Young Ahmed review - jihadist drama misses the mark

★★★ YOUNG AHMED  Jihadist drama misses the mark

Cannes Best Director-winner has its moments, but focuses on the wrong parts

Belgian filmmaking duo the Dardenne Brothers have long been darlings of Cannes Film Festival, winning awards for hardhitting dramas like La Promesse, Le Silence de Lorna and The Kid with the Bike. Their latest offering Young Ahmed is no different, a domestic terrorist tale which won them Best Director at 2019’s festival.

Clemency review - devastating death row drama

★★★★ CLEMENCY Alfre Woodard excels in devastating death row drama

Alfre Woodard gives a powerhouse performance as a death row prison warden

“All we want is to be seen and heard,” explains a lawyer to a death row inmate, paraphrasing a line from Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man, from which Chinonye Chukwu’s new film Clemency takes inspiration.

Finding The Way Back review - alcoholism on the rebound

★★★★ FINDING THE WAY BACK Alcoholism on the rebound

Ben Affleck delivers a great comeback performance as a recovering alcoholic

Gavin O’Connor has made a career out of sturdy films that make grown men cry. His best was Warrior - a hulking, tear-jerking tale of male fragility and addiction. His latest Finding The Way Back is a potent, raw drama that explores similar terrain and reunites him with Ben Affleck (they last worked together on The Accountant).