Despite its obvious Oscar-bait trappings, Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea is plagued by outdated ideas about masculinity and weak supporting characters.
Gender and Sexuality
Explore depictions of masculinity, femininity, and sexual identity.
Andrew Neel’s Goat lacks psychological insight
Andrew Neel’s Goat is an excellent showcase for up-and-coming star Ben Schnetzer, whose strong performance hints at the better film it could have been had Neel been less focussed on brutality and more focussed on psychological insight.
TIFF16: Below Her Mouth is cringeworthy
Below Her Mouth attempts provocation and frank depictions of lesbian sex, but it forgets the emotion in its love story.
San Francisco’s Frameline Festival expands understandings of queer cinema
Frameline Festival, San Francisco’s annual LGBTQ film festival showcasing new LGBTQ talent and stories about the LGBTQ community, features much lauded films from the festival circuit.
HotDocs Review: League of Exotique Dancers celebrates burlesque stars of the past
Director Rama Rau’s League of Exotique Dancers follows several subjects who have been asked to perform at a special Burlesque Hall of Fame show in Las Vegas. The film screens at the Bloor HotDocs cinema on May 29, May 30, and June 2.
The politics of sisterhood in Mustang
Mustang, Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s directorial debut, charts five sisters’ resistance, as they both grow into and reject a narrow notion of womanhood. But Ergüven privileges perspectives that a Western audience can understand and approve of, making the story too familiar and incomplete.