Interview: Kôji Fukada on the Mysteries of ‘A Girl Missing’
Marshall Shaffer Interviews ‘A Girl Missing’ Director Kôji Fukada
Marshall Shaffer
Tribeca 2020 Documentary Round-Up: Pro Forma(t)
Tribeca Film Festival 2020: Marshall Shaffer on ‘Pray Away, ‘Socks on Fire, ‘499’ and ‘Through the Night’
Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2020: Brief Encounters
Marshall Shaffer on Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2020: ‘On a Magical Night, ‘Perfect Nanny, ‘Deerskin,’ ‘Someone, Somewhere’ and ‘The Dazzled’
TIFF 2019 Review: James Mangold’s ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Provides an Old-School Adult Drama
“Nothing about ‘Ford v Ferrari’ reeks of studio interference, perhaps owing to the fact that the script hews so closely to screenwriting conventions that worked well for decades.”
TIFF 2019 Review: ‘Knives Out’ Shows Rian Johnson Sharp as Ever
“Johnson loves whodunits so much that he racked his brain to think 10 steps ahead of the audience so that he could hoodwink them to serve the goal of establishing the genre’s viability in the present day, all while staying true to its classic roots.”
TIFF 2019 Review: On the Spiritual Strivings of Trey Edward Shults’ ‘Waves’
“For a story that engages with tough, thorny questions of redemption and reconciliation, it’s a welcome development to have a filmmaker look upwards, not inwards.”
BAMCinemaFest Review: Diana Peralta’s ‘De Lo Mio’
“While moments of grace and levity abound, Peralta remains clear-eyed about the difficulty of maintaining relationships – to people, to places, to the past – and rarely backs off from her stance.”
BAMCinemaFest Review: Tayarisha Poe’s ‘Selah and The Spades’
“Poe’s direction creates a heightened but never unrealistic frame in which her characters can maneuver. Her singular, assured vision avoids stilted dialogue or absurd scenes.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Tom Harper’s ‘Wild Rose’
“‘Wild Rose’ has the makings of a movie deathly afraid of validating a ‘bad mother,’ even if it comes at the expense of the protagonist’s internal consistency.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Mary Harron’s ‘Charlie Says’
“If ‘Charlie Says’ marks the official kickoff of Manson-50-years-later discourse, we’re lucky that it prioritizes the insidiousness of his ideology.”
Tribeca Film Festival Review: Christoph Waltz’s ‘Georgetown’
“‘Georgetown’ is far from an egregious festival bomb, but Waltz’s directorial craftsmanship lacks the flair of his performance work.”
The Kids Aren’t Alright: A Preview of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2019
Marshall Shaffer on Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2019
No Comfort Zone: An Interview with ‘Cold War’ Star Joanna Kulig
Marshall Shaffer Interviews ‘Cold War’ Star Joanna Kulig
NYFF 2018 Review: Claire Denis’ ‘High Life’
“Denis’ approach resembles that of Pattinson’s performance: pointedly pared down to the bare minimum without fully untethering from recognizable humanity.”
The Moon and the Kitchen: An Interview with ‘First Man’ Editor Tom Cross
Marshall Shaffer Interviews Film Editor Tom Cross
NYFF 2018 Review: Paul Dano’s ‘Wildlife’
“The overcorrection for sentimentality does give ‘Wildlife’ a bit of a sterile feel, but the deliberate dissatisfaction that Dano allows to permeate through his debut feature provides a fitting complement to the private misery of the film’s characters.”
TIFF 2018: Interview With ‘Dogman’ Actor Marcello Fonte
Marshall Shaffer Interviews Italian Actor Marcello Fonte
TIFF 2018: One Small Step – A Review of Damien Chazelle’s ‘First Man’
“What ‘First Man’ might lack in emotionality, Chazelle more than compensates for in spectacle.”
TIFF 2018: Embracing the Oxymoronic – A Review of Jacques Audiard’s ‘The Sisters Brothers’
“Audiard finds the real drama of the film in how the seemingly boundless promise of the land collides with the very real limitations of the human imagination and body.”
Five Films to See at Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2018
Marshall Shaffer’s Selections for Rendez-Vous with French Cinema (March 8-18, 2018)