Relationships Have Hidden Meaning in ’45 Years’
45 Years is a kind of ghost story, as memories, personal histories, and truths, are found to have been hidden within dark crevices all along.
Renée Scolaro Mora
Renée Scolaro Mora has been writing film and television reviews and feature articles for PopMatters since its inception in 1999.
The Family in ‘Strangerland’ Is Lost in the Australian Desert
Strangerland offers few clear-cut causes and effects. Rather, it considers broader themes, including the consequences of sexual repression and social secrecy.
‘Self/Less’ Gives Life Lessons for Rich People
Even if we give the protagonist his newly found joie de vivre a pass, what with him essentially being brought back from the dead and all, it's still pointless.
‘What We Did On Our Holiday’ Finds Order in Chaos
This seems like a primer on how to do divorce badly. But it also gets at a broader theme: how truth and lies shape lives.
‘A Little Chaos’ Is Too Orderly
The few proto-feminist inklings in Alan Rickman's A Little Chaos wither away by the end, trading in chaos for the usual order.
Sophie Barthes’ ‘Madame Bovary’ Infantilizes Gustave Flaubert’s Protagonist
Sophie Barthes’ Madame Bovary leaves viewers feeling much like Emma Bovary feels about her life: disappointed.
‘Inside Out’ Finds Disney and Pixar Working Together Successfully
Although it sends reductive messages about the emotions of young girls, Inside Out is of the kind of brilliance that Pixar used to churn out regularly, before it was bought out by Disney.