Psycho. #66
Tarantino, Dano, yes and no.
Latest
Psycho. #65
Happy Lisa Kudrow year!
The Before Trilogy
Is love real, or a socially accepted form of delusion? Is there such a thing as chemistry, or are random encounters only perceived as meaningful connections through the lens of expectation and memory? Is romance a choice, or written in the unalterable script of our destiny? As Richard Linklater’s
Queer Auteurism under Censorship: On George Cukor and Mitchell Leisen
Navigating Code-era censorship in contrasting ways, both of these directors created bodies of work that were undeniably, vibrantly queer.
Psycho. #64
Football.
Psycho. #63
Oscars supreme.
Psycho. #62
Showing films to baby.
Meta Chills
Gleefully playing with established tropes, the three films Elena and Manuela discuss in this new episode of Hard Truths toe the line between comedy and terror, irony and sincerity, fiction and reality: early true crime spoof Man Bites Dog (Rémy Belvaux and André Bonzel, 1992), meta franchise sequel Wes Craven’
The Invisible Michael Jordan
Why sports films eschew sports
Psycho. #61
"Cinema bros"?
Joachim Trier
It’s only a matter of time before Joachim Trier wins a Best Picture Oscar. In this new episode of Hard Truths, Elena and Manuela damn the Norwegian director with faint praise but also give him his flowers as they discuss three of his best known films: Oslo, August 31st
Psycho. #60
Dear Caspar, I wonder if you could help. The Servant is one of my favourite films, I just love it. Incredible malevolent and camp performances; Pinter's script, Losey's direction and Slocombe’s cinematography are in perfect harmony, it's all so tonally well controlled. So
Essays
Who's invited to The Party?
On The Party and the politics of who’s looking at problematic art
Psycho.
Psycho. #59
Sorrenti-maybe?
Hard Truths
Jukebox; or, You’re Not the Only One With Problems
What unites the three apparently very different films of this 10th, Jukebox episode of Hard Truths? In Sidney Lumet’s The Offence (1972), Sean Connery plays a detective-sergeant who has seen too much. Milton Moses Ginsberg’s underseen, Rip Torn-starring arthouse gem Coming Apart (1969) charts the psychological unravelling of
Psycho.
Psycho. #58
Held hostage by TV.
Hard Truths
Julia Ducournau
From the ultraviolence of Raw (2016) to the over-the-top silliness of Palme d’Or-winner Titane (2021) and the emo intensity of Alpha (2025): the cinema of French director Julia Ducournau is hard to ignore. With Alpha now playing in French cinemas, Elena and Manuela gather in London to talk about
Essays
Be Scientific, Douchebag
On the last 30 years of climate change cinema
Extras
Brave Acting at Il Cinema Ritrovato
Manuela reports on some striking performances seen in Bologna.
Psycho.
Psycho. #57
Real art.
Hard Truths
Ari Aster
With just four feature films, American filmmaker Ari Aster has established himself as one of the foremost voices of our phone-addicted, psychically damaged, paranoid generation. As his 2020-set neo-western Eddington comes out in cinemas this summer, Elena and Manuela—recording together in the rich soundscape of Elena’s garden—discuss
Psycho.
Psycho. #56
Normies have feelings, too.
Hard Truths
‘F1’ and ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’
Two massive stars fight for relevance in two of this summer’s blockbusters: Brad Pitt in Joseph Kosinski’s F1, and Tom Cruise in Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Both have things to hide, and things to prove. In this episode of Hard Truths, Elena and Manuela
Psycho.
Psycho. #55
True story.