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I don't understand the extreme criticism directed at this film from some critics. I watched it without knowing it was autobiographical and it does seem that many negative reviews relate to the characters being portrayed more negatively than the book. But it remains an interesting story about a young boy growing up in poverty and with a drug addicted mother. Amy Adams was very good and despite her character's rage and violence, I still wanted her to overcome her difficulties. Glenn Close was phenomenal, although given her importance to the story, I felt her death was tackled too briefly. In fact the ending was rushed per se. The previously meandering tale rushed to a sudden and slightly confusing confusion.I also felt more time should have been given to Amy Adam's character's childhood experiences which clearly set in play her path to near destruction. The settings were stunning and I throughly enjoyed seeing such a beautiful part of America, especially when we are in our third lockdown in the UK. Overall it was a lovely, albeit sad way to spend a couple of hours.

I’ve never been terribly interested in action films with lots of fighting, but whilst bored one Sunday afternoon, I saw this whilst scrolling through Amazon Prime. I expected to hate it and I did initially. But, once it got going, ( fairly quickly, so stick with it), it went supersonic. The locations and staging are absolutely phenomenal and stunningly beautiful and the choreography is so fantastic, I could barely keep up with the high speed fight scenes. The mysticism is captivating All the actors were superb and absolutely believable and as a woman, I particularly appreciated the strong female characters. Andrew Koji is a standout, capable of displaying a whole range of emotions in a mere glance. He’s a modern day Heathcliff, with rage and frustration bubbling beneath the surface. I really enjoyed and highly recommend this film. I don’t recall much swearing and although violent, it’s not gruesome. There’s no beating people to a pulp, which I really appreciated. Spoiler alert : If you are ophidiophobic (scared of snakes), there’s a couple of bits not for you. They’re not real, if that helps.Look out for the main character stepping on a tile in a forest and going down in a lift to a dark room with no-one in it. Look away for a few minutes. Then it happens again, but it’s very similar to the first, so you’ll see it coming.

Some Spoilers A beautiful and desperately sad film. The locations are stunning and the costumes sumptuous. Every last detail is exquisitely crafted. The performances were superb, by all. Whilst the language used isn’t Shakespearian, it isn’t wholly contemporary either, neither is it flowery, instead rather succinct, with a heavy reliance on the non vocal emotions expressed so convincingly by the cast. Daisy Ridley is good as Ophelia, though it is a surprisingly unemotional performance. Naomi Watts is initially cold and controlled as Queen Gertrude, a woman who lacks a noble heritage and sees how her other ladies in waiting treat an equally ignoble Ophelia. Watts also plays Queen Gertrude’s sister, Mechtild, a healer living the woods, nursing a tragic past. Devon Terrell, as Hamlet’s friend from childhood, Horatio is decent and kind and very loyal. He is wise and helps Ophelia when her world begins to crash around her. But the performance of George MacKay is on another level. He is tender and gentle and betrayed terribly by his Mother, who remarries, after her husband, the King’s death. Her marriage to Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius makes him King, and he humiliates Hamlet who has hurried home upon his notification of his father’s death. George MacKay smoulders with rage at his mother’s betrayal, but his father’s death means he feels confident enough to marry Ophelia. However Claudius learns of this and punishes Ophelia. Hamlet accidentally kills her father, setting in motion a tragic set of events leading to Ophelia fleeing, whilst Hamlet swears to catch up with her after he has fought a dual with Ophelia’s brother, who is determined to avenge his father’s death. Then follows one of the saddest scenes I have ever witnessed on screen. The soundtrack which has been superb throughout, comes into its own with a beautiful and evocative piece of music, which replaces the spoken word. For the most important scene in a film to have no words for its entirely and still deeply move, exemplifies the quality of both the acting and the soundtrack. Naomi Watts and George MacKay play their roles with a heartbreaking intensity that left me with tears pouring down my face. I won’t say any more, only that I am surprised and confused by the fairly critical reviews of this film. It was captivating and enchanting, filled with emotion and attention to detail. Again credit must go to George MacKay for his acting which blew away other more established actors including Clive Owen, Nathanial Parker, and, of course Watts. He is extremely talented and I will follow his career with great interest.