2018’s mind-boggling award season finishes tonight with the 91st Academy Awards. Considering that the festival circuit has been a scattershot of one-off wins, the team at Wylie Writes is eager to see what happens at the Oscars. However, before that ceremony, some of our critics want to shine a spotlight on the movies they thought were the very best – including some festival favourites that will hopefully be released wider this year.
In First Reformed, writer/director Paul Schrader tells a story about characters living in excruciating personal turmoil. He then gradually develops his movie to be more visceral, so the audience can experience similar pain. You would think keeping movie goers in a state of compelling discomfort would be a tricky balancing act for Schrader, but he succeeds with ease; almost as if this area of emotional discomfort is a particular wheelhouse for the Taxi Driver screenwriter.