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Articles by Orla Smith

Orla Smith is the former Executive Editor of Seventh Row, a regular contributor at The Film Stage, and a freelance writer with bylines at JumpCut Online, Cinema Year Zero, and Girls on Tops. In her free time she makes movies.

Blood on Her Name, Matthew Pope, Bethany Anne Lind

Orla Smith / February 29, 2020

Review: Blood on Her Name thrillingly grapples with cycles of violence

Matthew Pope’s Blood on Her Name is a steely, psychological thriller about cycles of violence. Now available in cinemas and on VOD in the US.

Lupita Nyong'o, Us, Women in Horror Month

Orla Smith / February 26, 2020

Lupita Nyong’o in Us (Great horror performances #3)

Orla Smith discusses why Lupita Nyong’o’s performance in Us is one of her favourites by an actress in a horror film.

Lesley Manville, Ordinary Love

Orla Smith / February 21, 2020

Interview: Lesley Manville on Ordinary Love

Lesley Manville delves into the challenges of portraying a cancer patient’s physical development, and discusses her work with Mike Leigh.

Aggie, Catherine Gund, Agnes Gund film

Orla Smith / February 5, 2020

Sundance ’20 review: Aggie is a documentary about allyship

Catherine Gund’s Aggie is both a celebration of an extraordinary woman, and a call to arms for the viewer to think about how they too can enact change.

Amulet, Romola Garai, Alec Secareanu, Carla Juri

Orla Smith / February 3, 2020

Sundance ’20 review: Romola Garai’s Amulet

Gothic horror Amulet is a promising directorial debut from actress Romola Garai, but the screenplay is too ambitious for its own good.

Just Mercy, To Kill a Mockingbird, Les Miserables 2019, Ladj Ly

Orla Smith / February 1, 2020

Les Misérables and Just Mercy use classic texts to explore systemic racism

Rather than positioning Les Misérables and Just Mercy as retellings, Ladj Ly and Destin Daniel Cretton engage with modern France’s and America’s relationships to classic texts.

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