Matthew Beard – Cut To The Chase

Directed By: Mona Fastvold

Written By: Mona Fastvold And Brady Corbet

Cinematography: William Rexer

Editor: Sofia Subercaseaux

Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Lewis Pullman, Thomasin Mckenzie, Christopher Abbott, Matthew Beard, Stacy Martin, Tim Blake Nelson, Daniel Blumberg, David Cale, Viola Prettejohn

Ann Lee, the founding leader of the Shaker Movement, is proclaimed as the female Christ by her followers. This film depicts her establishment of a utopian society and the Shakers’ worship through song and dance, based on real events.

This is a hard film to quite get your head around.

Though it definitely makes an impression. As it is an epic done on a budget, but still manages to be quite illustrious throughout even when it seems like it’s not doing that much or playing it basic at times.

Which showcases limitation, but works for the time the story is set in when the world and society was still building itself.

The film is a musical and the religious choreography, testimonial music score and movements are great. Which is what keeps a captivating and keeps your interest as it might not have been as magical if it had played as a straight drama. It might’ve felt more like a prestige film rather than something of its own concoction while trying to tell a true story.

The film gets matters of the flesh out of the way early, so that while that theme is always in the background, it’s not as heavily a focus, and once the lead character played by Amanda Seyfried goes all in with her religion and beliefs. We don’t get to see any really again, it’s more hinted at or implied, but never seen until when the film needs to be brutal.

One can see this from getting more of an audience as more people discovered it through word-of-mouth as it might not be perfect, but it certainly is interesting and never boring

Amanda Seyfried in the lead is strong and memorable. One of her strongest performance is so far as it seems like with each new passing year and each new project she does get stronger as an actress and more captivating to see with her range.

Christopher abbot plays another terrible character. Which at this point he seems to have cornered the market on. When not playing leading roles.

The film ends brutally as that seems to be the case when it comes to most films, depicting religion or even religious ones as usually we know how they will end. It’s all in how he get there.

What keeps this from exciting is that you Never quite know where it’s going so it manages to be quite an Odyssey in of itself. Even with its limited surroundings.

Looking forward to more films from this filmmaker.

Grade: B+

Directed By: Morton Tyldum. Written By: Graham Moore. Based On A Book By: Andrew Hodges Cinematography: Oscar Faura Editor: William Goldenberg Music score: Alexandre Desplat

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightly, Mark Strong, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard, Charles Dance

Based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing, the film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team of code-breakers at Britain’s top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II.

Just like when the film is set. The film plays like a spy film Filled with espionage and thriller elements. For what the film might lack in action for some. It leaves the audience with a more devastating aftermath of emotions.

The thrills are given in a much more intelligent battlefield as the action is more a meeting of the minds and trying to outsmart one another.

Throw in a story of a great inventor and his everlasting invention. That was itself a journey to build with plenty of naysayers and challenges.

There is also a kind of love story at it’s heart but maybe not the one you are expecting. Not to mention a focus on the injustice and prejudice of homophobia and anti-gay rights.

So this film has it all, likely Oscar bait but for once. One with some bite and thrills that come out of nowhere and could have been a simple period drama, but comes out and is actually exciting though some might find it to be a little like a British version of the movie A BEAUTIFUL MIND. Though much is going on all the parts for precisely together.

The performances are off the charts. Keira knightly as the Love interest and top code breaker still has to deal with sexism and domesticity as her parents expect her to be a good wife and find a husband before she can use her skills and brilliance.

Mark strong as the mysterious Mi6 agent and liaison is devious and powerful.

Benedict cumberbatch really shows his range as he can be the awkward outsider o e minute, the pretentious snob and know it all but also the heartbroken and doomed. That you want to save him, but can’t

A film that is built like a drama but plays more like a thriller, with room enough for drama. As on one point he works to get his invention to work and then on another keeping his sexuality a secret. Even though he seems rarely to find interest in others. Even though a romance or more partnership does develop.

Even when he is black mailed on all sides and slowly starts to make friends as others finally get used to him and his polarizing personality that one could easily label it as partially inspired by BIG BANG THEORY with the character Sheldon from that show.

We get to see what makes him tick or inspires him to imagine. as the project keeps something alive in him a kind of hope, love and memories.

How it can be greater Than anything in life. Including your own. The object takes the place of a lost love that could never be. So he builds something his great creation as a kind of loving memory.

How all this history is revealed from just a breaking and entering case. Leaving the detectives in the hunt for supposed treason and spies turns into a heartbreaking story that destroys his whole life because of a detectives insistence over being dismissed and talked down to by him and who has no idea what he will cause and never meant to.

How our actions can have deeper ramifications then expected and can’t be taken back.

The title seems to come from code breaking, imitating the enemies code system to read and understand their messages. It would also be used for the main character who always knew he was different.

So he tried calling initiate others to fit in to a point that no one would really notice and if he couldn’t replicate her would keep people away. More like push, so they never really got to know him.

GRADE: A

Tag: Matthew Beard

THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE (2025)

THE IMITATION GAME (2014)