In Fish Tank, physical boundaries stand for social boundaries — the constraints imposed by gender and class and the walls we build for self-protection
Must Reads
Must reads are the best of the best articles at The Seventh Row. These include reviews, interviews, and essays. If you're new to the site, this is a good place to start to get a sense of what kinds of stories we write. Here is the best of our multidisciplinary approach to reviewing films, our most illuminating and original interviews, and our best essays.
Hail, Caesar: The Coen Brothers’ Golden Age
The Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar is a glorious, hilarious tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood. With its very own Esther Williams (Scarlett Johansson), Carmen Miranda (Veronica Osorio), and Gene Kelly (Channing Tatum), it’s got all the stock characters and genres of classic cinema. Even Roger Deakins’ 35mm cinematography mimics old movies, framing the action head-on as if filming a stage.
Why you’ve never heard of the Sloan Prize
I’d like to think of the Sundance Film Festival’s Alfred P. Sloan Prize as a beacon of hope for science in film. But it’s an award that no one is promoting, bestowed for reasons no one can divine, based on a process that no one will talk about
Anna Rose Holmer on her Sundance hit The Fits
Holmer discusses how working with the New York City ballet influenced her film, how she used sound and editing to tell the story, and the shooting rules she set for herself.
Sonita and Sand Storm at Sundance: when the patriarchy looks like your mother
Both films explore how empowered women function within a patriarchal society. They pose the question, can you defeat the patriarchy simply by exercising agency?
45 Years of marriage on thin ice
In 45 Years, Andrew Haigh uses sound and very precise framing to develop a complex, cinematic story of a long-term relationship. Read our book about Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete.