Spoiler Free Review | The Movie My Life

Spending the last few days watching Netflix’s new eight-episode political drama/thriller, The Diplomat, has enlightened me to a few things. Firstly, as late as I am, I’m officially a new Keri Russell fan. She’s excellent as Kate Wyler, a career diplomat with plenty to juggle while in a high-profile role as ambassador to the United Kingdom. A job for which she’s admittedly ill-suited.

As someone who’d never given much thought to the question ‘What is it that diplomats do?’, watching creator Debora Cahn’s dramatisation of how high-stakes things can sometimes get for those in the role was a very entertaining eye-opener and welcomed education.

In addition to the faultless performances, I appreciate the musical score, the clever story edit and the pacing that builds until a brilliant crescendo. The kind I found satisfying in its execution, yet challenging to come to terms with. The latter, only because I’ll have to wait at least a year before learning how things faired for the characters in question.

I would love for season two to pick up exactly where season one ended, amid all the chaotic activity. If you’ve already watched season one, I bet you can picture how great that would be.

Watch The Diplomat if you’re curious. And certainly for all the great reasons above, plus one more – the sense of humour.

Key additional cast includes, Rufus Sewell, David Gyasi, Ali Ahn, Ato Essandoh, Rory Kinnear, Jess Chanliau, Pearl Mackie, Celia Imrie, Georgie Henley, Nana Mensah, Miguel Sandoval and Michael McKean.

Happy Film loving

Moved and shocked are the words that best explain how I feel about director Andrea Arnold’s Cow, a film that looks closely at the daily lives of two cows.

My curiosity about a cow’s day-to-day and the fact that I’ve always considered them one of the cutest animals are my two reasons for watching.

How far from easy and relatively short the dairy cow’s life is are the elements that moved me most, even more so because both realities happen to be exacerbated by humans.

The fact that there’s no explanation of what’s going on as you watch is part of what makes Arnold’s film particularly engaging. The camera captures what happens and leaves you to deal with how it makes you feel.

I’m sure that the most empathetic are those likely to find Cow the most difficult to watch.

As empathetic as I generally am – a truth I know because I cry at many movies, Cow didn’t lead to my own tears. In some ways, I found Arnold’s film strangely calming, a quality I’m sure that the almost complete absence of dialogue and a musical score contributed to.

Besides the moment past the halfway point when I thought the film started to feel too long and repetitive, I say watch Cow if you’re curious, and let it surprise you.