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Tag: Emily Beecham

  • ‘My Mother’s Wedding’ Interview: Kristin Scott Thomas

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    Opening in theaters on August 8th is the new comedy drama ‘My Mother’s Wedding’, which was directed and co-written by actress Kristin Scott Thomas (‘The English Patient’ and ‘Slow Horses’).

    In addition to Thomas, the film stars Scarlett Johansson (‘Jurassic World Rebirth’), Sienna Miller (‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’), Emily Beecham (‘Cruella’), and Freida Pinto (‘Slumdog Millionaire’).

    Related Article: Scarlett Johansson and Jason Schwartzman Talk Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City’

    Kristin Scott Thomas directs, co-writes and stars in 'My Mother's Wedding'.
    Kristin Scott Thomas directs, co-writes and stars in ‘My Mother’s Wedding’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kristin Scott Thomas about her work on ‘My Mother’s Wedding’, developing the screenplay from her own life story, which characters she relates to the most, how her experience as an actress informed her work as a director, working with the cast, and shooting the complicated wedding sequences.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Thomas and Emily Beecham.

    Kristin Scott Thomas in 'My Mother's Wedding'. Photo: Vertical.
    Kristin Scott Thomas in ‘My Mother’s Wedding’. Photo: Vertical.

    Moviefone: To begin with, I understand the film is loosely based on your own life. Can you talk about the process of writing the screenplay with John Micklethwait and did you always intend to make this project your directorial debut?

    Kristin Scott Thomas: They always say, “write about what you know”, and I know this story very, very well in that the experiences that these girls, in particularly, the character played by Scarlett Johansson, had, as children, were my experiences. So, all the memories that Catherine has in the film are my memories. This aspect of my life has been touted quite a lot during every time there’s a profile written about me, they’d have this little paragraph about my tragic childhood. Now that I’m grown up, I felt, well, hang on, it’s my turn to tell this story. So, here we go. So, what we did from there was to use my memories of my father and my stepfather and use them as a kind of catalyst if you like, to tell a story that is pretty much invented about these three women who returned to their childhood home to witness their mother getting married for the third time to a man who they find frankly disappointing. But their own love lives are all in turmoil. The fact that their mother is so deliriously happy, you know, makes some sort of quite comedic moments.

    MF: Do you feel that there is a little bit of you in each character, or was there one character specifically that you can really relate to?

    KST: Well, I think when you’re creating something, certainly as an actor, I know there’s always a tiny bit of me in it, there’s a tiny bit of my next-door neighbor, or there’s a tiny bit of, you know, we’re like magpies. We see things that we like, and we gather them all, and we put them into characters when we’re an actor. So, when you’re a writer, I think it’s the same thing. You know, you’re inventing a character, but I’m inventing it from things I’ve seen and things I’ve experienced during my life. So, I think there’s a bit of me in in everything, really, in all of them. Certainly, the character of the mother is somebody, I’d love to be that kind of a mum, you know, really sort of forthright and knows what’s what. I’d love to be so certain as she is.

    (L to R) Scarlett Johansson, Emily Beecham and Sienna Miller in 'My Mother's Wedding'. Photo: Vertical.
    (L to R) Scarlett Johansson, Emily Beecham and Sienna Miller in ‘My Mother’s Wedding’. Photo: Vertical.

    MF: With all your experience as an actress collaborating with directors on different sets, do you think that informed the way you worked with your actors as a director on this set?

    MF: I think it did. I think that I was very aware. If I started off making the film very much as an actress, as an actress directing a film, and then little by little, I got into the groove of being the one answered the questions and just made the decisions. But to begin with, I was very conscious of the actor’s needs. So, I had a way of sort of shorthand in talking to them and managing to explain what I would really like to see. But if they wanted to bring anything else, you know, great. That’s what I saw, I saw an enormous amount of sort of invention on their part and their imaginations were inspired and it went well.

    MF: Finally, as difficult as a film can be to produce, so is a wedding, and you had to do both for this movie. Can you talk about shooting the wedding sequence?

    KST: Oh, that was fun. I mean, as an actor, I’ve always sort of dreaded those big set pieces, because you sit around for hours, and you get bored and all. So, I tried to make it as relaxed as possible, and I tried to make it as mobile as possible. So, you don’t get stuck in one thing. So, you kind of jump around a bit, and there are sweet moments and quite funny moments. I tried to keep it as kind of busy as possible, towards the beginning anyway, to set it all up, and to keep it all kind of a bit feverish. So, that’s what we were aiming to do and then this glorious moment when Geoff (James Fleet) sings, when everyone just goes, “What’s he going to do”? He’s singing and then there’s the relaxing into it, because he’s so brave to get up there and sing this rather affecting song. You know, you have nothing but admiration for him, even though he’s not a singer. You’re touched by that. You’re moved by that. It was so generous of him.

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    What is the plot of ‘My Mother’s Wedding’?

    Three sisters (Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller and Emily Beecham) return to their family home to attend the wedding of their twice widowed mother Diana (Kristin Scott Thomas). All three sisters have had different life experiences, with Georgina being a palliative nurse, whilst Victoria is an actress, and Katherine is a captain in the Royal Navy.

    Who is in the cast of ‘My Mother’s Wedding’?

    • Scarlett Johansson as Katherine
    • Sienna Miller as Victoria
    • Emily Beecham as Georgina
    • Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana
    • Freida Pinto as Jack
    • James Fleet as Geoff
    (L to R) Emily Beecham, Sienna Miller, Kristin Scott Thomas and Scarlett Johansson in 'My Mother's Wedding'. Photo: Vertical.
    (L to R) Emily Beecham, Sienna Miller, Kristin Scott Thomas and Scarlett Johansson in ‘My Mother’s Wedding’. Photo: Vertical.

    List of Kristin Scott Thomas Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Tickets: ‘My Mother’s Wedding’ Movie Showtimes

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  • ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ is Now Simply ‘Supergirl’

    DC Comics' Supergirl from writer Tom King's 'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.' Photo courtesy of DC.com.
    DC Comics’ Supergirl from writer Tom King’s ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.’ Photo courtesy of DC.com.

    Preview:

    • ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ will now simply be known as ‘Supergirl’.
    • DC Studios boss James Gunn confirmed the title change.
    • Milly Alcock is starring in the movie.

    As with DC Studios boss James Gunn and his upcoming ‘Superman’, follow-up film ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ is undergoing a name change.

    Gunn changed ‘Superman’ to simply the character’s name, and ‘Supergirl’ is likewise losing the subtitle

    The movie, which adapts Tom King’s comic, has Milly Alcock playing Kara Zor-El (cousin of Superman) and Craig Gillespie in the director’s chair. It has wrapped shooting in the UK for a 2026 release.

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    Gunn confirmed to Rolling Stone why the movie’s title changed, and how the decision relates to his own ‘Superman’:

    “I’m always cutting. “Legacy” was really — we do something called a premortem. A premortem is you get together with your group that’s doing the project. It’s usually about a couple months before shooting, and you go, hypothetically, ‘If it’s an epic disaster, what are the things that we’re doing today that are going to cause it to be an epic disaster? Everyone here can speak freely.’ One of the things I brought up was, it was called ‘Superman: Legacy’. Even though I was the one that gave it that title, I just wasn’t sure. First of all, I’m sick of the superhero title, colon, other-name thing. And then also it seemed to be looking back when we’re looking forward, even though it does have to do with legacy in the movie itself. And everybody was like, ‘Oh, yeah, no, change it.’

    Related Article: After Much Talk of the Role, Jason Momoa will be Lobo for ‘Supergirl: Woman on Tomorrow’

    What’s the story of ‘Supergirl’?

    DC Comics' Supergirl from writer Tom King's 'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.' Photo courtesy of DC.com.
    DC Comics’ Supergirl from writer Tom King’s ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.’ Photo courtesy of DC.com.

    While the exact storyline for ‘Supergirl’ has yet to be confirmed, we do know it’ll be a big-scale sci-fi film based on King and Bilquis Evely’s comic run. It features a “darker, harsher” version of Kara raised on a surviving chunk of Krypton who sees everyone around her die. And it’ll see her helping a young alien who is seeking vengeance for the death of her own family.

    This is what Gunn said at the time of his big DC Studios announcement:

    “This is a very different type of Supergirl. In our film, we see the difference between Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from, you know, the time he’s an infant, versus Supergirl, who was raised on a rock chip-off of Krypton and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life, and then came to Earth when she was a young girl and is much more hardcore. She’s not exactly the Supergirl we’re used to seeing.”

    Who else is in the cast for ‘Supergirl’?

    Jason Momoa arriving for the Amazon Upfront on May 13th, 2025. Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Amazon.
    Jason Momoa arriving for the Amazon Upfront on May 13th, 2025. Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Amazon.

    The ‘Supergirl’ ensemble also includes Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenaerts, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham and Alice Hewkin.

    And not forgetting Jason Momoa, who has form with the previous incarnation of the DC movie universe (he played Aquaman, in case you forgot), who will be intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo.

    When will ‘Supergirl’ be in theaters?

    ‘Supergirl’ is one of the few DC Studios projects to have an actual release date and is scheduled for June 26th, 2026.

    DC Comics' Supergirl.
    DC Comics’ Supergirl. Photo courtesy of DC.com.

    Movies and TV Shows Featuring Supergirl:

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  • Movie Review: ‘Slingshot’

    (L to R) Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    (L to R) Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    Opening in theaters on August 30th, ‘Slingshot’ is the latest contender in the already overstuffed genre of science-fiction psycho-thrillers. Largely a three-hander between Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne and ‘The Boys’ Tomer Capone, it looks to mess with your head almost as much as it does its protagonist’s.

    Yet while it certainly builds atmosphere, the feeling here is very much that it’s following in the footsteps of other, better movies.

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    Does ‘Slingshot’ get up to speed?

    In space, the old saying goes, no-one can hear you scream. Yet you may find yourself screaming with frustration at ‘Slingshot’, which takes some bold swings in the psycho-thriller genre but ultimately comes up short when compared with classics such as ‘2001’ (admittedly, the new movie doesn’t have quite as such lofty themes on its mind) and is more likely to end up annoying than fascinating.

    A slow-burn start is fairly standard for this sort of movie, dropping hints about the main character’s mental state and background, and filling you in on the backstory before putting the actual mystery into play.

    ‘Slingshot’: Script and Direction

    (L to R) Laurence Fishburne, Casey Affleck, and Tomer Capone in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    (L to R) Laurence Fishburne, Casey Affleck, and Tomer Capone in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    The script for this new movie comes from an interesting duo –– R. Scott Adams (who gets the “written by” credit) has just one other film to his name, 2011 horror ‘Donner Pass’. Nathan Parker, meanwhile (“screenplay by”) has a more expansive resume, including ‘Equals’, TV’s ‘The Underground Railroad’ and perhaps more germane to a space thriller, ‘Moon’.

    But even with plenty of experience, ‘Slingshot’ ultimately comes across as reheated leftovers from other movies –– though it flirts with chewing over big themes such as isolation, the chain of command, paranoia and long-distance relationships –– it doesn’t really do all that much of interest with any of them.

    Neither does it give the cast a lot of interesting beats to play; each moment feeling a little stale and familiar as the situation starts to ratchet up the stress levels for their characters.

    Director Mikael Håfström, meanwhile, also has some solid work in his past; thrillers such as ‘The Rite’, ‘1408’, ‘Outside the Wire’ and ‘Vendetta’ to name just a few. Here, though, while he certainly manages to evoke some paranoia, a lot of what is presented is less than thrilling, from the normal concerns of humans suffering hibernation sickness and the talk of past problems between commanders and officers.

    Related Article: First look at Matt Damon and Casey Affleck in ‘The Instigators’ Pictures

    ‘Slingshot’: Performances

    There are three main performances anchoring this one, though a fourth plays almost as important a part. The cast certainly gives their all, but the characters aren’t always worth the effort.

    Casey Affleck as John

    Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    Our focal point for the story is Affleck’s astronaut, and he brings his typical low-key energy to the role. John is a conflicted man, missing the woman he loves even though he’s finally on his lifelong dream to be on a space mission. As the situation and dynamics between the three main crewmembers begins to change, he’s the one person we follow through it all.

    Affleck is sometimes on autopilot here, going through the motions, and if you key into his particular weary charisma, the movie may work better for you.

    Laurence as Captain Franks

    (L to R) Laurence Fishburne and Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    (L to R) Laurence Fishburne and Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    Like Affleck, you pretty much know what you’re getting when you hire Fishburne, though he obviously has a much longer cinematic history and has put in some truly great performances. Here, he’s not asked to do too much more than bring his usual charisma to a slightly underwritten, cliched role, the positive commander who is hiding something.

    There’s plenty to enjoy in his work here still.

    Toper Capone as Nash

    Tomer Capone in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    Tomer Capone in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    Capone, who is probably best known for his role as Frenchie on Prime Video’s ‘The Boys’, has the chance to be something more surprising since he’s not quite the well-established performer like his co-stars.

    As Nash, he’s the nervier crew member, convinced that something is going badly wrong with the spaceship and is concerned that they shouldn’t attempt the titular “slingshot” maneuver that will see them using Jupiter’s gravity to speed them on their way to Titan, the moon of Saturn.

    Emily Beecham as Zoe

    (L to R) Emily Beecham and Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    (L to R) Emily Beecham and Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    The fourth key member of the cast, Beecham plays the lead of the engineering team that designed the Odyssey-1 ship at the heart of the story. Her tentative, yet passionate relationship with John is also part of the movie’s emotional core, told partly in flashback. She’s perfectly fine in the role, though it mostly subjugates her to being the distant girlfriend.

    Supporting cast

    There are one or two other people who make noticeable impact in the movie –– David Morrissey is the head of the program, who is seen in flashback and also is in contact with the trio via video screens (albeit on delay given the great distance involved). He’s solid in the role, which again is mostly a supporting part.

    Finally, worth mentioning is Nikolett Barabas as the disembodied voice of the ship’s computer, a vocal performance that carries more weight as the film moves on. She adds some gravitas to what is effectively a computerized voice initially making basic announcements.

    ‘Slingshot’: Final Thoughts

    Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    Looking to play with perceptions and keep you guessing as to what’s really going on can be tricky, and ‘Slingshot’ –– no spoilers here –– doesn’t always pull off the trick as successfully as it thinks.

    Still, it has enough tense energy to keep it moving until the final act descends into predictable chaos.

    ‘Slingshot’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.

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    What is the plot of ‘Slingshot’?

    An astronaut (Casey Affleck) on a possibly fatally endangered mission to Saturn’s moon Titan struggles to keep his grip on reality.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Slingshot’?

    • Casey Affleck as John
    • Laurence Fishburne as Captain Franks
    • Emily Beecham as Zoe
    • Tomer Capone as Nash
    Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    List of Laurence Fishburne Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Laurence Fishburne Movies on Amazon

     

  • ‘Slingshot’ Exclusive Interview: Laurence Fishburne

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    Opening in theaters on August 30th is the new sci-fi thriller ‘Slinshot’, which was directed by Mikael Håfström (‘Evil’) and stars Oscar-winner Casey Affleck (‘Manchester by the Sea’), Laurence Fishburne (‘The Matrix’), Emily Beecham (‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’) and Tomer Capone (‘The Boys’).

    Related Article: Laurence Fishburne Joining ‘The Witcher’ to Play the Character of Regis

    (L to R) Laurence Fishburne and Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    (L to R) Laurence Fishburne and Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with legendary actor Laurence Fishburne about his work on ‘Slingshot’, his first reaction to the screenplay, his approach to his character, the incredible sets, and working with Casey Affleck.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Fishburne and director Mikael Håfström.

    (L to R) Laurence Fishburne, Casey Affleck, and Tomer Capone in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    (L to R) Laurence Fishburne, Casey Affleck, and Tomer Capone in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and why you wanted to be part of this project?

    Laurence Fishburne: Well, when I read it, I was very surprised that I couldn’t figure out where it was going. I thought, okay, I want to do this because if it surprised me, hopefully we’ll surprise the audience. Also, Casey Affleck was attached, and he’s a brilliant actor, somebody who I’ve admired for many years, and I was like, oh yeah, I really want to work with him. Then I discovered that Tomer Capone was going to be playing the other character, and I love his work on ‘The Boys’, and I just thought, yeah, we’re going to make a wonderful trio. So those are the reasons that I wanted to do it.

    MF: Is that what you looking for when you are reading scripts and choosing projects, something that surprises you with a good cast and director?

    LF: I don’t necessarily approach it with “what I’m looking for”. I always approach it with an open mind and an open heart. If there’s something that I discover whether it’s a surprise or it’s funny or it makes me cry or whatever it is, I really must connect with the story on some level. That’s first and foremost. Then of course, if there are wonderful people attached, like our director, Mikael Håfström on this, a wonderful director whose work I wasn’t familiar with, but once I met him, I was like, oh, this guy’s fantastic, and we’re going to do something really cool together. It doesn’t matter whether anybody gets it, you just know like, we’ve got a good piece of material, we’ve got a great crew, we’ve got a great cast, and we’ve got a leader in our director who has a vision that he’s confident about. So, if he’s confident about it, then he’s the guy I’m willing to follow.

    (L to R) Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    (L to R) Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    MF: Can you talk about your approach to playing Captain Franks?

    LF: It’s the kind of role that I’m comfortable in, that people absolutely buy me as, kind of an authority figure. I’m the captain of the ship, so I kind of have that kind of military bearing. I’ve played a captain of a ship in space before, so it’s not like a big stretch for anybody to believe me as that. So, it was about the tone because it’s such an intimate film, it’s such a small kind of space. It’s three people on a ship altogether, claustrophobic at times, and then at moments because you’re in space, it’s very expansive. Then they introduced the idea that the ship might be compromised, and the mission might be compromised, and our lives might be in danger. So, when you have a small group of people floating through space on something that’s the size of a golf ball, the stakes suddenly get very high.

    MF: Can you talk about how Captain Franks deals with the mutiny on his ship and the different dynamics between his crew members?

    LF: It’s great because there’s this whole triangulation thing that happens between the three characters. So, in moments, my character Captain Franks sits at the top of the pyramid and then it shifts, when the other two are alone and they’re conspiring about whether they’re going to follow my orders or whether they’re going to mutiny. Then it shifts again when I kind of persuade one of them to see things my way. Then it keeps shifting and changing and that just ratchets up the tension and you’re like, okay, what’s going to happen here? Who’s going to captain the ship, as it were?

    Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    MF: What was it like working with Casey Affleck and having him as a scene partner?

    LF: Hey man, he was great. Casey is like the Chet Baker of acting. I mean, he’s lyrical. He’s whimsical. He’s got this incredible sense of melody that’s in the emotional range, and he plays it all so subtly and with a kind of beautiful melancholy that is just captivating. So, it was just great working with him.

    MF: Finally, do you think that the small spaceship set helped add the feeling of claustrophobia to your performance?

    LF: Well, it did at times. It was very deceptive because it’s shaped like a circle, right? So those scenes where we’re walking in the hall, you keep walking round and round, but you can’t, because of the way it’s the angles are designed, you can never see the end of it. So, it seems to go on forever in some ways. What Mikael Håfström was able to do with his DP was he was able to sometimes make it feel like it was quite spacious, and then at other times to bring it tight and make it seem very claustrophobic so that your perspective changes. You’re not sure is it up, is it down? It was really a beautifully constructed and designed set.

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    What is the plot of ‘Slingshot’?

    An astronaut (Casey Affleck) on a possibly fatally endangered mission to Saturn’s moon Titan struggles to keep his grip on reality.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Slingshot’?

    • Casey Affleck as John
    • Laurence Fishburne as Captain Franks
    • Emily Beecham as Zoe
    • Tomer Capone as Nash
    Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street's 'Slingshot'. Credit: Bleecker Street.
    Casey Affleck in Bleecker Street’s ‘Slingshot’. Credit: Bleecker Street.

    List of Laurence Fishburne Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Laurence Fishburne Movies on Amazon

     

  • Movie Review: ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’

    Dar Salim as Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in 'The Covenant.'
    (L to R) Dar Salim as Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in ‘The Covenant,’ directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    In theaters now, ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ finds the director operating on a different level from that for which he’s known –– and while it succumbs to schmaltz by the end, it chronicles a story of sacrifice and heroics that mostly succeeds.

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    Is ‘The Covenant’ a true story?

    The movie is not based on a true story, but the script –– written by Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies –– does channel the experiences of a lot of troops and citizens in Afghanistan (and there are images of real-life heroes over the end credits).

    ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ follows US Army Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Afghan interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). Together with the likes of Charlie “Jizzy” Crow (Sean Sagar), Joshua JJ Jung (Jason Wong), Eduardo ‘Chow Chow’ Lopez (Christian Ochoa) and Tom ‘Tom Cat’ Hancock (Rhys Yates), the squad’s mission is to hunt down and tag Taliban explosives construction locations in Afghanistan so they can be destroyed.

    After an ambush, Ahmed goes to Herculean lengths to save Kinley’s life, loading the injured soldier on to a cart and dragging him for days to the nearest US base.

    Months after his return home to his wife Caroline (Emily Beecham), Kinley learns that Ahmed and his family were not given safe passage to America as promised and he must repay his debt by returning to the war zone to retrieve them before the Taliban hunts them down first.

    Actor Jake Gyllenhaal and director Guy Ritchie on the set of 'The Covenant.'
    (L to R) Actor Jake Gyllenhaal and director Guy Ritchie on the set of ‘The Covenant,’ a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    What works about the movie?

    Guy Ritchie has long since proved that he’s more than the man who made his career with knockabout crime capers featuring fast-talking Brits. He’s also been behind the likes of the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ movies (which, admittedly, were knockabout crime capers featuring fast-talking Robert Downey Jr. doing a British accent) and, for a real change of pace, Disney’s live action ‘Aladdin’.

    But while he seems more comfortable in his criminal wheelhouse, with ‘The Covenant’ (which we assume added his name to avoid confusion with Renny Harlin’s 2006 supernatural movie), Ritchie aims for a more straightforwardly heroic character piece here. He’s certainly not lost his touch for creative action, he and his team making the battle scenes effective and dramatic, if not always complete shock and awe.

    And in his cast, he’s recruited some winners. Gyllenhaal has been in the military mode before, with ‘Jarhead’ (and he’s also played his share of troubled law enforcement types) and here he brings a soulful, stern countenance to Kinley.

    The banter between the troops early on also comes across as authentic –– this is a group far from their own families that has bonded into a unit of its own, the shared experiences of combat and chaos keeping them close. There are also some funny exchanges between Kinley and his superior (Jonny Lee Miller’s Colonel Vokes), keeping it real when it comes to the realities of modern warfare.

    Salim, meanwhile, keeps Ahmed human, and not a man who needs to ingratiate himself with the troops, but soon does anyway because of his no-nonsense attitude and loyalty. While Kinley initially has his doubts about the man, he’s part of the team even before he goes above and beyond to save the Sergeant’s life.

    Shooting in Alicante, Spain, the movie certainly looks authentic, though beyond Ahmed and one or two examples on his extended rescue mission, it doesn’t go all that far into portraying the native population in a well-rounded way.

    Dar Salim as Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in The Covenant.'
    (L to R) Dar Salim as Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in The Covenant,’ directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    Related Article: Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim Talk Making ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’

    Basic Heroics

    And basic might be the most apt description for the movie as a whole.

    Perhaps the biggest issue is how the story itself plays out –– don’t go in for any major surprises here. This is far from the most complicated story of the year, and if you’re expecting it to go in a shocking direction, we’d caution that this is not the direction that Ritchie and co. are shooting for.

    It’s also straight down the line in terms of its characters –– Ahmed is probably the most careful sketched person here, and that includes Kinley.

    Nothing here will change minds about America’s presence in Afghanistan nor about the actions of the Taliban, and the sides are hardly more than loosely portrayed, black and white with few shades of gray in between.

    Pacing is also an issue: so much running time is devoted to the initial mission and the rescue that Kinley’s return to Afghanistan starts to feel more like an afterthought than a solid third act. Even with the addition of characters such as Antony Starr’s Special Forces operative Eddie Parker (who aids Kinley in his desperate dash to find and save Ahmed), the final section pales in comparison to the rest.

    There is also the matter of the final tone. The director and his cast can talk all they like about an unsentimental look at this sort of story, but a final montage goes so far into sentiment, you can almost imagine cutting to a slowly waving flag while a group of veterans somberly hold their caps to their chests, single tears running down their faces.

    The story –– and particularly the dynamic between Ahmed and Kinley – are more powerful than the ending, and honestly deserve better.

    Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in 'The Covenant,'
    Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in ‘The Covenant,’ directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    Final Thoughts

    ‘The Covenant’ isn’t likely to change anyone’s mind about the nature of war or America’s involvement in it. But its focus is more on celebrating the small moments of humanity that can spring up in the face of overwhelming odds and in the worst situations. If this is what Ritchie can produce when he’s trying new things, then he should certainly keep branching out.

    ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.

    Dar Salim as Ahmed, Jason Wong as Joshua "JJ Jung", Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley, Christian Ochoa as Eduardo "Chow Chow" Lopez, and Rhys Yates as Tom "Tom Cat" Hancock in 'The Covenant,' directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film.
    (L to R) Dar Salim as Ahmed, Jason Wong as Joshua “JJ Jung”, Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley, Christian Ochoa as Eduardo “Chow Chow” Lopez, and Rhys Yates as Tom “Tom Cat” Hancock in ‘The Covenant,’ directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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    ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ is produced by STX Entertainment, and Toff Guy Films. It is scheduled to release in theaters on April 21st, 2023.

  • ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’s Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim

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    Opening in theaters on April 21st is the new action thriller ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant‘ from acclaimed director Guy Ritchie (‘Snatch,’ ‘Aladdin,’ ‘The Gentlemen’).

    What is ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ movie about?

    ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ follows US Army Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Afghan interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). After an ambush, Ahmed goes to Herculean lengths to save Kinley’s life. When Kinley learns that Ahmed and his family were not given safe passage to America as promised, he must repay his debt by returning to the war zone to retrieve them before the Taliban hunts them down first.

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    Who is in the cast of ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant?’

    ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ stars Jake Gyllenhaal (‘End of Watch,’ ‘Nightcrawler,’ ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’) as Sergeant John Kinley, and Dar Salim (‘Go With Peace, Jamil’) as Ahmed, as well as Antony Starr (‘Wish You Were Here’), Alexander Ludwig (‘The Hunger Games’), Bobby Schofield (‘Cherry’), Emily Beecham (‘Little Joe’), and Jonny Lee Miller (‘Trainspotting’).

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim about their work on ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant,’ working with Ritchie, the unusual script, Salim’s approach to his character, the bond the two lead characters form, and the film’s theme of “Paying your debts.’

    Dar Salim as Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in The Covenant.'
    (L to R) Dar Salim as Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in The Covenant,’ directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Gyllenhaal and Salim about ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.’

    Moviefone: To begin with, Jake, I understand this was a bit of an unusual screenplay in that it was more of a template than a full script. What was it like for you to have the experience of working with Guy Ritchie in that way, where you’re really finding the scene at the beginning of each day?

    Jake Gyllenhaal: I mean, Guy was explicit when he first sent the script. He said, “I’m sending you a 60-page script. Some of it is fleshed out in a certain way and some of it isn’t. But we know where we’re going and we know what we want to say.” To me, the most important thing with a filmmaker, any storyteller, is when they know what they want to say, particularly when they can communicate it very simply, then I know that we have a touchstone. Oftentimes you can start with 110 page script and not have a touchstone. So it didn’t matter the length, what mattered was the belief in the story and the storyteller. Then when we got there, it was a process of, “Okay, come to set. Here’s the scenes today. How do we start working on them? What are your ideas?” Then he would write in the morning. He writes very quickly. He’d write in the morning and write us the scene. He’d either change the scene or edit it, or sometimes write the whole thing out based on his thoughts from the night before or our discussions. Then we’d go out there and we’d play it. The next day we would add on to the board. As the board got bigger, he’d be able to have more to play with and references that we had done. Then we’d start telling the story that once existed as a foundation of a home. Then we were just building every aspect of the home. It was really inspiring, and truly just a really fun collaboration. I mean, he was the leader, but to be a part of it in that way was fantastic.

    Dar Salim as Ahmed in 'The Covenant,' directed by Guy Ritchie,
    Dar Salim as Ahmed in ‘The Covenant,’ directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    MF: Dar, can you talk about your approach to playing Ahmed, the bond that he forms with John, and why he’s willing to risk not only his life, but his family’s safety to help him?

    Dar Salim: I mean, I think the bond he has with John is a reluctant one. I think that’s the interesting thing about the story is they don’t even like each other, these guys in the beginning, but they’re just thrown into this situation where they have to trust each other slowly. Then I think what’s interesting is that you see at the end of the day, that as humans so much more unites us than divides us. He’s someone that you can relate to. He’s a guy who will do anything to keep his family safe. He just wants to give his children the opportunities that he doesn’t have himself. But even a man like that, when he’s faced with the ultimate choices, it’s a reminder that most of us have good in us and that we will do what’s right in that moment. That’s the mirror of the relationship between those two men. So that was the key to playing Ahmed, I think.

    Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in 'The Covenant,'
    Jake Gyllenhaal as Sgt. John Kinley in ‘The Covenant,’ directed by Guy Ritchie, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Christopher Raphael / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    MF: Finally, Jake, John says something in the movie that really resonated with me. It’s the idea of “Paying your debts.” Did that idea also resonate with you personally, and how does that motivate John’s actions in the second part of the film?

    JG: Well, it absolutely is. It’s the ultimate motivator. I mean, there’s also another one, which is he has this unresolved thing in him, and he knows he won’t be able to really live his life if he doesn’t resolve it. It’s a great paradox, the idea that someone saved your life, but you know you can’t actually live the life that was saved until you help them. I think that is the story, and even when you might not like them as much as you would’ve liked to. I think that’s the point, is that we are, as Americans, a country of heroes, often reluctant ones, but that’s the fabric of who we are. The goodness in us can be brought out, and not always the ways that we think or the ways movies tell us we should. It’s not sentimentalized this movie. The relationship isn’t. But inside of us doing good is the action. That’s what this says. That’s what it’s about. It’s not about the words. My favorite line in it is, “I’m not here to translate. I’m here to interpret.” Because it’s not about the words, it’s about interpreting action. That’s the most important thing. It’s where you can find goodness.

    Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim star in 'Guy Ritchie's The Covenant.'
    (L to R) Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim star in ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.’

    Other Movies Similar to ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant:’

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    ‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ is produced by STX Entertainment, and Toff Guy Films. It is scheduled to release in theaters on April 21st, 2023.

  • Writer/Director Emily Mortimer talks ‘The Pursuit of Love’

    Writer/Director Emily Mortimer talks ‘The Pursuit of Love’

    Emily Mortimer, writer, director, and co-star in 'The Pursuit of Love'
    Emily Mortimer, writer, director, and co-star in ‘The Pursuit of Love’

    Based on the novel by Nancy Mitford, ‘The Pursuit of Love’ tells the story of two upper-class British cousins in the years between the two World Wars. The cousins, Linda and Fanny, are played by Lily James and Emily Beecham, and the series was adapted and directed by Emily Mortimer. Mortimer also co-stars as ‘The Bolter,’ Fanny’s notorious mother, who has a tendency to duck out of any romantic relationship the moment she gets bored. Mortimer recently spoke to us about her new Amazon Prime series.

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    Moviefone: How did end up both writing and directing this?

    Emily Mortimer: So it was sort of a bona fide sort of job offer when I was offered the task of making a pilot on spec for the show by some producers, and they had already Lily James attached, and I had read the book as a teenager. I hadn’t read it since, but I loved it. I remember loving it. I thought to myself, do I really want to add another sort of costume drama with people in costumes in a sort of big house in England to the world? But then I read it again, and I thought, no, this is a story that deserves to be told. I felt like there was something very fresh and original and amazing about the tone and about Nancy Mitford’s voice. And so I set about writing it, and it got commissioned, and the BBC pitched up and then Amazon came on.

    And then we had to find a director and I hadn’t thought about directing it, although I realized retrospectively that I had been very bossy in my stage directions about sort of where the camera was going to go and what music should be on. But it was Lily James, who plays Linda, who said that she thought I should direct it. And the producers very much needed her to be attached to the project, so they were much more open to the suggestion that they would have been if it had just been me. And I found myself in the position of sort of a door having opened for me and the choice was either to walk through it or to not, and I walked through it. And I’m so pleased I did because I loved the experience.

    MF: I’m so glad you mentioned the camera direction and the music choices in the script that you were adapting because I was going to ask who picked the music. The music choices are exquisite, and you have excellent taste. I love that you dropped The Meters in at the beginning of that second episode, the Cissy Strut was so good!

    Mortimer: Thank you.

    MF: Do you have those songs in mind as you’re writing the script?

    Mortimer: I had a few in mind. I mean, it grew as I approached the moment to start making the show. And not a lot of them, I would say half of them I knew before I started directing the show and half of them, or maybe a third of them, came afterwards. But I had a long playlist, which most of the songs that you hear in the show now are on. And yeah, it was just a long process, but it was a really fun one, and I was helped in it by my brother-in-law George Vjestica who’s a member of The Bad Seeds, he’s in the band, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds.

    And Clint Mansell, the composer, did the composing and the score is beautiful. And George helped me kind of curate these tracks. And when the lockdown came I was about to start shooting and then I had two months of just nothing where I had a long time to think about the music. And that was in those two months in this kind of hiatus before we picked up again, that I really honed in on the music choices and found most of the music that ended up being in the show.

    MF: So we’ve not only learned that Emily Mortimer is a great director on her first time out, but she’s got really great taste in music! And your casting choices are great in this, I love Dominic West and I can’t help but think that there was probably a lot of direction to be more shouty as Uncle Matthew.

    Mortimer: Yes, that’s true, there was that direction. Yeah. Be really, really obnoxious and cross and scary.

    MF: How did you end up casting Shazad Latif? He’s great in this, but it feels a little against type for him to be playing Fanny’s husband.

    Mortimer: Yes, he’s wonderful, and I feel very grateful to him. And I think it was a challenging part because he’s got to be very buttoned up and conventional, and he’s the OCD character. He doesn’t have long scenes to convey this character, and yet he does it so economically. And you do because he’s ultimately a very kind of charismatic and charming person, Shazad. And he has that power, but he’s hiding it in this. And certainly through a lot of this characterization of Alfred. But yet, I think that there’s something very strong and intense about his presence, nonetheless. And so you root for him, and you root for their marriage. And I think he’s an incredible performer, I think is a wonderful performance. It’s very economic performance, but it has depth somehow. And even though he doesn’t really understand what the hell Fannie’s on about most of the time you feel he’s trying, and you really, you love him, and you root for that marriage.

    MF: There’s one particular performer that we maybe don’t get enough screen time from, that comes in and out as this character, The Bolter. How did you end up playing that one? Because she comes in and just lays down these bits and then disappears, and it’s hilarious.

    Mortimer: I felt, if I’m going to write and direct this thing, I might as well give myself a good pop because it’s hard enough to get work as an actress. If you’re going to go through all the trouble of writing something and directing it, then you might as well give yourself a part. But I then regretted that decision very quickly. In the run-up to the shoot, I was terrified. And I felt I just wanted to get out of being The Bolter. I was thinking, “this is just one, two things too many.” And I tried to fire myself on numerous occasions. I kept ringing up the producers and saying, you’ve got to sack Emily as The Bolter, she can’t do it, she’s far too busy, she’s over extended, and they wouldn’t let me.

    But I’m really pleased I did, and I really did enjoy it. I mean, it was hell at the time, but The Bolter. I just love how unapologetic she is. She’s an absurd creature, she’s an awful creature in a way, but it was very liberating for me. I’m someone who’s very naturally very apologetic and very aware of my own shame, and The Bolter is shameless and completely unapologetic. And so it was liberating for me to get to play her and I really enjoyed it.

    MF: Is it hard to keep from judging The Bolter, or even Linda, when Linda all but abandons he daughter?

    Mortimer: It was really important to me that this business of mothering and bad mothering was explored in a way that was forgiving. I mean, it’s not like they get away with it completely, at all, but I think that it’s a taboo subject and I think that there’s huge pressure, mainly on women of course, but on men too. But just because for centuries, women have been the caretakers of children, and we still have this burden on us, mainly the kind of emotional happiness of the children feels more… I think women feel more personally responsible still then men, although it’s definitely changing. And I wanted to explore the idea that there’ve been centuries of very bad fathers that nobody’s ever raised an eyebrow at, but if you’re a bad mother, it’s tantamount to being a very bad person.

    And I think it’s worth exploring that notion. Well, what it is to be a bad mother, what does that mean? What do we mean when we say that? And is there a way of understanding why a woman, especially at that time, might’ve felt that the only way that she was going to be able to escape a very unhappy situation, a very unhappy marriage, was to have to leave her child. And is there a way in which we can bring ourselves to at least understand it, maybe not forgive it, but at least understand it. So it felt really important to me that that was investigated and as in a forgiving and honest way as possible. Obviously, I don’t hold up those characters as great mothering role models, but they’re good for other reasons.

    MF: So often you get to see a male character wander off and abandon his family and just be a gadabout, ne’er-do-well. And the series is, if not okay with Linda and Bolter doing that, they at least don’t get punished for that specifically.

    Mortimer: Yes, which they would in pretty much any other, even any other contemporary thing. I think it, you have to like people, it’s very difficult to write a female character that isn’t very nice to their children. That is also something that you expect the audience to feel sympathy for. And, I don’t know whether the line is still in there, it’s not in the book, I put it in there, but it was a line where she says, look at it Odysseus. He went off on his noble journey and 3000 years later, we’re still singing about him, nobody questioned that he left his children behind, nobody worries. And that’s the question you get asked as an actress and a performer all the time, how do you deal with leaving your children behind? And of course it’s a nightmare and of course it’s a very complicated issue. But men never even get asked that question.

    ‘The Pursuit of Love’ is now available on Amazon Prime.