Movie Talk: ROMA, The Favourite, and Shoplifters
ROMA
In 1970s Mexico City, two domestic workers help a mother of four while her husband is away for an extended period of time.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Written by: Alfonso Cuarón
Cast: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira
Distributor: Netflix
Release Date: November 21, 2018
Runtime: 2 hour 15 minutes
Genre: Drama
Rated R
The Favourite
In the early 18th century, England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne occupies the throne, and her close friend Lady Sarah governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne’s ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing, and Abigail sees a chance to return to her aristocratic roots.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Written by: Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
Cast: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Alwyn
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release Date: November 23, 2018
Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes
Genre: Biography, Drama
Rated R
Shoplifters
On the margins of Tokyo, a most unusual “family”—a collection of societal castoffs united by their shared outsiderhood and fierce loyalty to one another—survives by petty stealing and grifting. When they welcome into their fold a young girl who’s been abused by her parents, they risk exposing themselves to the authorities and upending their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Written by: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Cast: Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka, Kairi Jō, Miyu Sasaki, Kirin Kiki
Distributor: Gaga Corporation
Release Date: November 23, 2018
Runtime: 2 hour 01 minutes
Genre: Crime, Drama
Rated R