Ann ★★★☆☆
Directed by Ciaran Creagh. Starring Zara Devlin, Ian Beattie, Eileen Walsh, Senna O’Hara, Frank O’Sullivan, Philip Judge. Limited release, 101 min
Restrained recreation of the grim day, in 1984, when Ann Lovett died after giving birth alone in a grotto. Creagh, director of the troubling In View, has brought not a whiff of sensationalism to the story. His withdrawn, cool approach bears comparison with Gus Van Sant’s oblique treatment of the Columbine High School massacre in Elephant. A camera follows Ann (Devlin, excellent) as she makes her way about a town that can’t see her. The film aspires to a visual poetry that is just out of reach, but it remains a touching tribute to generations of misused women. DC
Rodeo ★★★★☆
Directed by Lola Quivoron. Starring Julia Ledru, Yanis Lafki, Antonia Buresi, Junioor Correia. Limited release, 105 min
Roaring into cinemas in the weeks ahead of Fast X, this belting feminist biker flick reminds us that green screen and explosions are be a poor substitute for genuine road racing. Anchored by a fierce performance by phenomenal newcomer Julie Ledru (a biker discovered by the writer-director Quivoron on Instagram), Rodeo offers a thrilling detour through the underground subculture of cross-bitume (stunt bike riding) in greater Paris. The B-movie energy of the traditional biker film is customised by Raphaël Vandenbussche’s daredevil camerawork and an appropriately banging soundtrack, including 70 Shine and XXXtentacion. TB
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Little Richard: I Am Everything ★★★★☆
Directed by Lisa Cortés. Featuring Billy Porter, John Waters, Mick Jagger, Tom Jones, Zandria Robinson, Jason King, Tavia Nyong’o, Nile Rogers, Sir Lady Java, Billy Vera, Nona Hendryx. Limited release, 98 min
Fascinating, original documentary on a singular phenomenon. Director Cortés does not shy away from her subject’s strange ambivalence towards his own sexuality nor from the substance abuse that drove him back to evangelical Christianity. Richard Wayne Penniman’s pioneering music and outrageous persona, argues the doc, was bound up with both his religious fervour and his queerness. There’s too much life and unpredictability and jubilation for Little Richard: I Am Everything to dwell on lost years and opportunities. A winning cast, from John Waters to Tom Jones, line up to pay tribute. The Living Flame blazes on. TB
Castro’s Spies ★★★★☆
Directed by Ollie Aslin and Gary Lennon. Featuring René González, Gerardo Hernández, Fernando González, Ramón Labañino. Limited release, 103 min
This excellent Irish documentary on the lengthy - indeed, still continuing - espionage battle between the US and Cuba reaches domestic cinemas after touchdowns in festivals worldwide. Lennon, director of the much-admired A Doctor’s Sword, joins with debuting Ollie Aslin for a film that takes a balanced approach to its tangled subject matter. We are with the Cubans during their infiltration of American society. But the other side does get to offer its own commentary. This is a world that clashes the Floridian chaos of Carl Hiaasen’s novels with the complex corruptions of those by James Ellroy. DC
