CUNARD BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL 2017

This year's Cunard British Film Festival has an amazing line-up, with some of the hottest films of the next 12 months long before they're officially out in cinemas!

For a full list of the films on offer and to buy tickets, visit www.britishfilmfestival.com.au.

BREATHE

A long exhale

Robin Cavendish lived a remarkable life and is a source of inspiration and hope, but there is something about 'Breathe' that sort of falls short, turning the breath into more of a yawn.

MARY SHELLEY

A paint-by-numbers biopic

'Mary Shelley' is a serviceable biopic that features a strong turn from Fanning and decent performances elsewhere but she deserves more than a linear, Wikipedia-style trawl through her life.

THE DEATH OF STALIN

A brilliant and unnerving comedy classic

It's crass, ridiculous, gorgeously awkward and impossibly clever, delivered with wit and irreverence by an impeccable cast. It turns so beautifully from comedy to tragedy and back

JAWBONE

A hard-hitting tale of boxing and addiction

This low-budget drama hinges on the ever-watchable trio of Winstone, Smiley and McShane, the commitment of Johnny Harris’ performance and the crackling choreography of the film’s knockout final act.

ON CHESIL BEACH

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About 1960s Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)

First-time director Dominic Cooke demonstrates in ‘On Chesil Beach’ not only how sensitively he can direct actors, but also use the medium as a language based on framing, pacing, editing, and music.

TULIP FEVER

Symptoms include nausea and irritability

Immediately noticeable are the tell-tale characteristics of a troubled production process: the patronising use of a narrator to walk the audience through the plot. Shaky camera. Jumpy editing.

HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES

John Cameron Mitchell's punk sci-fi eleganza

It’s such a barmy, bat-shit blast of a film that its many flaws can’t rob it of its natural and infectious charm. It’s a sweet romance wrapped in punk philosophy and 70s sci-fi psychedelia.

FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL

A Hollywood romance

There's a surprisingly honest emotional force that the film is somehow able to build and deliver, and Jamie Bell delivers what might just be one of the finest male performances of the year.