The bond between a teen with a troubled family background and a failed racehorse is the jumping off point for the real concern of Lean On Pete – displaced American youth. An absorbing and unusual film featuring a promising new performer in Charlie Plummer.
Lady Bird is an exquisitely written, directed and performed coming-of-ager that focuses on a final year high school student’s relationship with her mother during her metamorphosis from adolescent to young adult. Sweet, sad, funny and poignant.
Phantom Thread is a fine portrait of a dysfunctional master couturier in 50s London, but the characterisation of the young woman who becomes central to his life is neglected, undermining the plausibility of their relationship and detracting from the film.
