If you can remember the ’80s, were you really there? Do you want to remember? What, even the shoulder pads? Very spoilery. (My five star review is here.) “Rory. Stop.” So ends The Nest, with wife Allison finally asserting her authority, literally and figuratively now at the head of the table, when he skulks in… The Nest ending: did you twig? Read More
The Nest 5 stars
An insecure British trader in New York relocates his family back to the UK at the start of the ’80s financial boom. Back in 1987 a Volkswagen Golf advertisement showed a beautiful blonde woman in London striding away in anger from her presumably feckless husband towards her reliable old VW, while literally throwing away the… The Nest Read More
The Souvenir 4 stars
An 80s-set coming of age story, The Souvenir charts a woman trapped in an emotionally abusive relationship, increasingly desperate to find her voice as disparate forces buffet her, for reasons malicious and benign. Writer-director Joanna Hogg’s film is a classic example of how a toxic relationship can mark us for ever; though as its young,… The Souvenir Read More
Blinded By The Light 3 stars
By 1987 Mrs Thatcher had been in power for eight years and believe me it felt like a whole lot longer than that at the time. As if things could get any worse, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Tiffany and Debbie Gibson were mounting assaults on the UK charts. I’d tried to block all of those… Blinded By The Light Read More
Blinded By The Light trailer: Bruce lights the way in 80s Luton
The 80s were a crazy decade – awesome music, terrible politics. (Possibly the latter helped cause the former.) In Blinded By The Light it’s 1987 and Mrs Thatcher is in power, while record players and Walkmans hum with Wham! and Bananarama (when it comes to the 80s, if you never tried to wind a cassette… Blinded By The Light trailer: Bruce lights the way in 80s Luton Read More
Breaking The Limits 3.5 stars
Breaking The Limits initially has an air almost of light-heartedness, as young Jerzy (Jakub Gierszal) and his girlfriend Grasnya (Anna Próchniak) inject themselves in a squat with their friends. Looking healthy and feeling they’re in control, they joke about how statistically most Western philosophy students have tried drugs. Fast-forward two years and the couple’s heroin addictions… Breaking The Limits Read More
Heathers 4.5 stars
The 80s was a blunt decade, designed to disrupt – oversized, brash and brightly-coloured, where the brave and bullish could succeed. In a time defined by red lipstick, shrinking violets need not apply. Everything is over-oversized in Heathers. It’s even bigger, brasher, brighter and more vicious than the decade it satirises. Unsurprisingly in this live-action,… Heathers Read More