Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks is a freelance writer and broadcaster specialising in cinema
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Films from Scorsese, Loach, Wim Wenders and more are some of the best in this year’s competition, but ahead of them all is Jonathan Glazer’s mighty Auschwitz drama The Zone of Interest
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As In the Rearview premieres at Cannes, its director explains how he made a movie about transporting people across the border in his VW and why he’s rejected the red carpet for a borrowed rug from a bombed home
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5 out of 5 stars.
Killers of the Flower Moon review – Scorsese’s magnificent period epic is an instant American classic
5 out of 5 stars.Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro star in a sinuous, pitch-black tragedy about how the west was really won -
3 out of 5 stars.
May December review – fraught drama starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore promises more than it delivers
3 out of 5 stars.Todd Haynes’ tale of merging identities is too knowing and too glossy to drive its message home
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The bassist and author talks about artistic ambition, sibling dynamics - and how being on tour inspired his riotous new novel, The Ghost Theatre
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3 out of 5 stars.
Loving Highsmith review – a thorough profile of the Ripley author, one issue aside…
3 out of 5 stars.Patricia Highsmith comes across as a difficult character in a film portrait that doesn’t dig too deep into her antisemitism, but elsewhere tells us much -
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The tennis titan with a howitzer serve thought invincibility on the court meant impunity off it. Oscar-winner Alex Gibney reveals how he charted the star’s path from fortunes and trophies to squatters and prison
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Is the trend for epic movies and hefty novels getting too much? Our critics redress the balance with a classic compilation of shorter works – plus 10 long ones that are worth your time
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The director shot his 2014 film over 12 years, documenting his cast growing older. As it’s re-released, the director reflects on his beautiful ‘time sculpture’ as well as a potential follow-up to Before Midnight and his 20-year project with Paul Mescal
Bryan Cranston: ‘My dad wanted to be a star. How futile is that?’