find her movie reviews

Exclusive: Filmmaker Nick McCallum on Find Her, his New Noir Mystery

Actor, writer, and director Nick McCallum discusses Find Her and how classic noir films like Chinatown influenced his creative process.

Actor, writer, producer, director Nick McCallum fills Find Her with classic noir elements of stellar films like L.A. Confidential. With cinematography by Emmy award-winning director of photography Evan Zissimopulos at his side, the filmmaker is in good company.

Filmed in Louisiana and Florida, the story tracks an ex-cop (McCallum from The Staircase , Messiah, 2 Broke Girls ), who arrives in a small town. He’s searching for answers to a murdered ranch owner and his missing daughter. Plot twists ensue, and it gradually becomes clear that the cop has his own agenda for uncovering the truth.

Starring alongside McCallum are Stelio Savante ( Infidel, The Chosen ), Anais Lilit ( The Walking Dead: Red Machete ), Richard Gunn ( Clemency, Hemlock Grove ), and John James ( My Son Hunter, Dynasty ). The cast also features G. Andrew Ahrens, Rebecca Lines, Sydney Bullock, Brandon Stacy, Randal Gonzalez, and Mary Drew Ahrens.

“You’ll see the homage to classic noir films here, which I feel Hollywood doesn't make enough of anymore,” McCallum said. “I'm hoping people watching it go, “You know, that's very Chinatown right there. Or that's very Angel Heart. That type of thing. As a movie fan, I always enjoy seeing that. I love being taken on a ride and the filmmaker is attributing past films that got them there.”

Understanding the Allure of Noir

Any way you spin it, it’s been slim pickings when it comes to noir films over the last decade. When you discover a film that’s capable of offering a great mix of mystery, intrigue, good acting, and the brooding mood of a town and its people, it stands out. That’s what McCallum had in mind going into Find Her.

“When great noir is done right, it almost makes you feel as if you’re in a horror film that’s been done right,” he said. “It gives you a world that’s a little removed from your everyday life. And if you have the right anti-heroes, you end up enjoying the bad guy who's getting to run things.”

That would be McCallum’s character in the film, Isaiah Slade, the steely ex-cop searching for answers in a brooding bucolic setting.

“ Good noir is like an escape ,” the filmmaker added. “With noir, people are drawn into the fantasy. But that darker tone feels more real for the world we're in right now. That's for sure.”

The 18-day shoot took place mostly in Basile, Louisiana — rural and spacious yet an ideal spot for a mystery with its mysterious streams and woodsy landscapes.

All indie filmmakers face challenges, whether they be financial, cast-related, or beyond. Prior to the shoot, McCallum’s line producer had to bow out the day before shooting began due to health issues, but the filmmaker pressed on.

“I woke up in the mornings, preparing the call sheets, putting ink in the printer, and it became kind of like this Zen thing for me,” McCallum noted. “There's just too much work to do. And you just kind of go through it.”

He had plenty of filmmaking experience, though, financing a film on credit cards at one point — his first feature came out eight years.

“There was a lot to take care of, especially when you’re writing the script, too,” he said. “I latched onto the mood of the story and kept the sound in my mind, and the score. I hope audiences feel that. I just love noir in general. Chinatown was a one-of-a-kind movie. I can always have it on in the background. I loved Double Indemnity . I was inspired by those classics. I’m drawn to those worlds. I guess you could call them pretty moody worlds.”

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Is Find Her Part of a Franchise?

What’s interesting to note about McCallum and Find Her , is that he originally set his sights on multiple projects with similar themes.

“I basically have five different stories that fall under the Find Her title,” he said, noting how he launched Find Her Films. “This film was the second one I conceived. They all have a version of searching—for a missing wife, a sister, a girlfriend. That kind of tone. With this movie, I had an outline for it. Then I met with my partner, Garrett Andrew Aarons, who plays Garrett Warner in the film, and we collaborated.”

Small-town friendliness kicked in during the shoot, too. McCallum spoke to the local police department, which gave him a point woman he could text whenever he needed scenes that required cop cars.

“It wasn’t like shooting in Los Angeles, right?” he said. “Having the police force help you out was incredible. That scene in the trailer where the cop cars are flying by to go on a murder call—that was all thanks to the local police. In a place like Los Angeles, that that would have had a hefty budget whereas… we just had these great people who were of that great small-town mentality—helping one another.”

McCallum grew up in Pleasanton, Texas, a small town itself. He said that the intimate vibe influenced his work.

“It was refreshing to shoot the film and knowing everybody in town was happy we were making a movie there,” he admitted. “I think that camaraderie really came across. It's funny when you're making a film with a darker tone, yet you’re still able to corral the filmmaking gods and get everybody around you in the spirit.”

He said his biggest hope is that audiences walk away intrigued and feeling as if they went along for a memorable ride.

“I tried to make it in the vein of classic detective shows,” McCallum noted. “I brought a lot of elements from BBC shows. The goal was to introduce the mystery and allow people to follow along with that mystery and an interesting anti-hero.”

Find Her will be available on most major streaming and cable platforms across the U.S. on October 1.

Where to Watch

Nick McCallum (Isaiah Slade) Stelio Savante (Felix Leonard) Anais Lilit (Brandy Warner) Richard Gunn (Chief Bill Landon) John James (Robert Marks) Garrett Andrew Ahrens (Garrett Warner) Rebecca Lines (Tommy) Mary Drew Ahrens (Beth Marks) Sydney Bullock (Sloane Marks) Wicken Taylor (Hotel Clerk Deedee)

Nick McCallum

When an ex-cop arrives in a small town searching for answers to a murdered ranch owner and his missing daughter, it slowly becomes clear he has his own personal agenda to finding the truth.

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‘Find Her’ (2022) Movie Review: A Movie with a Weather-Beaten Flavor

Find Her is a movie written, directed and starring Nick McCallum . With Richard Gunn , Anais Lilit , Stelio Savante and Rebecca Lines .

A movie with an American scent of deep forests and secrets.

Movie Review

This is  a kind of movie of bygone times which seeks its thriller seeking its own ecosystem.

Find Her has the virtue of knowing how to go back in time in the genre and fulfill its principles from the very start,without attempting to be what it is not and knowing how to go to the sources of dark thrillers and the classics of the Forties of the past century. It is impossible to not recall the kind of film noir hero who is a prey of his own nightmares.

Anais Lilit is good as a femme fatale and the atmosphere and photography also match it and, curiosly, that off camera voice that some say is somewhat out of style (the nouvelle vague stated it was “anti-cinematographic” but go and tell that to Scorsese ).

Find Her has the virtue of knowing how to wait, taking its time in the scenes, not hurrying in the plot and rescuing the characters of classic cinema and making them updated in a movie that, definitely, wants to leave time: those old fashioned telephones, the cigarettes of the characters, the onyric scenes and even some of the frames.

Fin Her creates its own ecosystem in time, like a still moment in a horizon of events in which the thriller meets up with movies of the Forties and their bygone formulas.

And, on a personal level: we like the main star who is none other than the director and screenwriter. This is a guy who smokes, drinks (and other things), who is not perfect nor wants to be and would not fit the movie otherwise. He has more of Harry Angel ( Angel Heart ) than any other decaff hero of any modern film.

Our Opinion

A movie to re-discover classic American movies, the good kind and which seduced all of us many years ago. Fin Her could have well been Find It, because it takes us through a search that goes beyond the storyline, a personal search by the director and screenwriter through a character of that kind of a movie and those kinds of stories that have been lost but which remain there, frozen in that time of dial-phones and violent ghostly spirals.

When an ex policeman arrives at a small village seeking answers about the murde of the owner of a ranch and his missing daughter, it gradually becomes evident that he has his own personal agenda for finding the truth.

Director: Nick McCallum

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2022 Directed by Nick McCallum

When an ex-cop arrives in a small town searching for answers to a murdered ranch owner and his missing daughter, it slowly becomes clear he has his own personal agenda to finding the truth.

Nick McCallum Anais Lilit Richard Gunn Stelio Savante

Director Director

Nick McCallum

Writer Writer

Mystery Drama

Releases by Date

01 oct 2022, releases by country.

87 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

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Review by bbbgtoby ★ 2

You know what this movie could do without? That fucking voiceover. Plus a whole bunch of other stuff that generally made this a tedious chore to watch, including the entire cast.

Review by Will Weldon

The best and simultaneously worst part of any low budget movie that is written/directed/starring an older guy is when the attractive, much younger woman (usually with big tits) is introduced into the plot and you begin the mental countdown until they have sex that is also initiated entirely by her. In this one, she shows up to his hotel room maybe fifteen minutes after first being introduced, wearing nothing but a trench coat, and tells him "sometimes a girl wants to forget her problems", which is very funny because I don't think there are a lot of girls who could be asked the question "Remember the time you fucked that weird old creep with no charisma" and their response would be "No."

Review by Nathan Countryman ★★½

Scavenger Hunt 92 November 2022 Film 12/30 13. Providing a local theater with your patronage is great. So is doing so to a library! Lots of libraries also allow you to borrow movies, so if there is a library with movies near you, go there and borrow one. If there aren't any libraries near you, then watch something on a free streaming service, such as tubi.

Hoopla is provided by my local library, so went with a 2022 film on the platform that almost no one has logged.

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Extra point for the kangaroos

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• October 8, 2022 /
• Thomas White /
• Movie Reviews /

Ex-cop Isaiah Slade ( Nick McCallum ) arrives in a small town, searching for the missing daughter of a murdered ranch owner in the movie Find Her . As his investigations continue, coming across a wide range of suspects each with their own motive, it becomes apparent that he has his own hidden agenda for finding the truth.

Actor, writer, director and co-producer McCallum’s thriller is a mysterious, brooding neo-noir which encapsulates many archetypal tropes of the genre. Murderous intrigue, fiery femmes fatales, a world-weary protagonist with a dubious past and a narrative voiceover.

The film’s moody tone is reflected in Evan Zissimopulos ’ cinematography, crisply shot and making full use of low sunlight casting long shadows. And although being filmed in the Southern States of Florida and Louisiana, the sharply defined colours of those vast, almost glacial American landscapes help create the sense of a cooler, foreboding atmosphere.

Slade is the embodiment of the stoic, existential male cop with an uncertain history, though his unwavering deadpan demeanour makes it difficult to feel much for the character. Fleshing out his vulnerabilities and emotions might have helped us gain more insight and encouraged a deeper empathy. And, although he is an outsider, there is a distance between him and the community he has entered into that feels a little too detached, a connection which never quite manages to bridge the gap and bring the two closer together.

The main female characters have a little more substance. This is partly down to the script and certainly the performances. Anais Lilit and Rebecca Lines , particularly, bring energy and dynamism to their roles, playing the deceased’s daughter Brandy and her matriarchal, surrogate aunt Tommy, respectively.

Find Her is an intriguing thriller, full of mystery and vengeance, evenly paced and easy to follow, irrespective of its twists and turns. However, its refreshing simplicity, exemplified by the undeviating chronological style of storytelling, could be considered overly plodding or procedural for stricter noir fans requiring more ambiguity and a non-linear narrative structure.

The New Movie from Nick McCallum

Movie title: Find Her

Movie description: When an ex-cop arrives in a small town searching for answers to a murdered ranch owner and his missing daughter, it slowly becomes clear he has his own personal agenda to finding the truth.

Date published: October 1, 2022

Country: United States

Duration: 86 minutes

Director(s): Nick McCallum

Actor(s): Nick McCallum, Stelio Savante, Anais Lilit, Richard Gunn, John James, Garrett Andrew Ahrens, Rebecca Lines, Sydney Bullock, Mary Drew Ahrens.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Thomas is a musician, writer and film enthusiast with a broad taste in films, from Big Night to The Big Combo. When he isn’t immersed in these activities his passions extend to the kitchen and food.

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Find Her (2022)

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When an ex-cop arrives in a small town searching for answers to a murdered ranch owner and his missing daughter, it slowly becomes clear he has his own personal agenda to finding the truth.

Nick McCallum

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Anais Lilit

Brandy Warner

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Chief Bill Landon

Stelio Savante

Felix Leonard

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When an ex-cop arrives in a small town searching for answers to a murdered ranch owner and his missing daughter, it slowly becomes clear he has his own personal agenda to finding the truth.

Movie Reviews

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Spike Jonze's "Her" plays like a kind of miracle the first time around. Watching its opening shots of Joaquin Phoenix making an unabashed declaration of eternal love to an unseen soul mate is immediately disarming. The actor is so unaffected, so sincere, so drained of the tortured eccentricity that's a hallmark of most of the roles that he plays. It's like falling into a plush comforting embrace. Then one understands that the declaration isn't his, but something he, or rather, his character, Theodore, does for his job.

As the movie continues, and the viewer learns more of what an ordinary guy Theodore is—he checks his e-mail on the ride home from work, just like pretty much all of us these days—director Jonze, who also wrote the movie's script, constructs a beguiling cinematic world that also starts to embrace the viewer. The way Theodore's smart phone and its earpiece work is different from ours, and soon it becomes clear that "Her" is something of a science-fiction film, set in the not-too-distant but distinctly fantastic future. A big part of the movie's charm is just how thoroughly Jonze has imagined and constructed this future Los Angeles, from its smoggy skies to its glittering skyscrapers to its efficient mass transit system and much more. (There has already been, and there will no doubt be more, think pieces about how Caucasian this future L.A. is. There will likely be few think pieces about how the fashion for high-waisted pants in this future makes life unpleasant for the obese.)

The futuristic premise sets the stage for an unusual love story: one in which Theo, still highly damaged and sensitive over the breakup of his marriage ("I miss you," a friend tells him in a voice mail message; "Not the sad, mopey you. The old, fun you"), falls in love with the artificially intelligent operating system of his computer. The movie shows this product advertised and, presumably, bought in remarkable quantity, but focuses on Theo's interaction with his OS, which he gives a female voice. The female voice (portrayed beautifully by Scarlett Johansson ) gives herself the name " Samantha " and soon Samantha is reorganizing Theo's files, making him laugh, and developing something like a human consciousness.

It's in Theo and Samantha's initial interaction that "Her" finds its most interesting, and troubling depths. Samantha, being, you know, a computer, has the ability to process data, and a hell of a lot of it, at a higher speed than human Theo. "I can understand how the limited perspective can look to the non-artificial mind," she playfully observes to Theo. And while Samantha's programming is designed to make her likable to Theo, her assimilation of humanity's tics soon have the operating system feeling emotion, or the simulation of it, and while the viewer is being beguiled by the peculiarities and particularities of Theo and Samantha's growing entanglement, he or she is also living through a crash course on the question of what it means to be human.

In the midst of the heavyosity, Jonze finds occasions for real comedy. At first Theo feels a little odd about his new "girlfriend," and then finds out that his pal Amy ( Amy Adams ) is getting caught up in a relationship with the OS left behind by her estranged husband. Throughout the movie, while never attempting the sweep of a satire, Jonze drops funny hints about what the existence of artificial intelligence in human society might affect that society. He also gets off some pretty good jokes concerning video games.

But he also creates moments of genuinely upsetting heartbreak, as in Theo's inability to understand what went wrong with his marriage to Catherine ( Rooney Mara , quite wonderful in what could have been a problematic role) and their continuing inadvertent emotional laceration of each other at their sole "present" meeting in the movie.

This is all laid out with superb craft (the cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema takes the understated tones he applied to 2011's " Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy " and adds a dreamy creamy quality to them, so that even the smog layering the Shanghai skyline that sometimes stands in for Los Angeles here has a vaguely enchanted quality) and imagination. If there's a "but," it's that the movie can sometimes seem a little too pleased with itself, its sincerity sometimes communicating a slightly holier-than-thou preciosity, like some of those one-page features that so cutely dot the literary magazine " The Believer ." As in, you know, OF COURSE Theo plays the ukulele. And I'm still torn as to whether the idea of a business specializing in "Beautifully Handwritten Letters' is cutely twee or repellently cynical or some third thing that I might not find a turnoff. For all that, though, "Her" remains one of the most engaging and genuinely provocative movies you're likely to see this year, and definitely a challenging but not inapt date movie.

Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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120 minutes

Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore

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Graceful, strange romance with intense moments of sexuality.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie's depiction of love is profound and

Theodore may be dazed by his divorce and confused

Contentious arguments between a couple shown in fl

Two instances where a man has a version of phone s

Language throughout including: "d-ck," &

Social drinking among friends.

Parents need to know that Her is a beautiful, unusual romantic tale whose protagonist falls in love with a computer's voice, an offbeat coupling that may be difficult for younger viewers to comprehend. The film also takes on some mature themes, including the crumbling of a marriage and the mourning period…

Positive Messages

The movie's depiction of love is profound and moving, and shows us that love can happen in strange ways, not always when we're looking for it, and that it can change us deeply if we can be open to it.

Positive Role Models

Theodore may be dazed by his divorce and confused by his feelings for Samantha, but he nevertheless opens himself up to the experience. Also, he's a good friend and a writer who makes an effort at his craft, even if they're letters on behalf of, and for, others.

Violence & Scariness

Contentious arguments between a couple shown in flashbacks.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Two instances where a man has a version of phone sex; pleasure is audible and extended. A woman straddles a man and kisses him. One image of a topless pregnant woman that becomes fodder for a sexual fantasy.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language throughout including: "d-ck," "a--hole," and "f--k."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Her is a beautiful, unusual romantic tale whose protagonist falls in love with a computer's voice, an offbeat coupling that may be difficult for younger viewers to comprehend. The film also takes on some mature themes, including the crumbling of a marriage and the mourning period that comes when a relationship breaks apart. Expect some swearing (including "f--k"), and scenes where a character has loud, enthusiastic sex with a voice. There's a bit of quick topless nudity and some sexy moments between adults. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (18)
• Kids say (25)

Based on 18 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Theodore Twombly ( Joaquin Phoenix ) works for a website that sends out handwritten letters for others -- they don't actually write the notes longhand; they're generated by a computer. He's a master at the form. When he writes (i.e. dictates) a letter, it's passionate and heartfelt, and often plugs into the beating center of a relationship. His marriage, on the other hand, has suffered a fatal blow. His lawyer's waiting for him to sign the divorce papers, and so is his wife ( Rooney Mara ), but Theodore is in no hurry. He's bereft, isolated in his melancholy. An old friend ( Amy Adams ) can only jog him out of his funk once in a while, and she has her own problems. All of that changes when he updates the operating system on his computer (in this distant future, it's accessible with not just a desktop but an earpiece and a hand unit resembling an old-fashioned cigarette case), which comes alive with the voice of a woman ( Scarlett Johansson ), who promptly names herself Samantha. She's no disembodied computer voice, however; she's an evolving being, intelligent and flirtatious and easy to love. But is it love? And can it last?

Is It Any Good?

Few movies capture the magic and the heartbreak of falling in love in an unexpected, mind-bending way; HER is one of them. Though it's set in a sterile, somewhat disembodied future, where people seem permanently outfitted with earpieces connected to their computers, bidding them to cull through their emails, make appointments, pick songs, its essential question is about something entirely human: the joy and frailty of love. Spike Jonze's film is a delicate meditation on love, but it's jubilant, too. It's also unpredictable in the best way, skipping the simplistic solutions for something more interesting and complicated.

Joaquin Phoenix commits completely to his character, exuding a sadness and vulnerability that feels particular to Theodore but entirely understandable. He's the walking personification of the audience's experience with defeat and sorrow. You can almost feel his fibers awakening again from their doleful slumber when Samantha comes into his life, adding order, yes (that is her job), but also injecting a spirited companion to his ruminations. Johanssen also deserves kudos for lending Samantha personality and verve even though we never see her. In a way, Her is just as much about allowing yourself to be free as it is allowing someone else into your life. How wonderful that a movie that is, in one way, about how we surrender too much, too often to technology also reminds us to get in touch with our own humanity.

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Families can talk about the relationship between Samantha and Theodore. How is their relationship similar to traditional couplings? How is it different? Is this kind of relationship really far-fetched?

What might the film be trying to say about the nature of love? Is this a movie about technology, or something much more human, like relationships?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 18, 2013
• On DVD or streaming : May 13, 2014
• Cast : Amy Adams , Joaquin Phoenix , Scarlett Johansson
• Director : Spike Jonze
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Warner Bros.
• Genre : Romance
• Topics : Friendship
• Run time : 119 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : language, sexual content and brief graphic nudity
• Last updated : January 18, 2024

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Anne Hathaway says 'gross' chemistry test required her to make out with 10 guys for movie

Anne Hathaway  said in  a new interview with V Magazine  ahead of the release of her upcoming movie “The Idea of You” that chemistry tests have come a long way since her auditioning days in the 2000s.

While the Oscar winner did not cite any movies by name, she did reveal that she was once required to kiss a handful of men in order for the team behind the film to find her the perfect co-star.

“Back in the 2000s — and this did happen to me — it was considered normal to ask an actor to make out with other actors to test for chemistry, which is actually the worst way to do it,” Hathaway said. “I was told, ‘We have 10 guys coming today and you’re cast. Aren’t you excited to make out with all of them?’ And I thought, ‘Is there something wrong with me?’ because I wasn’t excited. I thought it sounded gross.”

“I was so young and terribly aware how easy it was to lose everything by being labeled ‘difficult,’ so I just pretended I was excited and got on with it,” Hathaway continued. “It wasn’t a power play, no one was trying to be awful or hurt me. It was just a very different time and now we know better.”

Hathaway not only stars in “The Idea of You” but she is also a producer, which meant she had a direct say in how the team behind the movie went about finding her a co-star. Based on the novel by Robinne Lee, the film stars Hathaway as a 40-year-old single mom who falls in love with the 24-year-old lead singer of the world’s hottest boy band.

“We asked each of the actors coming in to choose a song that they felt their character would love, that they would put on to get my character to dance, and then we’d do a short little improv,” Hathaway said about “The Idea of You” chemistry reads. “I was sitting in a chair like we had come in from dinner or a walk or something, we pressed play, and we just started dancing together.”

Nicholas Galitzine won the part after choosing a song by Alabama Shakes to dance to with Hathaway, who remembered Galitzine being “so ridiculously perfect” for the role as soon as he walked in the room.

“And it was just easy,” Hathaway added. “I heard [lead singer] Brittany [Howard]’s voice and I just started smiling. And he saw me smile, so he relaxed, and we just started dancing. Nobody was showing off. Nobody was trying to get the gig. We were just in a space dancing. I looked over and Michael Showalter, our director, was beaming. Spark!”

“The Idea of You” debuted to strong reviews at the SXSW Film Festival last month. The movie streams on Amazon Prime Video starting May 2.

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‘The Feeling’ Review: Fifty Shades of Apathy

In the sex comedy “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed,” Joanna Arnow keeps her scenes short and her expressions flat.

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By Amy Nicholson

Joanna Arnow’s attention-grabbing debut “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed” has been described as a sadomasochistic sex comedy, but it’s hard to laugh.

Arnow, who wrote, directed and stars in this sometimes-riveting, sometimes-dull study of demoralization, plays a dour 30-something New Yorker who spends her days getting pushed around by her boss (Armand Reiser). At night, she submits to the sexual commands of her various male masters, whom she meets online. The joke is that her days and nights aren’t that different.

And then the joke is on the audience when Arnow introduces us to six men in 30 minutes before we realize that we don’t yet know her character’s name. (It’s Ann.)

The film is structured by Ann’s partners, whose names appear in tidy white font on a black screen. They’re nearly always dressed; she’s almost always naked (though one partner, played by Parish Bradley, commands her to wear bunny ears and a pig nose). It’d be one thing if Ann enjoyed the sex. But from the snapshots we see, these encounters seem mostly humiliating and joyless. When obeying an order to touch herself in view of drivers on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, she just looks bored.

Arnow keeps her scenes short and her expressions flat. These glimpses of her character’s life could be stand-alone comic book panels. Together, they’re a mosaic of stagnation.

Arnow films her own nude body with the kind of frankness that is called brave because she wants to be more confrontational than arousing. She’s so visible that it takes a beat to remember that someone can be physically exposed and emotionally opaque.

Caught in our own disregard for Ann’s individuality, the audience has more in common with her masters, particularly Allen (Scott Cohen), an older divorced man whom Ann started seeing when she was 24. As a younger naïf, Ann might have hoped he might grow to like her. By now, callous Allen has simply taken root in her psyche and makes her feel, as she says in the first scene, “like I don’t even exist.”

What does a decade of disregard do to a person? Calling Allen the film’s villain gives the louse too much credit. He’s just a pattern, not the patternmaker. Allen can’t remember how many years Ann has been his bed partner; her company can’t remember how many years she’s been employed. (Her boss’s funniest bits come when he fatuously lectures about the importance of Facebook to a boardroom of millennials who gaze at him neutrally, powerless to interrupt.) When Arnow, who also edited the film, splices a scene of a lover scrawling a crude nickname on Ann’s belly next to a scene of the HR department coldly changing Ann’s job title, she’s made her basic point: neither cares about her needs.

Yet Arnow’s sophisticated point — the one referenced in the film’s unwieldy title — is what drives interest until our own spirits snap. Why won’t Ann allow herself to want more? Because she’s too stuck to embark upon a journey of empowerment and self-actualization. This isn’t “Eat, Pray, Love” — it’s strip, bend, repeat. And when she meets Chris (Babak Tafti), a genuinely nice man, his kindness seems to make her itchy.

Arnow’s visual style isn’t pretty, but it pairs well with the mood. She allows herself two flourishes: Once, she color-matches a guy’s beard to his beer; later, a blurry Ann exits a subway train and walks toward the lens until she comes into focus — a lovely metaphor for a woman struggling to see her own needs. Otherwise, Arnow and the cinematographer Barton Cortright lean into punishment, like the close-up of Ann squeezing out a chunky packet of microwave curry.

At the sound mix’s most unpleasant, we hear every swallow of Ann, of her distracted father (David Arnow) and of her exasperating mother (Barbara Weiserbs) at the dinner table. (Both are played by Arnow’s actual parents.)

Ultimately, the film reveals that everyone around Ann seems to be having more fun. Strangers’ muffled music and chatter are frequently heard through her walls. Ann knows happiness is out there. But to take off the pig nose and admit she wants it? That’s just too vulnerable.

The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed Not Rated. Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes. In theaters.

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Zendaya's 'challengers' smash at box office, audience reviews more mixed, zendaya's 'challengers' game, set, match at box office ... audiences seem conflicted.

Zendaya 's got a major win to celebrate ... her new tennis movie "Challengers" is on pace to smash the competition at the box office -- though audience reaction seems more mixed.

Deadline reports the movie's headed for a $15.2 million opening ... nearly doubling the next highest opening -- that movie's called "Unsung Hero," and the trade publication says is headed for an $8 million weekend.

The outlet's telling "Challengers" producers to hold their horses though ... 'cause $15 million's pretty far from the reported $50+M budget this flick carries.

And, in case you're wondering ... Deadline says PostTrak -- a data company that talks to movie audiences as they leave the theater -- confirmed people are coming out to see Zendaya. They say 55% of respondents came because of her.

But, whether those audiences enjoyed the flick ... kinda unclear at this point. According to Rotten Tomatoes , 88% of critics enjoyed the movie -- much higher than the 77% of audience members who said the same.

77% is still pretty high ... but -- with a movie this anticipated -- 1 in every 4 reviewers bombing the flick doesn't exactly bode well for attracting future audiences.

Of course, many know the movie from the sexual tension in the trailer ... including a scene where two men kiss Zendaya's neck. It's been on people's calendars for a while now because of it -- and, perhaps early audiences built the flick up too much in their heads.

Bottom line ... this weekend's box office match is done -- but, some viewers are already labeling the movie a fault!!!

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Unsung Hero

Based on a remarkable true story, a mum's faith stands against all odds and inspires her husband and children to hold on to theirs. Based on a remarkable true story, a mum's faith stands against all odds and inspires her husband and children to hold on to theirs. Based on a remarkable true story, a mum's faith stands against all odds and inspires her husband and children to hold on to theirs.

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• 35 User reviews
• 17 Critic reviews
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‘miller’s girl’ star martin freeman defends age gap with jenna ortega in film following controversy, breaking news.

‘Nowhere Special’ Review: James Norton Is Superb In Father-And-Son Drama That Won’t Leave A Dry Eye In The House

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Every week there are large numbers of indie and specialty releases vying for attention. It’s impossible to do them all, so when the option of reviewing Nowhere Special was placed in front of me I resisted at first after discovering it actually premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival . That’s right, four years ago. I had to wonder what could possibly be good about a film delayed for that long in terms of getting a U.S. release date? Finally caving in to the persistent requests by the distributor and its passionate PR team, I decided to check it out.

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Joanna Arnow, As Her Feature Debuts, Knocks Oft-Used Words "Describing Films Women Make About Sexuality" - Specialty Preview  

This is not to say director-writer-producer Uberto Pasolini has made some sort of cloying and maudlin attempt to win our sympathy. This is actually a movie refreshingly void of piled-on pathos and sentimentality, instead using a deliberate pace to tell what is said to be inspired by a true story about a 35-year-old window washer, John ( James Norton ) , in Northern Ireland who is a single dad to a 4-year-old toddler named Michael ( Daniel Lamont ), both abandoned by the Russian mother who left her boyfriend and new son at birth to return to her home country and go completely out of their lives. If that wasn’t a cruel enough blow to have life throw at you, John has also learned he has just months to live (although we never do find out the cause of his impending death), and so, as the film begins, he has set out on a mission with an adoption agency to try to find a forever home for Michael, rather than put him through the series of foster homes he had to endure growing up.

Fortunately, Pasolini has a splendid cast to help tell this sad but oddly hopeful story starting with Norton ( Bob Marley: One Love, Little Women ), who was nominated for a British Independent Film Award as Best Actor for the role and delivers a poignant and heartbreaking performance as a good father whose last act is to find a happy place for his son, and then to simply let go. No easy task. Norton is brilliant in letting us see it all unfold without saying much at all. Lamont is a real find, enormously photogenic and never less than believable as a 4-year-old who is wise beyond his years. The last time I saw this kind of relationship work this well on screen was Dustin Hoffman and Justin Henry in 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer. The supporting cast is very fine, particularly veteran Stella McCusker, even if most just get one scene to rise above stereotyping in what is essentially a two-hander between father and son.

Andrew Simon McAllister’s lovely score fits the mood perfectly here. Now that Nowhere Special has found its way to America, the pandemic and industry strikes behind its delays, let’s hope it finds the audience it deserves. It will stay with you long afterwards.

Title: Nowhere Special Distributor: Cohen Media Group Release date: April 26, 2024 (limited) Director-screenwriter: Uberto Pasolini Cast: James Norton, Daniel Lamont, Carol Moore, Valerie Kane, Eileen O’Higgins, Laura Hughes, Stella McCusker, Roisin Gallagher, Keith McErlean, Chris Corrigan, Niamh McGrady, Siobhan McSweeney, Caolan Byrne, Rhoda Ofori-Attah Running time: 1 hr 36 min

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48 best Mother's day gifts in 2024

The best Mother's Day gifts are thoughtful, useful products in your mom's everyday life. Perhaps it's a customized apron for cooking, a calming diffuser, or a comfy pair of socks. Below, we've collected a list of our favorite gift ideas for Mother's Day, to show your mom how much you care. 

For more affordable gift ideas, check out our guide to the best cheap Mother's Day gifts , which are all under $25. And if you're going the classic route with flowers, make sure to consult our guide to the best flower delivery services . 

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