culture
television
television April 3, 2021
Allen v. Farrow is more than a rehash of a celebrity scandal. An indictment of the entertainment industry, it looks thoughtfully at how stories are told, and who gets believed.
television February 13, 2021
The Netflix reality series Blown Away showcases the enchantments and perils of working with molten glass.
television January 23, 2021
The hit adaptation of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton Regency romances gets everything right, almost.
television December 12, 2020
Since his first short film won the Palme d’Or in 2003, Glendyn Ivin has established himself as one of Australia’s most exciting film and television directors. The forthcoming Penguin Bloom, starring Naomi Watts, brings some light to his dark meditations.
television December 12, 2020
Netflix’s hit series The Queen’s Gambit reveals what genius is considered to be – and who is allowed to have it.
television November 28, 2020
The moments of delightful surprise in The Crown are smothered by its refusal to permit uncertainty.
television October 3, 2020
In a grim lesson for the age of conspiracy, The Vow explores how the search for meaning can be twisted to dark ends.
television August 29, 2020
Catherine Văn-Davies found that her starring role in SBS’s Hungry Ghosts excavated intimate family histories. “For most of my life, Mum wouldn’t talk about the war. But with intergenerational trauma, even if they don’t tell us the experience in their own words, we’re so sensitive to our parents.”
television August 8, 2020
As a dark comedy about self-absorbed millennial killers, Search Party focuses heavily on the lies that bind. In doing so, it also tells a lot of insightful truths.
television June 13, 2020
Missing that big-screen feeling
While welcoming the Covid-19 lockdown as a chance to catch up on some TV and film viewing, this reviewer found himself craving, with a few notable exceptions, the romance of the cinematic experience.
television June 12, 2020
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Tony McNamara
Before becoming a playwright, screenwriter and showrunner, Tony McNamara was a stockbroker who had failed year 11 English. Now, after being nominated for an Oscar for The Favourite, he brings his acerbic dialogue and honest storytelling to his new TV series, The Great. “I saw a lot of Pinter, a lot of Mamet, Caryl Churchill … I was struck by how visceral it was, how you could get a rhythm going that really carries an audience along.”
