January at The Globe Theatrette
The New Year is always an exciting time in the release calendar as it marks the beginning of Awards Season – meaning that over the next couple of months, we will get flooded with a tidal wave of the
best films the industry has to offer. For any movie lover worth their salt, this means a lot of Oscar homework – but if homework means watching loads of great movies, who’s complaining?!
Here’s what we’ve got for your consideration:
January starts with one big, glamorous, shiny gift of a movie: In HOUSE OF GUCCI (R13, 1 Jan), director Ridley Scott tells the preposterous yet highly entertaining story of the Gucci clan, and the murder that shook the Italian family empire’s foundations. Lady Gaga plays Patrizia Reggiani, the power-hungry upstart married to Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) who locks horns with the other Gucci heirs (Jeremy Irons and an unrecognisably bald and puffy Jared Leto). We’re all in for the film’s crazy outfits, crazier accents and wild performances.
Oscar chat is already ripe for Will Smith’s performance in KING RICHARD (M, 27 Jan) – excited critics are calling his performance “excellent” (Observer), “crackerjack” (FilmWeek), “towering” (Us Weekly), “very charismatic” (Culture Mix) and “career defining” (Chicago Reader). Smith plays the demanding but loving dad of Venus and Serena Williams whose dogged persistence helps turn two girls from Compton into tennis superstars. The Williams sisters have been closely involved with the production, so we can assume Smith’s larger-than-life portrayal of their father hits the mark.
Another awards contender is SPENCER (M, 20 Jan), a re-imagining of a fateful weekend at Sandringham Estate. Just when you thought you’ve already seen the perfect Princess Diana performance (Emma Corrin in The Crown), along comes Kristen Stewart and blows everyone away with her vulnerable, intense version of a Diana trapped by the burden of her husband’s family’s expectations. If you’ve seen director Pablo Larrain’s Jackie Kennedy homage Jackie, you know what to expect: An intimate, haunting look behind the mask of a very famous woman dealing with a lot of pain. Co-stars Sally Hawkins and Timothy Spall.
If, however, you’re more in the mood for a fun summer action romp with kick-ass performances, may we suggest THE 355 (M, 13 Jan). It features a killer line-up uniting Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz, Lupita Nyong’o and Diane Kruger as a gang of international female agents teaming up to retrieve a top-secret weapon (what else), as well as plenty of gorgeous exotic locations, somewhat quenching our thirst for travelling. A perfect summer movie escape!
