The Crown: A great cast saves a middling season 5

by Cláudio Alves

The Crown | © Netflix

I've long believed that The Crown is primarily valuable as an acting showcase. In previous years, the third and fourth seasons were examined by this prism here on The Film Experience, so it seems fitting to perpetuate the tradition. It's only appropriate for, if nothing else, the Netflix show is a staunch defender of doing the same over and over again, with as little change as possible - tradition upheld for eternity. And yet, to focus solely on the acting would be a false reading of what is a disappointing fifth chapter. As much as the cast succeeds, the series' foray into the 90s brings about a striking imbalance. Melodrama takes such precedence over History that the results cannot help but lack the grandeur of seasons past…

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Dorothy Dandridge @ 100: "Carmen Jones"

Team Experience is revisiting a few Dorothy Dandridge movies for her centennial

by Baby Clyde

Groucho Marks famously described Grace Kelly’s Best Actress win at the 1954 Oscars as ‘The greatest robbery since Brinks’. I think we can all agree that a terrible crime was committed, but Judy Garland wasn’t the only victim on the night of March 30th, 1955. Dorothy Dandridge was a sensation in Carmen Jones becoming the first Black woman to receive a Best Actress nomination. In any other year, her loss would be seen as a huge scandal but because of Judy’s legendary star turn in A Star Is Born the fact that Ms Dandridge was also deserving has been almost entirely overshadowed...

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Almost There: Thandiwe Newton in "Crash"

by Cláudio Alves

Happy belated birthday to Thandiwe Newton, who turned 50 last Sunday. From Flirting (1991) to God's Country (2022), the British actress has impressed across a variety of genres and roles, be they prestige melodrama or pulpy sci-fi. There's a tremendous flexibility to her screen presence, a vast range showcased even in projects that never quite rise to her level. Such is the case of Crash, Paul Haggis' divisive Best Picture winner, where Newton is just one thread within a broad tapestry of tricky racial dynamics, each storyline intertwining with ten others. Hyperlink cinema was all the rage in the 00s, and this particular example surely propelled Newton closer to the Oscar race than she'd been before or since.

Though it's no fun to look back on Crash, we shouldn't let the picture's general awfulness bleed into the memory of Newton's work. She's a beacon of quality, shining brightly amid the offensive generalizations which crash into sanctimonious incompetence…

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ICYMI - "Aftersun" led the British Independent Film Award Nominations

by Nathaniel R

"Aftersun" has been a hit with 'indie' awards groups like BIFA and Gotham.

The title here is a bit of a goof. You probably didn't miss the BIFA award nominations on Friday but we did. Apologizes for the delay in reporting them. The BIFAs use juries to come up with their nominations and if those juries like something they go ALL in.... 16 nominations for Aftersun (now playing in select theaters) sounds like a gargantuan amount of nominations and at first glance it lools like it was nominated for every category for which it was eligible. But therunner up Blue Jean, scored 13 nominations so, again, they go all in if they like something. What that means is that there isn't much variation from category to category. For instance Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay are all interchangeable. After the jump some notes on the nominations...

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AFI Fest: “The Eternal Daughter,” “Living” and “Bones and All”

By Christopher James

Tilda Swinton confronts the ghosts of her family's past in Joanna Hogg's new film "The Eternal Daughter."

The AFI Film Festival ended this past Sunday on another packed day. There were plenty of interesting films to catch, from the latest auteur projects to remakes of classics. Without further ado, let's dig into the final titles...

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