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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The glorious BFI Claude Chabrol season continues with LA CÉRÉMONIE (1995). Sandrine Bonnaire (cool and inscrutable) and Isabelle Huppert (charismatic and playful) are sensational as the social outcasts turned revolutionaries in suffocating suburban France: Chabrol called it "the last Marxist film".

Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert, arms around one another, watch television in Bonnaire's bedroom in La Cérémonie.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Ildikó Enyedi's SILENT FRIEND is enchanting: a tender & beautiful story of social change, scientific progress & a search for connection between people & plants across three timelines. Tony Leung Chiu-wai is of course magnificent, but every performance rings true and the photography is breathtaking.

Tony Leung Chiu-wai in SILENT FRIEND: a scientist with close-cropped hair and steel-rimmed glasses with a serene expression and enviable scarf.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Thank you so much for sharing these: so helpful and generous of you.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

So sorry to hear that: my condolences. Your film about him is such a joy, and I’m sure will inspire many producers to come.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Chabrol's La Femme Infidèle (1969) is a dazzling dark comic thriller with a superb Michel Bouquet deliquescing from complacent smoothie to sweaty avenger when he discovers his wife Stéphane Audran's affair. Chabrol's swooning glides and ruthless close-ups make every scene unsettling. At BFI now.

Stéphane Audran and Michel Bouquet in La Femme Infidèle

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Ntozake Shange's for black girls ... has its long overdue London premiere at @theyardtheatre.bsky.social and it's been worth the wait: a searing, sensational symphony of Black women's lives in America that blends horror, humour and heartache in a thrilling celebration of solidarity and sisterhood.

Ibilola Rossi, Nadine Higgin, Cherrelle Skeete, Alex Thomas-Smith and Tatenda Matsvai in for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This is wonderful! Such a beautiful response to a very under-seen and under-recognised (in the UK at least) film. I was really struck by its good-heartedness, and by the complexity of its understanding of both the challenges and benefits that the restaurant brings to its staff and community.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I was knocked sideways by SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON (Bryan Forbes, 1964) at BFI. The title is mild-mannered, but the movie is ruthless: a kidnap thriller that unpeels itself into a horror film about grief. Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough are superb and Forbes' compositions often Welles-worthy.

Richard Attenborough and Kim Stanley in SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON. She is in the foreground, holding a vial of chloroform in front of a mirror that reflects them both.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Goodness yes! It’s so well done. Full marks to Disney for hiring genuinely great film-makers for those movies (it’s also always disconcerting that the extensive SWTWC reshoots mean the boys are quite different sizes in different scenes)

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Such a bold, beautiful film. Still amazing that Disney had that brief period of thinking “hmm, what if horror, but for kids?” This, Return To Oz and The Watcher In The Woods haunt a whole generation.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

There's no direct connection between the loss of the Gate and the Channel 4 cuts — although Nadine Dorries arguably had a hand in both — but they're a worrying sign of the declining opportunities for UK artists to establish their careers. Please support @artsemergency.bsky.social if you can.

theguardian.com

Channel 4 to axe about 300 jobs in biggest layoffs in its history

Exclusive: Staff expect ‘brutal’ cutbacks as broadcaster seeks to reduce costs amid advertising slowdown

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I'm so sad the Gate is closing, and for everyone working there. It was a vital UK space for international theatre and a formative home for many of our finest writers, directors, designers and actors. Supporting fringe venues and voices is more essential than ever. www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/s...

theguardian.com

‘This is not sustainable’: London’s Gate theatre to close after nearly 50 years

Formerly based above a Notting Hill pub, the theatre earned a reputation for radical plays with new talent yet had a 100% loss of Arts Council England funding in 2022

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Thank you to The Wrap for including HIGH VALUE TARGET in their 50 most anticipated TV shows for autumn. The series is based on the memoirs of CIA agent John Nixon, and premieres on TNT on 13 September. UK launch TBA.

A still from HIGH VALUE TARGET, showing CIA agent John Nixon confronting Saddam Hussein.

"High Value Target: The Hunt For Saddam"
(TNT) - Sept. 13
CIA analyst John Nixon's high-stakes interrogation of dictator Saddam Hussein is getting the Hollywood treatment in TNT's upcoming political thriller "High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam." Inspired by Nixon's memoir "Debriefing the President," the eight-episode series chronicles the pair's exchanges following the former Iraqi president's capture in December 2003 in the search for weapons of mass destruction. The show also explores the far-reaching consequences of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the ripple effect it would have across the world for decades to come. "High Value Target" will star Joel Kinnaman as Nixon and Waleed Zuaiter as Hussein. Rounding out the cast is Lena Góra, Rebecca Night, Ewan Miller, Tom Berenger, Matt Barr, Paul Ryan, Christopher McDonald, Dar Salim and Talia Balsam. — Lucas Manfredi

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

John Sayles maybe? And Robin Campilo’s 120 bpm does it well. But yes, not enough cinematic examples of how people really drive change.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I agree! The “hero’s journey”, as it’s taught in western cinema & TV, has had dangerous consequences. It’s also really hard to sell stories of collective action to commercial platforms & studios: I hope there’s a way to change that.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

This is very good. Thank you. There’s also real progress in education, healthcare, work conditions & lifespan in most democracies. But these are due to longterm collective action, not individual heroic acts. So I wonder if the challenge is how we can dramatise & inspire collective change on film?

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I just saw this mistake in an email from Curzon and honestly might prefer these two films this way round:

Curzon mixes up the descriptions of Sense & Sensibility and Resident Evil, so that S&S is directed by Zack Creggar and Resident Evil by Georgia Oakley.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Hitchcock said of his two versions (1934 & 1956) that "the first is the work of a talented amateur & the second was made by a professional." But youth gave him such dynamism & originality: '34 is lean, witty, sometimes shockingly violent, and Lorre is unbeatable as its charming but weaselly villain.

Alfred Hitchcock and Peter Lorre on the set of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1934). Lorre smiles slyly, delightedly for the camera while Hitch confronts it warily and looks keen to head off for dinner.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Dazzled all over again by Bergman's PERSONA (1966) at BFI yesterday, on gorgeous 35mm. It's a film that rewards rewatching more than almost any other: every scene shimmers with ambiguity, every action provokes and rebukes interpretation, while remaining a gripping, sensual psychological thriller.

Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann in Ingmar Bergman's PERSONA, their faces in close-up, challenging the lens.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Chloë Moss's THE GUILTY at @donmarwarehouse.bsky.social, directed by Felix Barrett, is a haunting, harrowing thriller played out in real time with a riveting central performance by Russell Tovey as a troubled cop on a night shift where nothing is quite what it seems. I was spellbound & shaken by it.

Russell Tovey as an emergency response officer in THE GUILTY: a man in shadow speaking into a telephone headset.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

"Calling Dick Tracy ... calling Dick Tracy ... "

Beautifully coloured nighttime cityscape in Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty, 1990)

The bad guys assemble in Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty, 1990)

Tracy fires his machine gun towards the lens as Breathless Mahoney sings behind him in Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty, 1990)

Tracy stands in front of his car, dressed in his iconic yellow hat and coat, in Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty, 1990)

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung would like a word …

Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung in In The Mood for Love

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Hofesh Shechter’s In The Brain is a dance party staged on the edge of apocalypse. Gorgeously lit and thrillingly scored, it's a stunning showcase for his young company, Schecter II, with a rare tenderness in its solo sections, finding solidarity in chaos. www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/hof...

Eight young dancers in street clothing caught in a fierce beam of light in Hofesh Schecter's In The Brain.

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Reposted by Jonathan Wakeham

Jonathan Coe @jonathancoe.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

When he began his collaboration with Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Hitchcock was also about to be launched as an unlikely TV star. My take on the creative symbiosis between the two men.

lrb.co.uk

Jonathan Coe · Where was the drum kit? Hitchcock’s Music

The music Bernard Herrmann wrote for The Wrong Man is diffident, sometimes almost unnoticeable. His score for Hitchcock...

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

In Bed With My Brother's Philosophy of the World is a blazing, brilliant remix of the story of The Shaggs co-starring theatre's secret weapon Nigel Barrett. Funny, fiery, furious, it's a perfect first show for the gorgeous new @theyardtheatre.bsky.social: same radical spirit, slightly comfier seats.

In Bed With My Brother (Nora Alexander, Dora Lynn and Kat Cory) in costume as The Shaggs for Philosophy of the World. Playing at the Yard to 1st August: https://www.theyardtheatre.co.uk/events/philosophy-of-the-world

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I'm very much looking forward to Dandelions and Poppy, a queer coming-of-age comedy about two girls and a horny gay dog called Dandelion by @artsemergency.bsky.social graduate Hosanna Johnson. Catch it at @thehopetheatre.bsky.social on 1-3 September: www.thehopetheatre.com/dandelionsan...

Two schoolgirls sit on a park bench in the sunshine. They are flirting awkwardly. One is holding a dog lead.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

That’s stunning! Really looking forward to reading it.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Five living writers I’ve read five books by (and look forward to many more) … Jennifer Egan Zadie Smith Emily St John Mandel Scarlett Thomas Sarah Waters

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Congratulations! Very excited to see all of these.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

I'm the grim reaper of television: any show that I love is immediately cancelled (RIP to LOVECRAFT COUNTRY, I LOVE DICK, THE CHAIR). So farewell, PONIES: Haley Lu Richardson & Emilia Clarke were an absolute joy as unlikely spies in 70s Moscow, with terrific scripts by David Iserson & Susanna Fogel.

Haley Lu Richardson & Emilia Clarke as unlikely spies in 1970s Moscow

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

What Is the Definitive Movie About America? www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/m...

The Woodsman in Twin Peaks The Return: a dark monochrome image of a bearded man in a hunter's cap, a cigarette in his mouth.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

TW acknowledges the biography in her book, and cites it 50 times in her online bibliography, alongside her other sources, also explaining what she’s fictionalised: www.charityandsylvia.com

charityandsylvia.com

Charity and Sylvia

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

TW's website for her book gives a detailed breakdown of her sources and credits the biography many times, alongside details of what she invented: www.charityandsylvia.com

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I hugely enjoyed Curry Barker's OBSESSION, despite being a horror film coward. Inde Navarrette is sensational: her storytelling scene matches Naomi Watts' audition in MULHOLLAND DR. as a sequence that transforms both performance & character. Also the most unsettling phone call since LOST HIGHWAY.

Inde Navarette in OBSESSION dir. Curry Barker. She's smiling nervously at a party, two boys in the background behind her.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

There’s a full paragraph of acknowledgement of the original in TW’s book, and dozens of citations of it in her online bibliography here: www.charityandsylvia.com

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Spielberg's DISCLOSURE DAY is less like ET & CLOSE ENCOUNTERS than a fusion of TINTIN & THE POST. It's also as much of a personal portrait of his parents as THE FABELMANS, and his most 70s movie since — well — the 70s. So as a lover of Pakula & Pollack's conspiracy thrillers I had a wonderful time.

Emily Blunt in Disclosure Day, tears in her eyes, in her childhood bedroom.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Sophy Romvari's BLUE HERON has haunted me for a week now. It's a powerful, intimate story of childhood, memory and a quest for closure that takes dazzling leaps in focus and form. As her troubled brother Jeremy, Edik Beddoes barely speaks but gives one of the strongest performances of the year.

Edik Beddoes as Jeremy in BLUE HERON: a pale, angular teenager with thick glasses and long hair, shot in sunlight against a blue sea.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Congratulations! Really looking forward to it.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

My brilliant @artsemergency.bsky.social graduate Hosanna is bringing her funny, romantic queer coming-of-age story about two girls and a horny gay dog to The Hope Theatre in September. She's running a @gofundme.com to support it: please help out if you can ❤️🌼🐶 www.gofundme.com/f/dandelions...

gofundme.com

Donate to Dandelions and Poppy is Back!! , organized by Hosanna Johnson

It can be hard to find true acceptance, but maybe a horny dog can help. Hi my name… Hosanna Johnson needs your support for Dandelions and Poppy is Back!!

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

My reading of it was that the ... er ... guests in Margaret's childhood home knew she loved animals (the butterfly wallpaper) and chose to appear as a child's imagined version of animals so she'd trust them and feel safe following them. It was a deliberate act of empathy. What did you guys think?

From the trailer for DISCLOSURE DAY: a fox, a deer and a raccoon appear in Margaret's childhood bedroom at night.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

"If you’re making movies at the same time as Steven Spielberg, it’s hard not to feel like Salieri." Terrific interview with Steven Soderbergh about Spielberg, his own most challenging productions and his new app detailing the making of JAWS. deadline.com/2026/06/stev...

Roy Scheider in JAWS (1975) He's in close-up, front right, cigarette in his mouth, the shark rearing behind him from the left.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

This sounds entirely wonderful. Congratulations, very excited to read it.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Really looking forward to seeing this for the first time at BFI Southbank, my spiritual home. Booking is now open for Kazuo Ishiguro's season of great films set on trains: whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/defau...

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

I loved How Much Of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang, West by Carys Davies and Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler, which definitely counts as weird, but perhaps not as lesser-known.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

One of my favourite novels last year, interweaving the lives of a documentary film-maker, whom we meet smuggling a wolf cub out of the Chernobyl forest, and a young activist whose work inspires constitutional change. A climate story, a nature story and a love story that offers hope in fearful times.

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Jonathan Wakeham @jonathanwakeham.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Beautiful, perfectly parodic children’s book covers from The Royal Tenenbaums, each illustrated by a different artist (including Wes Anderson’s wife on the far right). Also, check the second from left: did Wes Anderson inspire Weapons?!

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