Screenwriter Steven Knight and director Pablo Larraín have confected this intense biopic about the final years of the OG diva herself, Maria Callas; she is living in Paris in retirement, a haunted figure in dark glasses, and Angelina Jolie is probably the only actor who could take this on (although Jennifer Coolidge could give it a go). We can surely look forward to some juicy flashbacks with Jolie giving us La Divina in her sensational prime and, given that Maria was in a relationship with Aristotle Onassis, Knight could even have imagined a colossal King Kong v Godzilla-type diva-off with Jackie Kennedy. Nicole Kidman has form when it comes to representing transgressive age-gap relationships.
Here she plays a high-flying CEO who has a thrilling affair with a much younger male intern played by Harris Dickinson. The drama promises to question corporate power dynamics and sexual politics. Todd Phillips’s first Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix as the malign supervillain-antihumorist caused a sensation and resonated with Trumpian male disaffection the world over.
Now he is back for a sequel with Phoenix back in the role and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. DC will be hoping that the fledgling Joker franchise will counter the new anti-superhero mood. Greek New Wave auteur Athena Rachel Tsangari has directed and co-written this adaptation of the Jim Crace novel, set in medieval England.
Caleb Landry Jones, Harry Melling, Rosy McEwen and Arinzé Kene star in a disturbing drama of ou.