In the immediate aftermath of her break up from Maxine, Persian, Bisexual Shirin refuses to accept their relationship is irrecoverable and sets about trying to win her back, with varying degrees of failure, whilst navigating the sociopolitical landscape that her life inhabits. Superbly written and directed by Desiree Akhavan - who also plays Shirin, well, superbly. So, all round superb, in my best Brooklyn accent. (Brett Atkinson)
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Phyllis Dietrichson is trapped in a loveless marriage to a man who inspires in her nothing but contempt, but rather than leave him Phyllis decides to kill him and collect on the insurance policy she's had set up with the help of her lover, and naive partner in crime, insurance salesman Walter Neff. The only flaws in their plan are the company's reluctance to pay out so much, the diligence of Neff's increasingly suspicious colleague, (and his 'little man'), and the exemplary ruthlessness of Ph find out more...
Following on from Jeff Nichols' prior films Shotgun Stories and Take Shelter, Mud is an altogether gentler slab of prime Americana, a coming-of-age drama about two teenagers who chance upon an enigmatic stranger on a small island on the Mississippi River. Acting as a go-between between him and community life on the mainland, the pair in turn come to learn lessons about the realities of growing up. Evoking both Huckleberry Finn and Stand By Me, it may prove a little too conventional for fans o find out more...
