(Left) Saoirse Ronan as Rona in ‘The Outrun’. Photo: Martin Scott Powell. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. (Center) Anna Sawai in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,’ coming soon to Apple TV+. (Right) Aimee Lou Wood in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Preview:
Saoirse Ronan will play Linda McCartney in Sam Mendes’ Beatles project.
Anna Sawai and Aimee Lou Wood are among those circling roles.
(L to R) Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon in ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years.’
With the backing of Sony Pictures Classics –– not to mention being granted full life story and music rights by Beatles holding company Apple Corps Ltd. (not the iPhone gang), surviving members McCartney and Starr and the families of deceased colleagues Lennon and Harrison –– Mendes will make four different biopics, covering each Beatles’ experiences during the band’s rise to massive popularity.
Though a strict time period for what the movies will cover has yet to be announced, the idea is for the stories to (naturally intersect), looking to get a fuller, clearer picture of their time than any one movie could hope to accomplish.
Here’s what Mendes had to say about the project:
“I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies.”
When will ‘The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event’ be in theaters?
Mendes is currently aiming for the movies to release close together in April 2028, so he has his work cut out for him and a lot of hard day’s nights ahead.
(L to R) Jason Isaacs, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 receives 7 out of 10 stars.
Launching on HBO and streaming service Max with its first episode on February 16th, the third season of Mike White’s darkly hued comedy drama series ‘The White Lotus‘ is set at yet another location for the fictional, titular luxury resort chain, this time the lush climes of Thailand.
We’re greeted with a (mostly) new set of characters, all carrying some emotional baggage to complement their fancy suitcases. The question that must be asked, though, is the third time the charm?
(L to R) Morgana O’Reilly, Arnas Fedaravičius, Christian Friedel, Dom Hetrakul, and Lalisa Manobal in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
“Everyone who comes to Thailand, they’re either hiding from someone or looking for someone…” So says one of the characters early in the season, and so it proves true: whether that means the someone they’re after or hiding from is a faith, a stranger or themselves.
Mike White has the formula down pat for the show now, and the real issue here is that it feels like he’s just putting minor spins on ideas that have been explored before. The characters might be different, but there is the typical clash between the spoiled guests and the staff who must cater to their whims, and while it would be boring if everyone were happy and settled, the crises don’t perhaps always add up to the same level of drama as previous outings.
Script and Direction
Walton Goggins in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
White, who writes and directs every episode like an extended indie movie (albeit with the hefty budget of a prestige HBO show) brings his usual style and wit to the show, crafting another group of memorable characters.
Yet, as mentioned, they feel like versions of other seasons’ guests –– the younger ones are mostly looking for hedonistic party times, while the elders want to relax and escape their stressful lives.
And there is the standard assortment of people dealing with personal issues, from financial difficulties to a tragic secret from their past that has them simmering with vengeful anger that they’ve not shared with anyone around them, so everyone else thinks they’re just grumpy.
While the exploration of faith and religion as the big theme is new here, it’s not as fresh as it might be given how one young character explored the native traditions of Hawaii back in the first season, and again their wealthy, slightly conservative parents can’t quite understand the appeal or feeling like it’s a failure in upbringing.
Thankfully, the cast help to elevate the material.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Carrie Coon, Michelle Monaghan and Leslie Bibb in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Given the show’s award-winning ways, it’s not surprising that an excellent crop of actors has agreed to show up for Season 3 (and the promise of spending some time in a tropical locale, all expenses paid, doesn’t hurt either). You may find yourself, however, wishing they had fresher scripts to work from –– and there are other issues too.
Walton Goggins plays Rick Hatchett, a wealthy sort (one of those who prefers not to discuss in detail how they earned their fortune) who is traveling with younger girlfriend Chelsea (a funny and spirited type brought to life by ‘Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood).
Rick’s the aforementioned man on a mission, though he has not disclosed that to anyone, and Goggins plays him with appropriate snark and gruffness, and he makes for an entertaining duo with Wood.
Then we have Michelle Monaghan’s Jaclyn Lemon, a TV actress traveling with two old friends, Carrie Coon’s Laurie and Leslie Bibb’s Kate. Away for a girls’ trip on Jaclyn’s dime, you won’t be shocked when old issues rear their heads between them and the lure of an attractive young man who works at the hotel drives a wedge into a friendship that was already starting to drift apart over the years.
(L to R) Parker Posey and Jason Isaacs in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Filling the spot of wealthy-but-troubled family there’s Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff, at the resort with pill-popping wife Victoria (Parker Posey) and their brood, gym bro Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), who has gone into financial business working for his dad, spiritual Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) who has her own reasons for the trip and bookish Lochlan (Sam Nivola), who Saxon is looking to draw out of his shell.
While the performances are all solid, the biggest issue for that group is Isaacs attempting a Texan accent, which seems to wander around the States and occasionally sounds Australian. While the actor has done good work in the past, here the accent gets in his way.
Around them are the staff, including solid supporting turns from Tayme Thapthimthong as ambitious security officer Gaitok, who has a thing for resort worker and dancer Mook (Lalisa Manoban), whose stories will become knotted up with the guests.
And Natasha Rothwell makes a welcome return as Belinda from Season 1, who is given a little more depth here.
Final Thoughts
Patrick Schwarzenegger in ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
‘The White Lotus’ knows what it needs to do each season and does it with style. If it perhaps feels a little less fresh these days, there is still enough mystery to keep you hooked and ready to spend time with these people –– no matter how annoying some of them might turn out to be.
HBO gave press the first six episodes of eight, so we can’t tell you whether the show solves its lingering background mystery as well as previous seasons, but it’ll keep you guessing.
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What’s the plot of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3
The new season of the show brings a fresh group of wealthy characters (and the return of Natasha Rothwell’s spa worker Belinda Lindsey from Season 1’s Maui resort, who is hoping to pick up some tips from the staff) traveling to the lush jungles and beaches of Thailand.
Here, some of the characters are ready to explore faith and mysticism, others are looking for some much needed bonding time and at least one has a dark hidden agenda for their trip that could have a tragic fallout.
Who is in the cast of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3
Leslie Bibb as Kate
Carrie Coon as Laurie
Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett
Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper Ratliff
Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff
Lalisa Manobal as Mook
Michelle Monaghan as Jaclyn Lemon
Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff
Lek Patravadi as Sritala
Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff
Natasha Rothwell as Belinda Lindsey
Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxton Ratliff
Tayme Thapthimthong as Gaitok
Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3. Photo: Fabio Lovino/HBO.
Bill Nighy stars in director Oliver Hermanus’ ‘Living.’
Arriving in theaters on December 23rd, ‘Living’ sees Bill Nighy as a man choosing to try and live even in the face of death and is one of the most moving and poignant movies of the year.
Though his movies have been adapted many times––‘Seven Samurai’ alone is the basis for a wealth of other films––it’s still the brave filmmaker who chooses to tackle one of Akira Kurosawa’s classics.
In this case, the brave souls include writer Kazuo Ishiguro and director Oliver Hermanus, who bring a new version of Kurosawa’s 1952 drama ‘Ikiru’ to screens.
Instead of switching genres, the two have largely faithfully adapted the story (with some changes that shrink the running time to under two hours), moving the setting from 1950s Tokyo to 1950s London. It’s a smart choice, as the themes and emotions of post-war Britain were similar to those of Japan.
Bill Nighy stars in director Oliver Hermanus’ ‘Living.’
Bill Nighy––who according to Ishiguro was one of the reasons he thought the new film could work at all––plays Mr. Williams, a staid, buttoned-up civil servant who works in a department of the London City Council.
He’s so sunken into duty and free from emotion that co-workers joke about him being known as “Mr. Zombie.” It’s an apt description for a man who ostensibly appears to be alive, but only in the most basic fashion. Stiff upper lips have rarely been stiffer.
At work, he’s distant (though not always completely cold) with his colleagues and underlings and more concerned with shuffling papers than being concerned with anyone’s feelings. But then, he’s part of a generation of men raised to be proper and reserved, who have been through a global conflict forever changed.
Then, at home, the widower is still diffident when it comes to his son, Michael (Barney Fishwick), who, encouraged by wife Fiona (Patsy Ferran), is aiming to confront his father about selling the family home so they can get money to buy their own.
Williams’ world is detonated (albeit silently since he decides not to tell anyone at first) by diagnosis of terminal cancer. It does at least prompt him to act, leaving work for days on end and heading to a coastal town in search of something more in life. He meets and hangs out with disheveled, frequently drunken writer Mr. Sutherland (Tom Burke), who introduces him to the salacious delights of burlesque shows and crowded pubs, but despite opening up enough to start singing in one bar, Williams stills feels buttoned up, complaining that while he’s finally seeking out a life, he’s not good at it.
Aimee Lou Wood stars in director Oliver Hermanus’ ‘Living.’
He does at least find some solace in Miss Harris (Aimee Lou Wood), a young woman who had worked in his office before moving to a tea house in search of a better job. Her positive energy has a real effect on him, their chaste friendship becoming more of a motivator in his life, even if his son and daughter-in-law confront him about the potential scandal of Williams spending time with her––this is still 1950s London, don’t forget, where people of his standing are expected to be proper.
And at work, he also becomes more inspired, pushing to help a women’s group get a playground built on a patch of waste ground, seeing it as the most important legacy he can leave behind.
Opening with beautifully restored archive footage of the period before seamlessly segueing into the movie itself, ‘Living’ is a striking, moving achievement.
A lot of that is a credit to Nighy, who has excelled in light comedies and heavy dramas (and the occasional blockbuster, acting through CG prosthetics in some of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies.)
Bill Nighy stars in director Oliver Hermanus’ ‘Living.’
Here, he’s the perfect stone-faced performer for Williams, able to imbue the man with an aloof sense of authority that melts into human realization as time marches on and the character learns of his fate. Nighy can say more with a twitch of his lip than some actors can with an entire monologue.
Which is not to say that Ishiguro’s script isn’t wonderful––it is, finding new layers to the story that even Kurosawa and his esteemed colleagues didn’t dig out.
Director Hermanus, meanwhile, stages it all with style and grace, an evocation of British life at the time that pops off the screen in different ways, whether it’s the forest of suits and bowler hats boarding a train at the start or the tents full of bawdy behavior that Williams experiences on his trip.
And Nighy is surrounded by some superb supporting cast members. Wood, a veteran of Netflix series ‘Sex Education’ is a real delight here, her sprightly yet demure Miss Harris a tonic for the viewer as much as she is for Williams. The likes of Alex Sharp, Adrian Rawlings and Oliver Chris shade in his co-workers even if they’re not the biggest part of the story.
Bill Nighy stars in director Oliver Hermanus’ ‘Living.’
And an awkward scene between Williams and his son is a masterpiece of frosty British reserve, emotions that are bubbling under the surface kept firmly in check.
If there is one downside to the film, it lies in the pacing towards the end (which also affects the original). Once the inevitable befalls Williams, those left behind are a little at sea, and the narrative is similarly impacted. A slightly overlong speech from a policeman reminiscing about having seen Williams sitting in the playground he helped make a reality feels uncomfortable and momentarily breaks the spell that the movie has so effectively cast.
Yet it’s a blip in an otherwise unimpeachable film that rewards patience and confirms that Nighy is one of the best actors working today. Like Williams himself, it might seem cold and mannered, but there’s a huge heart at work in ‘Living’.
‘Living’ receives 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Bill Nighy stars in director Oliver Hermanus’ ‘Living.’
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Opening in theaters on December 23rd is the new drama ‘Living,’ which was directed by Oliver Hermanus (‘Beauty’) and is adapted from the 1952 Japanese film ‘Ikiru’ directed by Akira Kurosawa.
Set in 1950s London, ‘Living’ stars Bill Nighy (‘Love Actually’) as Mr. Williams, an ordinary civil servant who after receiving a grim diagnosis decides to make the most of his final days with the help of a former colleague named Margaret Harris (Aimee Lou Wood).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood about their work on ‘Living,’ their approach to their roles, and the sweet relationship between their characters.
Bill Nighy stars in director Oliver Hermanus’ ‘Living.’
You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Nighy, Wood, and director Oliver Hermanus.
Moviefone: To begin with, Bill, can you talk about your approach to playing Mr. Williams, and what were some of the aspects of the character that you were excited to explore with this film?
Bill Nighy: I was excited to explore that kind of character from my childhood because I was there. I was a small boy during the fifties. The atmosphere of that period and the way that people conducted themselves, I grew up into that. That post-war era and the kind of reticence that was required of people, the reluctance to express anything big and not to trouble one another with your innermost concerns.
It was a kind of religion, and it’s probably very unhealthy. I understand in terms of repression and suppression, but it’s also kind of heroic in its way. I was drawn to, as an acting thing, it’s fun to try and express quite a lot with not very much. I’m interested in that. It’s usually called Englishness, but I’m sure there’s characters like Mr. Williams in every culture. But we take the blame for it.
I just think I’m just really fascinated by that formality, even under great stress, and also procrastination because he spent his life working in an institution designed to facilitate procrastination. I personally procrastinate at an Olympic level. There’s nothing I can’t put off, and I can put it off for as long as you want. When I die, there will be a long list of things I never quite got round to. I’m interested how that personal tendency is expressed in a society because we’re all, my hope it’s not just me, I think everyone has struggles with that tendency.
Aimee Lou Wood stars in director Oliver Hermanus’ ‘Living.’
MF: Finally, Aimee, can you talk about Margaret’s reaction when she sees her former boss outside of the office and in the real world, and the friendship that they form together that really inspires him to live his life to the fullest?
Aimee Lou Wood: Well, you know when you were younger and you saw your teacher out, and you go, “What?” Because there are certain people that, in your head, they only exist within that specific space. I think Margaret has that with Mr. Williams because he’s quite a closed book at the start of the film. So, they’ve been in each other’s presence for, I think, 16 months, but they have not connected.
I think when she sees him out, it’s shocking that he even exists beyond those walls. But then the fact that he has this new hat on, there’s something different about him. That’s how I knew who Margaret was. The minute that line that (screenwriter) Kazuo Ishiguro wrote about, “Oh, and your new hat,” I was like, “Oh, okay. I get who she is.” That she notices all these things, and she can see that there’s something different about him, just by the fact that he has this new hat.
All of a sudden she can see him in this completely new way. That’s also because he’s seeing life in a completely new way. He’s trying to see things and notice things again, after years of being an autopilot. I think she’s quite taken aback by how seen she feels by him when they’ve been sat near each other for 16 months and she’s never felt that until that day. I think it’s just this really surprising, incredible connection that they have.
It’s almost sad because you think, they could have had that 16 months ago. They could have had it from the moment that they met if they just had a different perspective. It’s Mr. Williams’ newfound desire to live that brings them together.
Bill Nighy stars in director Oliver Hermanus’ ‘Living.’
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