Close-Up Culture

Independent journalism on the things we love

Scene of the Day – Family Tears in The Wrestler

PUSH IT to one side if you can. It is almost time for Darren Aronofsky’s return to the director’s chair. Mother – out in cinemas this Friday –is already being cited as a fierce return to form for the director after his disappointing biblical tale Noah in 2014. As we wait for the release of…
IT and UP: Balloons on Film

IT is everywhere. The horror film, based on a Stephen King novel, has captured the public’s imagination in a way that few films manage to. A big part of this has been the use of Pennywise – a creepy clown with a big, cracking white forehead and haunting grin – in the film’s promotion. I,…
This Week On Prestridge²

Scenes of the Day – Interstellar Goodbye (click here to read) “This scene is a moment of raw, small-scale human emotion before the film opens up to grandiosely explore space and time. One of loss and sacrifice that swells to emotionally striking climax.” The Birdman Shadow “Iñárritu’s camera then pans round to a front view of…
Scene of the Day – Sicario’s Tense Border Showdown

I AM currently a little infatuated with Taylor Sheridan – an accomplished actor, screenwriter and director. Blame it on the hype surrounding his latest release as director and screenwriter, Wind River. Yesterday I spoke about his cutting and Oscar-winning work Hell or High Water. With Wind River now out in cinemas, I want to revisit…
A Bloody Night in Vegas – Sleepless (Film Review)

BARAN bo Odar’s film Sleepless lives up to its name. All action and froth. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Download from 11 September, the film opens to an aerial shot of Las Vegas at night. We cut from this calm image of darkness and starry bright lights to two masked figures in the middle of…
Talk Radio Ga Ga – Talk Radio (Theatre Review)

THIRTY long years have passed since Talk Radio showed to audiences for the first time in New York. The play, by Eric Bogosian, was so successful that it prompted Oliver Stone to put it on celluloid (1988). Success number two. To coincide with Its 30th birthday, Talk Radio has now been resurrected at The Old…
Scene of the Day – Hard Truths in Hell or High Water

THE much anticipated Wind River, starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen, arrives in cinemas tomorrow. A must see film. Set on a snowy and isolated Native American Reservation, this crime story marks another impressive outing for writer and director Taylor Sheridan. On the eve of Wind River’s release, it feels fitting to revisit Hell or…
Elevator Talk: Up and Down in Film

WE HAVE all been in one. That little box that carries you – and whoever you are sharing that space with – up or down. Elevators are an interesting part of modern life. Less so for their everyday function, but rather the situations they can produce. Mundanity, awkwardness, intimacy, isolation, claustrophobia and fear (for those…
Mrs Orwell’s Dying Days Brought to Life – Mrs Orwell (Theatre Review)

WHAT a well-oiled engine the Old Red Lion theatre possesses. Like its close Islington neighbours the King’s Head and the Hope – and the west London based Finborough Theatre – it defies the odds by producing some of the best fringe theatre going. On occasion, among the best theatre that London has to offer. A…
Scene of the Day – The Birdman Shadow

TO celebrate Michael Keaton’s 66th birthday, let us return to the film that helped launch him back into the spotlight (pardon the pun). Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman (2014) is an unusual cinematic experience. With its seemly one-cut visual style, ever-present drumming score, philosophical undertones and playful casting, there are many things to unpick from this…