✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Cinema

Late Night film review ★★★★★

07 Jun 19 – 07 Jun 20, TIMES VARY

In Late Night, Emma Thompson plays a talk show host in need of change. Mindy Kaling writes the searing comedy that impressed Sundance

By Ella Kemp on 4/6/2019

1 CW reader is interested
Emma Thompson in Late Night
Emma Thompson in Late Night
Late Night film review 3 Late Night film review Ella Kemp
Directed by: Nisha Ganatra
Starring: Mindy Kaling, Emma Thompson, John Lithgow, Amy Ryan, Hugh Dancy
Runtime: 1h42min


When the veteran talk show host in Late Night, Katherine Newbury, approaches a crossroads, she fails to take a minute to work with herself. She’s told by her boss that her jokes aren’t good anymore, and by her (male) assistant that she hates women. Katherine doesn’t instinctively question her own discomfort in relating to other people – she performs and reacts, but only really realises the problem when she physically sits down with her writers and has to acknowledge all seven white, male faces looking back at her.


Mindy Kaling addresses the shortcomings of an imbalanced industry in Late Night with a quippy and self-aware story. She writes and plays the part of Molly Patel, a comedy aficionado with zero writing experience hired to, well, meet a quota, but then to defiantly shake things up on Katherine’s show. She recognises the weight of a ‘diversity hire’ and reclaims its negative connotations to prove her talent in the writers room.


It’s a well-timed and well-executed premise, as Kaling proves she’s more than capable of creating and performing roles that offer more than the entertainment value of a sidekick, side hustle or bit-on-the-side. Late Night suggests a proactive world in which tokenistic vacuity is kicked in the teeth with a great big smile, refocusing the spotlight even if it can’t always reshape the status quo.



Mindy Kaling in Late Night


The writer teams up with Emma Thompson as her chosen woman on a mission, who plays Katherine with utterly showy and silly brilliance. When she explains to Brad not to start any sentence with ‘“as a female…” ‘because it’s tacky’, the deafening silent response from a million gimmicky marketing campaigns (still trying to dully repackage throwaway feminism) sounds glorious. Together, Kaling and Thompson tackle every elephant in the room and dive headfirst into the details of both women’s ambitions and insecurities.


But because the script makes sure to tackle so many frustrations, the picture rarely takes the time to savours its jokes or confessions. Conversations airing doubts just sound more like two people waiting for their turn to speak – both parties have insightful and witty things to say, but it’s so often that bit too insightful that it fails to ring true. The jazz-hands energy of late night TV infuses the film with sustained theatricality, through a relentless lively soundtrack and endless punchlines, which buries the emotional crux underneath every next ‘bit’.


For a film so determined to give depth to women at every level, the reliance on men feels a touch disappointing. The writers, lovers, helpers are all well-cast and well performed, but a half-written handsome antagonist and a last-minute kiss on the shoulder lessen the impact of everything Molly and Katherine had aimed to prove with their determinedly independent careers.


There’s a lot of genuine fun to be had with Late Night, proving the combined talents of Kaling and Thompson are still overflowing. But with so many militantly entertaining ingredients, this particular project has ended up tasting somewhat overbaked.



What Late Night film review
When 07 Jun 19 – 07 Jun 20, TIMES VARY
Price £ determined by cinemas
Website Click here for more information



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 3–5 February
Things to do in London this weekend: 3–5 February
London exhibitions on now — Peter Doig, Courtauld Gallery
Top 15 exhibitions on now in London
Zadie Smith new novel, The Fraud, to be released in 2023, photo Justin Holler
An A to Z of trends for 2023

Editor's Picks

Brendan Fraser in The Whale (Photo: A24)
In cinemas this weekend: Brendan Fraser stars in Oscar-bait obesity drama
Laura Harring and Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive
How to get cheap cinema in London: offers to know
Brie Larson in Unicorn Store
Best films on Netflix now
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
1

2019

Cinema

Emma Thompson

Mindy Kaling

You might like

  • Emma Thompson in The Children Act

    The Children Act film review ★★★★★

  • Ocean’s 8 film review

    The male and female perspective: Ocean's 8 Film review

  • A Wrinkle in Time film review

    A Wrinkle in Time film review ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×