ROONEY MARA

NIGHTMARE ALLEY (2022)
Starring Bradley Cooper, Toni Collette, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, Willem Dafoe, Mark Povinelli, David Strathairn and Holt McCallany. Directed by Guillermo Del Toro.

An ambitious carnival worker with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is.

MARY MAGDALENE (2018)
Starring Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ariane Labed, Ryan Corr, Tahar Rahim, Hadas Yaron, Charles Babalola, Tsahi Halevi and Shira Haas. Directed by Garth Davis.

The story of Mary Magdalene - from the Academy Award producers of The King's Speech. Set in the Holy Land in the first century C.E., a young woman leaves her small fishing village and traditional family behind to join a radical new social movement. At its head is a charismatic leader, Jesus of Nazareth, who promises that the world is changing. Mary is searching for a new way of living, and an authenticity that is denied her by the rigid hierarchies of the day. As the notoriety of the group spread and more are drawn to follow Jesus’ inspirational message, Mary’s spiritual journey places her at the heart of a story that will lead to the capital city of Jerusalem, where she must confront the reality of Jesus’ destiny and her own place within it.

REVIEWS Mary Magdalene - A tedious reframing of an important female religious icon

THE SECRET SCRIPTURE (2017)
Starring Rooney Mara, Theo James, Aidan Turner, Vanessa Redgrave, Eric Bana, Jack Reynor, Susan Lynch, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Charlie Kelly and Nika McGuigan. Directed by Jim Sheridan.

A woman keeps a diary of her extended stay at a mental hospital.

SONG TO SONG (2017)
Starring Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, Holly Hunter, Val Kilmer, Bérénice Marlohe, Heather Kafka and Austin Amelio. Directed by Terrence Malick.

Set against and inspired by the Austin, Texas rock and roll scene, the film follows four interconnected lovers as they tumble and clash in both their roller coaster musical careers and rule-breaking intimate lives. Amid a world driven by youth, passion, lust, drugs and creativity, the story hones in on one couple who find in each other a way to bust through all the wild distractions of our modern lives and seek satisfaction in a new way.

A GHOST STORY (2017)
Starring Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Kesha Rose Sebert, Will Oldham, Sonia Acevedo, Rob Zabrecky, Liz Franke, Augustine Frizzell, Brea Grant and Yasmina Gutierrez. Directed by David Lowery.

Recently deceased, a white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to console his bereft wife, only to find that in his spectral state he has become unstuck in time, forced to watch passively as the life he knew and the woman he loves slowly slip away. Increasingly unmoored, the ghost embarks on a cosmic journey through memory and history, confronting life’s ineffable questions and the enormity of existence.

REVIEWS A Ghost Story - A magical fable on life, death and love

UNA (2017)
Starring Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Indira Varma, Tara Fitzgerald, Tobias Menzies, Poppy Corby-Tuech, Isobelle Molloy, Natasha Little and Ciarán McMenamin. Directed by Benedict Andrews.

Fifteen years earlier, Una ran away with an older man, Ray, a crime for which he was arrested and imprisoned. When she comes across a photo of him in a trade magazine, Una tracks him down and turns up at his workplace. Her abrupt arrival threatens to destroy Ray’s new life and derail her stability. Unspoken secrets and buried memories surface as Una and Ray sift through the wreckage of the past. Their confrontation raises unanswered questions and unresolved longings. It will shake them both to the core.

REVIEWS Una - A dull, banal and woefully misguided male fantasy

LION (2017)
Starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, David Wenham and Sunny Pawar. Directed by Garth Davis.

At five years old, Brierley found himself 1,500km from home, having fallen asleep aboard a train bound for Calcutta. Scared and alone he was forced to live a life on the streets. Saved from an orphanage by an Australian couple, he was brought up in Tasmania always wondering if he would ever see his Indian family again. Aided by the support of his adopted parents and the technology of Google Earth, he was able to track down his Indian mother and family, ending a 25-year journey.

REVIEWS Lion - A raw and powerful journey of identity

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (2016)
Starring Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Brenda Vaccaro. Directed by Travis Knight.

Clever, kindhearted Kubo ekes out a humble living, telling fantastical stories to the people of his seaside town. But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a mythical spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta.

Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey and Beetle, and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen - a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King and the evil twin Sisters to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family and fulfill his heroic destiny.

REVIEWS Kubo and the Two Strings - Visually engaging

CAROL (2016)
Starring Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, Kyle Chandler, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy, John Magaro, Cory Michael Smith, Carrie Brownstein, Kevin Crowley and Nik Pajic. Directed by Todd Haynes.

Based on Patricia Highsmith’s novella 'The Price of Salt' about the burgeoning relationship between two very different women in 1950s New York. One, a girl in her 20s working in a department store who dreams of a more fulfilling life, and the other, a wife trapped in a loveless, moneyed marriage desperate to break free.

REVIEWS Carol - An elegant, passionate and important love story

PAN (2015)
Starring Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hudlund, Rooney Mara, Levi Miller and Garrett Hedlund. Directed by Joe Wright.

Peter is a mischievous 12-year-old boy with an irrepressible rebellious streak, but in the bleak London orphanage where he has lived his whole life those qualities do not exactly fly. Then one incredible night, Peter is whisked away from the orphanage and spirited off to a fantastical world of pirates, warriors and fairies called Neverland. There, he finds amazing adventures and fights life-or-death battles while trying to uncover the secret of his mother, who left him at the orphanage so long ago, and his rightful place in this magical land. Teamed with the warrior Tiger Lily and a new friend named James Hook, Peter must defeat the ruthless pirate Blackbeard to save Neverland and discover his true destiny—to become the hero who will forever be known as Peter Pan.

REVIEWS Pan - A surprisingly enjoyable flight of fancy

TRASH (2015)
Starring Martin Sheen, Rooney Mara, Wagner Moura and Selton Mello. Directed by Stephen Daldry.

Three young boys living in Rio make a living picking through mounds of trash. One day they discover a leather bag, the contents of which plunge them into a terrifying adventure.

REVIEWS Trash - Three little diamonds in the rough

HER (2014)
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde, Rooney Mara and Chris Pratt. Directed by Spike Jonze.

Theodore Twombly is a complex, soulful man who makes his living writing touching, personal letters for other people. Heartbroken after the end of a long relationship, he becomes intrigued with a new, advanced operating system, which promises to be an intuitive and unique entity in its own right. Upon initiating it, he is delighted to meet “Samantha,” a bright, female voice, who is insightful, sensitive and surprisingly funny. As her needs and desires grow in tandem with his own, their friendship deepens into an eventual love for each other. Her is an original love story that explores the evolving nature - and the risks - of intimacy in the modern world.

REVIEWS Her - Together in electric dreams

AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS (2013)
Starring Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Rami Malek, Keith Carradine, Charles Baker, Nate Parker, Kentucker Audley, Turner Ross and Will Beinbrink. Directed by David Lowery.

An outlaw escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met.