Once ensconced in the city of lights, the indifferent members of French society have met their match. Her disdain for being ignored leads to one of the film’s funniest moments when Frances lights a table setting on fire when neglected by a waiter. Watching Pfeiffer chew up scene after scene while never raising her voice beyond a murmur is completely beguiling.

The story takes great liberties with reality and features several quite absurd moments like Frances drugging her cat to smuggle the feline through customs and speaking to her long-dead husband whose soul apparently inhabits said cat.

For those that like to find humour in the darkness, French Exit will satisfy that proclivity as well as soothe the urge to see the super-rich get their comeuppance and fall on hard times. It speaks of Pfeiffer’s power as an actor that this sad tale could be so entertaining.

Rob Hudson
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Thanks to Sony Pictures Australia we have five in-season tickets to giveaway to French Exit!

“My plan was to die before the money ran out,” says 60-year-old penniless Manhattan socialite Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer), but things didn’t go as planned.

Her husband Franklin has been dead for 12 years and with his vast inheritance gone, she cashes in the last of her possessions and resolves to live out her twilight days anonymously in a borrowed apartment in Paris, accompanied by her directionless son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) and a cat named Small Frank—who may or may not embody the spirit of Frances’s dead husband.

French Exit starts Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, Valerie Mahaffey, Imogen Poots, Danielle Macdonald and Tracy Letts, and it will be released in Australian cinemas March 18.

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To enter this great competition, just fill out the entry form below:

French Exit Competition

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Competition will be drawn March 17, winners will be notified by mail.

Her husband Franklin has been dead for 12 years and with his vast inheritance gone, she cashes in the last of her possessions and resolves to live out her twilight days anonymously in a borrowed apartment in Paris, accompanied by her directionless son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) and a cat named Small Frank—who may or may not embody the spirit of Frances’s dead husband.

French Exit starts Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, Valerie Mahaffey, Imogen Poots, Danielle Macdonald and Tracy Letts, and it will be released in Australian cinemas March 18.

www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS

With stunning visuals and a powerful score, this film should be seen on the big screen.

Waves stars Kelvin Harrison Jr., Sterling K. Brown, Taylor Russell, Lucas Hedges, Alexa Demie and Renée Elise Goldsberry and will be released in Australian cinemas July 9!

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LaBeouf plays the father figure in the film and his son is played by two different actors, as the young boy by Noah Jupe (Ford V Ferrari and A Quiet Place) and the young adult by Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased and Lady Bird), both do a wonderful job. Jupe is especially expressive and delivers some very heartbreaking lines.

LaBeouf’s father figure is a tormented man and bears the scars of a life without the compass that a compassionate upbringing can provide. This is a case study on how difficult the cycle of abuse can be to break and it heavily impacts the life of the son. There are numerous moments that will tear your heart out.

Removing the sensationalism that accompanies most movies of this ilk drives the human cost to the fore. It is told with a degree of believability that will leave a lasting impression. It also goes some way in helping to explain some of LaBeouf’s more erratic behaviour. The film’s ultimate potency is derived from not excusing those behaviours.

Honey Boy is currently playing in Brisbane at New Farm Cinemas – head to www.fivestarcinemas.com.au for more information and tickets.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS

MID90s follows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.

“Unflinching with an absorbing aesthetic, Mid90s is proper coming-of-age; terrifying, fleeting and funny with pathos to spare.”
– FrewFilm

“For most of the ride, Mid90s feels like an accurate time capsule – and a relatable journey even if you’ve never been on a skateboard in your life.”
– Chicago Sun-Times

“Writer-director Jonah Hill shows the joy and warmth that comes in finding true kindred spirits in a pre-social media era.”
– Us Weekly

Coming April 4 exclusively to Palace James St – Fortitude Valley
www.palacecinemas.com.au

Roberts is the loving parent of Ben (played in a star turn by Lucas Hedges) who is home for the holidays. Ben, an ex-junkie in recovery brings a lot of baggage with him. This manifests itself in mother and son getting pulled back into the dark world of drugs, those that sell and those that use.

It’s at this point in the proceedings that the story changes tract and morphs into thriller mode. The tension rises and rises as the mother refuses to give up on her son. There are a number of unexpected twists and most of these come from the curve balls the script throws Roberts.

The resilience and love shown from mother to son is the main take away from the film, however it does not shy away from showing the human cost brought on by Ben’s addiction. This is tempered by the reality of how truly awful the lives of those with addictions problems become in the current climate. These are humanitarian problems and should be treated as such, not just as a legal issue.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/benisbackmovie

The film energizes the viewer with a sense of outrage over the misguided attempt to cure their son’s homosexuality with the therapy while taking an even handed look at the hypocrisy of their religion, one based on forgiveness and love. Edgerton is masterful at balancing these opposites.

The father (Russell Crowe) mother (Nicole Kidman) and son (Lucas Hedges) form a loving family unit that is changed forever as the clash over religion and sexuality takes over their lives. The son has to endure horrible injustices in isolation as he is torn between his emerging sexuality and the rejection he feels by his father’s lack of acceptance.

It seems that the horrors of life in the clinic might have actually been downplayed as the absolute truth would have alienated the audience and created screen monsters. It’s not that kind of film. It’s one that is nuanced and more involving because of it. It tries its best not to make judgements and it derives it power from you completing the picture.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/BoyErased

Boy Erased stars Academy Award® nominee Lucas Hedges (Manchester By The Sea, Three Billboards) alongside fellow Australian luminaries and Academy Award® winners Nicole Kidman (Big Little Lies, The Hours) and Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) in their first on-screen collaboration.

Boy Erased had its Premiere at the recent Telluride & Toronto Film Festivals garnering universal praise, commending the outstanding performances and Joel Edgerton’s contribution to a vital conversation:

“Boy Erased is a good movie and also an important one, one that might save lives if enough young people find their way to it”
Sasha Stone, TheWrap
 
“This film has the power to open minds as well as hearts”
Scott Menzel, We Live Entertainment

Academy Award® nominee Lucas Hedges (Manchester By the Sea) stars alongside Academy Award® winners Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”, The Hours) and Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) in Anonymous Content’s BOY ERASED.  Joel Edgerton (The Gift, Loving) directs, writes, produces and co-stars in the emotional coming-of-age and coming out drama about a young man’s journey to self-acceptance.

BOY ERASED tells the story of Jared (Hedges), the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, who is outed to his parents (Kidman and Crowe) at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith. Boy Erased is the true story of one young man’s struggle to find himself while being forced to question every aspect of his identity.

Boy Erased is in Australian cinemas November8!
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Joel Edgerton (The Gift, Loving) directs, writes, produces and co-stars in the emotional coming-of-age and coming out drama about a young man’s journey to self-acceptance.BOY ERASED tells the story of Jared (Hedges), the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, who is outed to his parents (Kidman and Crowe) at age 19.

Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith. Boy Erased is the true story of one young man’s struggle to find himself while being forced to question every aspect of his identity.
www.facebook.com/BoyErased