danny Huston, Paul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Busta Rhymes, Dave Bautista, Liza Koshy

Running Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Saturday Night Live director Akiva Schaffer gives The Naked Gun 1990’s film franchise a hilarious reboot in 2025, which is the spoof comedy that the world needs right now.

Perfectly cast with action star Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr and Baywatch and The Last Showgirl star Pamela Anderson as the blonde femme fatale Beth Davenport in The Naked Gun, the 2025 version which is absolutely hilarious, utterly inappropriate and features a cast all over the age of 55 which is refreshingly original.

Who knew Oscar nominee Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List) could do comedy so well? Or Danny Huston for that matter? Danny Huston (The Constant Gardener, The Aviator) who normally stars in serious drama or action roles plays the villain, tech tycoon Richard Cane who has plans to decimate Los Angeles with a weird microchip that will take humanity back to their animal instincts.

Drebin and his partner Ed Hocken Jr played by Paul Walter Hauser (The Fantastic Four, Richard Jewell) are called to the case of Beth’s brother who is found dead in Malibu after his self-driving car plunged off a cliff.

Director Akiva Schaffer pays homage to the original spoof trilogy which featured Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson and George Kennedy in the first three films from 1988 to 1994.

Fortunately the 2025 version depends on good chemistry between the two main leads and Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson perfectly hold this spoof parody of a L. A. film noir together with all the humour and panache required.

Liam Neeson is brilliant as Drebin Jr the idiotic police detective who destroys electric cars, bathroom doors and everything in between.

Pamela Anderson is fabulous as Beth Davenport a cheesy crime fiction novelist with titles like The Killer Wore Red Lipstick who is desperate to track down her brother’s killer. Miss Davenport gets accosted by the villainous misogynistic tech billionaire Richard Cane in a night club as she soon realizes who the killer really is and that Drebin is a good catch.

Audiences should also look out for the fantastic C.C.H. Pounder (Baghdad Cafe, Postcards from the Edge) as the exasperated police chief Davis who battles to keep Drebin and Hocken in line according to the bizarre rules of police squad.

Drebin and Davenport strike up a love affair which involves a kinky snowman, basting turkeys and vodka. All the scenes in The Naked Gun are hilarious made more so by the three main cast members who keep a straight face amidst a ludicrous script packed with cheesy dialogue.

If viewers enjoyed the first Naked Gun trilogy, then catch the 2025 version in cinemas now. It is just under 90 minutes of pure laughter and trust me, you will forget all your troubles at the door.

Naughty, mischievous and filled with sassy sexual innuendo, the script of The Naked Gun reads like one long Dad joke, but this comedy is worth seeing. Recommended viewing.

The Naked Gun is laugh out loud funny and gets a film rating of 7 out of 10.

A perfect parody of film noir with an aging detective and a gorgeous blonde thrown in, all set in the city of Angels. What could possibly go wrong?

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Director: Matt Shakman

Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Mark Gatiss, Sarah Niles

Running Time: 1 hour 55 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

It’s the third time lucky for the Fantastic Four franchise, with two previous remakes in 2005 and 2015 and now in 2025, director Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four: First Steps is the flashy remake that Marvel needs to reboot itself for the next five years.

Reuniting Pedro Pascal with his Gladiator II co-star, Joseph Quinn, Fantastic Four: First Steps also stars Oscar nominee Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman) as Reed Richards wife Susan Storm along with The Bear star Ebon Moss-Bacharach as Ben Grimm making up the superhero quartet.

What makes this Fantastic Four: First Steps so brilliant, is that the entire production design by Kasra Farahani is comfortably nestled in a 1960’s nostalgia, down to the sleek cars and retro décor as the city of New York and the wider world is threatened by a malevolent celestial being called Galactus voiced by Ralph Ineson whose rapacious hunger turns to the destruction of Earth.

Naturally the inhabitants of New York turn to The Fantastic Four for salvation from utter annihilation. However in order to save the earth the Fantastic Four or more specifically the love child of Reed Richards and Susan Storm has to be offered up as sacrifice.

Fortunately the onscreen chemistry of these four actors that make up The Fantastic Four is superb particularly the two lead stars, Pedro Pascal, the it man of the moment in Hollywood who made his famous debut in HBO’s Game of Thrones and British star Vanessa Kirby who rose to fame in the hit Netflix series The Crown.

With great acting from both stars, Kirby and Pascal are comfortably compatible together while Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are perfectly suited as the goofy uncles. Audiences should look out for cameo roles by TV star Natasha Lyonne as Ben Grimm’s love interest and Julia Garner (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) as the intergalactic silver surfer Shalla-Bal who brings news to earth of the planet’s imminent destruction.

Other cameos include Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell, Cruella, BlackKKlansman) as the underground leader Harvey Elder along with Mark Gatiss as the talk show host who helps to create media hype about the blue clad Fantastic Four.

With retro 1960’s costumes perfectly designed by Oscar winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and visually arresting special effects, Fantastic Four: First Steps is a thrilling galactic adventure about the power of family and the resilience of unity amidst impending doom, as the Fantastic Four all stick together to save earth and the baby boy, whose cuteness factor rivals Krypto in Superman.

From directing episodes of great TV shows like Succession, Game of Thrones and Billions, director Matt Shakman effortlessly transfers his talents to the big screen with this highly successful 2025 version of Fantastic Four: First Steps.

As Joseph Quinn’s character Johnny Storm says to the silver surfer, I am just trying to save my world, Fantastic Four: First Steps saves the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reinvents it for the arrival of the Avengers. This fantasy adventure features a focused cast, fabulous production and costume design, astonishing visual effects and a clean retro set narrative filled with rejuvenation and hope.

Fantastic Four: First Steps gets a film rating of 8 out of 10 and is by far the best film of the 2025 American summer blockbuster season. See it now in cinemas.

God’s Work

Director: Michael James

Cast: Thobani Nzuza, Mbulelo Radebe, Zenzo Msomi, Omega Mncube, Aaron McIroy, Nduduzo Khowa

Running Time: 2 hours and 7 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Festival: Durban International Film Festival  – https://ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za/

Please note this film has not been rated yet

Durban based film director Michael James expertly and inventively shines a light on the plight of the city’s homeless population or the unhoused in his debut full length feature film entitled God’s Work which had its glittering and packed South African premiere at the 46^th Durban International Film Festival on Sunday 20^th July 2025 at Durban’s Suncoast Casino and Entertainment Complex.

Often as urban dwellers we simply drive past the homeless population in Durban or just ignore them. Durban like many cities around South Africa and the world has a growing homeless situation and James creates a self–reflexive tale about a group of homeless men lead by the haunted drug addict Simphiwe played by Thobani Nzuza along with fellow actors Mbulelo Radebe, Omega Mncube, Siya Xaba, Zenzo Msomi and Nduduzo Khowa who star in supporting roles.

God’s Work bravely explores the plight of homelessness in a mockumentary style film which is both poignant, uncomfortable and shocking.

Shot around Durban’s inner city, the story also written by Michael James follows Simphiwe and his friends as they are initially approached by a film director to make a documentary about homelessness and then the group’s struggle with drug addiction, extreme poverty and harassment by less than savoury law enforcement officers. Some of the films scenes did go on too long and needed to be edited for the sake of brevity.

God’s Work is at time very funny and also quite shocking as it explores the misadventures of Simphiwe and his friends as they attempt to rob a shady drug dealer named Biko, run into a crazy political activist featuring a great cameo by Durban comedian Aaron McIroy (Spud, Spud 2: The Madness Continues, Spud 3: Learning to Fly) and also deal with the impending political march of a militant political party determined to recruit them.

As Simphiwe’s journey is both emotional and physically exhausting, he confronts his turbulent relationship with his absent alcoholic mother in a confessional scene in St Emmanuel’s Cathedral in central Durban, after which he and his friends get arrested for vagrancy and deported out of the city to a distant rural location.

God’s Work highlights both the tenacity of the unhoused and also their determination to survive in gruelling conditions on poverty stricken streets while battling addiction and harassment.

Director Michael James wants the audience to feel uncomfortable watching this film, which makes the film relevant and difficult to watch.

While the humour is appreciated, the film’s tone is unrelentingly sombre, which serves its purpose of highlighting the dire circumstances of the unhoused in the face of government, social and economic indifference.

God’s Work is a creative and social journey into the unwanted areas of urban society, a brave and fearless tale of hope, loss and survival.

This film is not for everyone, but it will strike a chord with the socially conscious and will definitely serve as a talking point for deeper conversations about complex urban problems which many cities face.

For sheer inventiveness and bravery, God’s Work gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is recommending viewing for those that enjoy gritty urban cinema.  

Four Letters of Love

Director: Polly Steele

Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, Gabriel Byrne, Donal Finn, Fionn O’Shea, Ann Skelly, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo

Running Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

British director Polly Steele directs a magic realist love story set in Ireland in the early 1970’s in the film adaptation of the novel by Niall Williams entitled Four Letters of Love.

This quirky Irish film has a solid supporting cast including Oscar nominee Helena Bonham Carter (The Wings of a Dove, The King’s Speech), Pierce Brosnan and Gabriel Byrne but it is the young stars who shine in this uneven tale of forgotten chances, artistic temperaments, mistakes and miracles.

Four Letters of Love focuses on the lives of two young people, Nicholas Coughlin played by the dashing star Fionn O’Shea and the headstrong Isabel Gore wonderfully played by Ann Skelly.

As Nicholas and Isabel’s lives almost cross on a bus one afternoon, it is their families that force fate to intervene and eventually the two meet at the home of Isobel’s eccentric parents beautifully played by Helena Bonham Carter and her father the poet played by Gabriel Byrne.

Nicholas’s family circumstances are somewhat more complex as his father William Coughlin well played by Pierce Brosnan decides to chuck in his work as a civil servant to rather go painting in the West of Ireland leaving Nicholas’s mother to have a nervous breakdown and the young man to fend for himself. Soon Nicholas follows his father to the remote part of Western Ireland and the artistic temperaments earn his father a formidable painting which is put up as first prize in a community poetry competition ironically won by Isabel’s father Muiris Gore.

Gabriel Byrne is perfect as the brooding poet who is angry with God for allowing his young strapping son to have a stroke and is battling to deal with his headstrong daughter. Isabel defies the nuns and soon meets a wastrel of a young man Peader played by Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (CODA, Sing Street).

Four Letters of Love only takes off in the second half of the film and while the odd touches of magic realism in the story generally confuse the narrative as opposed to clarifying it, director Polly Steele allows some scenes to linger too long and only realizes that she has such a talented actress as Helena Bonham Carter in her film, breathing life into her character only towards the end.

As Nicholas accidentally meets Isabel and her poet father and crafty mother, Four Letters of Love is a bizarre Irish film which is both charming and confusing at times.

Unfortunately this Irish film is not a touch on the Oscar nominated Banshees of Inisherin but it is worth seeing. Four Letters of Love is a quirky romantic drama held together by two strong performances by Fionn O’Shea and Ann Skelly.

Four Letters of Love gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is recommended viewing for those that enjoy obscure Irish cinema. Good to see Pierce Brosnan in so many films again.