THE OTHER LAMB ★★★★☆
Directed by Malgorzata Szumowska. Starring Raffey Cassidy, Michiel Huisman, Denise Gough, Kelly Campbell, Eve Connolly, Isabelle Connolly. Mubi, 97 min
The increasingly impressive Raffey Cassidy, standout in both Vox Lux and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, stars as a teenager who knows no life other than that of the religious, patriarchal cult run by the Shepherd. Szumowska's unsettling film, shot mostly in Wicklow, leaves a great deal unexplained. It is cautious in its characterisation. But the atmosphere of frontier decay and misogynistic oppression is sufficiently well-maintained to sustain attention throughout. This is not a film designed to shake off late-Covid unease. DC
TIME ★★★★☆
Directed by Garrett Bradley. Featuring Sibil Fox Richardson, Rob G Rich. Amazon Prime, 81 min
Superb documentary detailing Sibil Fox Richardson's efforts to secure the release of her husband, serving a 60-year prison sentence for armed robbery. Working from monochrome home movies, new material shot by Zac Manuel, Justin Zweifach and Nisa East, and soaring piano music by Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, the filmmaker creates a moving impression of a life not lived. Time won the best director documentary prize at Sundance this year, making Bradley the first black woman to win in that category. TB
BODY OF WATER ★★★☆☆
Directed by Lucy Brydon. Starring Siân Brooke, Amanda Burton, Fabienne Piolini-Castle, Nick Blood, Kazia Pelka, Francess Pooley. VOD, 92 min
A woman with anorexia (Brooke, strong) leaves a treatment facility to squabble with a recalcitrant daughter and a mother who doesn't understand. The debut writer and director has studied the dynamics of the condition and put much of her research on the screen. At times one does yearn for a little more air, a little more distance, but the power of the tale cannot be denied. Many insufficient filmmakers have travelled down this road. The performance are all excellent in a stark, brutally honest film. DC
CLOUDS ★★☆☆☆
Directed by Justin Baldoni. Starring Fin Argus, Sabrina Carpenter, Madison Iseman, Neve Campbell, Tom Everett Scott, Lil Rel Howery. Disney+, 122 min
Zach Sobiech was an American singer-songwriter and musician from Minnesota who became a YouTube sensation in late 2012. Clouds, a song detailing his battle with cancer, became a global hit. This biopic of the star, who died in 2013, is a little spicier than most Disney+ content. (A girlfriend falls asleep in the hero's bed!) Too sanitised for most real-life adolescents and too meandering at two hours-plus, it is a family film. But what kind of family will watch it? TB
