Daniel Craig is one of several Hollywood figures whose awards-tipped films will be shown as part of this year’s London Film Festival, organisers have announced.
Other actors whose latest work is being screened include Angelina Jolie, Zoe Saldaña, and Amy Adams.
Craig’s movie Queer, which will have its British premiere at the annual event, is based on the 1985 novel by William Burroughs, and follows a man exploring the American expatriate community in 1950s Mexico.
Craig’s performance in particular has received strong praise in many reviews, following its world premiere on Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival.
Following its premiere, the film the Telegraph’s Robbie Collin, who said Craig was “superb” in Luca Guadagnino’s “gorgeous” new film.
But Kevin Maher of the Times was less keen, awarding the film two stars. Although Craig delivers “possibly his best screen performance”, he said, the film ultimately “tries too hard to be hip”.
IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio noted the film features “the most explicit gay sex scenes I can remember in any mainstream movie”.
Oscars Hopefuls
Maria starring Angelina Jolie as the renowned opera singer Maria Callas will be one of the London Film Festival’s headline galas.
Several critics and awards pundits have already predicted that she will feature prominently in the forthcoming Oscars race.
Also tipped for possible Academy Awards success is Zoe Saldaña.
In Emilia Pérez, which premiered in Cannes earlier this year, she plays a high powered lawyer, helping a Mexican cartel leader to fake their death and undergo sex-reassignment operations.
Conclave, based on the Robert Harris novel about the ancient procedures followed by cardinals selecting a new Pope, will also be screened at the festival.
It is directed by Edward Berger, whose previous film All Quiet on the Western Front, was nominated for nine Oscars, winning four.
Some reviews are predicting that one of the film’s stars Ralph Fiennes could well be the early front runner for best actor too.
Other headline galas include:
- Nightbitch, which stars Amy Adams as a mother who slowly thinks that she may be turning into a canine.
- The Apprentice, about Donald Trump and his business affairs in the 1970s and 1980s.
- Elton John: Never Too Late which profiles the musician on his recent Farewell Yellow Brick Road.
- And Joy, which stars James Norton, Thomasin McKenzie, and Bill Nighy as the real life trio who helped pioneer IVF, and who were crucial in the birth of Louise Brown, the first ‘test tube baby’.
The festival will open with the world premiere of Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen’s Blitz, about a mother and son in London at the height of World War Two.
The 12-day event’s closing film will be Piece by Piece – a documentary and biopic which explores the life and work of Pharrell Williams through the medium of lego animation.
Other potential highlights include:
- The Cannes Palme d’Or winning Anora from director Sean Baker, about the relationship between an exotic dancer and the son of a Russian oligarch
- The Piano Lesson, adapted from August Wilson’s award winning play, starring Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington.
- And We Live In Time, a romantic comedy drama featuring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.
There will also be a series of screen talks from respected industry figures including Oscar winners Steve McQueen, Lupita Nyong’o, and Daniel Kaluuya.
In total 253 titles (including features, shorts, series, and immersive works) will be shown at the festival which runs from 9 – 20 October.
By BBC
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