The Month In Films: November 2017

As we hurtle rapidly towards the end of the year, November is always the beginning of the awards season. So despite blockbuster, big-budget comic-based movies or sci-fi smash-hits hitting the screens soon, be prepared for a wave of nuanced, awards worthy films hitting the big-screen soon.

Murder on the Orient Express

Directed by Kenneth Brannagh and starring the likes of Judy Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeifer and Daisy Ridley, this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic 1934 ‘whodunnit’ thriller is November’s big cinema event. When the Orient Express gets stopped by snow on its journey to Istanbul, a passenger is found stabbed to death. Stuck on the train with nowhere to run the suspense builds and everyone is a suspect in the ensuing murder case.

Release Date: 3rd November

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

If you’ve seen Dogtooth, Alps or The Lobster, then you will know to expect something entirely original but strange and unsettling from this film’s director, Yorgos Lanthimos. There is a thoroughly chilling tone to this film of revenge and retribution, where two children are punished for the sins of their father, which results in a fight for survival between family members, all portrayed in a muted and numb fashion with Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell in the lead roles. This film is certainly shocking and perhaps even repellent but intriguingly and encapsulating so.

Release Date: 3rd November

Our Review: https://www.indiependent.co.uk/london-film-festival-review-the-killing-of-a-sacred-deer/

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women

Earlier this year, the release of Wonder Woman as the first female led superhero blockbuster marked a historic moment, and the story behind her creation is equally as empowering. Set in 1947, this film presents the fascinating, true story of the conception of Wonder Women by modern polygraph creator Professor Marston. Marston’s creation is used as an outlet for his psychological analyses, which he forms based on his own polyamorous relationship and his perceptions of love, sex and gender.

Release Date: 10th November

Justice League

Wonder Woman is back on our screens in the superhero epic Justice League,  also featuring Batman, Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash in a team recruited by Bruce Wayne to save the planet from attack. DC’s latest creation is a sequel to 2016’s Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, at the end of which Superman dies. Although there seems to be little doubt that there will be some form of resurrection, the manner in which this takes place will be an interesting facet of this superhero spectacular.

Release Date: 17th Novemeber

Good Time

Despite huge buzz out of Cannes and whispers of a potential Oscar nomination for star Robert Pattinson, stylish thriller Good Time is undoubtedly November’s must-see sleeper hit. Following a bank heist gone wrong, small time crook Connie Nikas (Pattinson) must race against the clock in order to free his mentally handicapped brother from police custody. It promises to be an effortlessly cool, thrilling race against time that stylistically can be paralleled with 2011’s Drive, whilst featuring an awards worthy performance from a truly talented actor.

Our Review: https://www.indiependent.co.uk/london-film-festival-review-good-time/

Battle of the Sexes

There’s not a better time for the release of a film that celebrates the strength and capability of women in a male dominated world. This film is based on the true story of the world number one female tennis player Billie Jean King who is challenged to a match by ex-champion Bobby Riggs in 1973. Chauvinistic Riggs believes that women have no place playing a professional sport, while King is standing up for female equality, meaning that the match holds much more significance than simply tennis ability. With Emma Stone and Steve Carrell in the leading roles and with a lightly comedic tone, this looks to be a truly feel-good film.

Release Date: 24th November

Suburbicon

George Clooney directs this combination of dark comedy and historical tragedy, combining an abandoned Coen brothers script, which he was originally set to act in, with a story of racism in 1950s America. Suburbicon is a seemingly idyllic town, a vision of the greatness of America, however it’s perfect façade hides an undercurrent of violence and racism and in many ways the satire seems relevant today. Although there have been some negative responses to the interplay between the two stories, with Matt Damon and Julianne Moore in the leading roles, it’s worth a watch.

Release Date: 24th November

Words by Ella Khalek