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Cinema

What films are coming out in September 2021?

By Euan Franklin on 24/8/2021

The movie business is currently enduring a dire identity crisis, one of the worst in its history. Although cinemas have reopened and projected many releases you’ve been dying to see, there are still notes of hesitation and fear. Lockdowns have come and gone so fast, it’s hard not to regress to that stay-at-home state of mind – especially in the dreaded wake of the Delta variant.

As such, distributors have been cautious: releasing their films both in cinemas and on streaming services. Many in the business are condemning that decision – Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson is even suing Disney because of it. But what about those without easy access to cinemas, like people with disabilities, who see this new streaming battle as a blessing in disguise? Wasn’t the path to streaming always inevitable?

In any case, if you are able, capable, and at ease with the idea of entering a cinema, there are plenty of films to convince you to go. September itself is a month pregnant with incredible releases, many of which have been delayed and anticipated for months. From Annette to No Time To Die, here’s a list of our favourites.

Annette, dir. Leos Carax

Annette, dir. Leos Carax

Ron and Russell Mael, who together make up the pop-rock duo Sparks, have been making music for five decades. Their story was recently captured in Edgar Wright’s energetic documentary The Sparks Brothers. But Sparks' new movie musical Annette marks their first successful foray into narrative filmmaking, after failed efforts with Jacques Tati and Tim Burton.


Collaborating with the French arthouse director Leos Carax (Holy Motors), Sparks composes a dark and tragic love story. Annette follows the relationship between a provocative stand-up (Adam Driver) and a well-respected opera soprano (Marion Cotillard), which slips between sensual and toxic. They conceive a child, Annette – portrayed in the film in puppet form – who displays an unexpected talent. The film opened this year's Cannes Film Festival.


Photo: EPK/Amazon

WHEN
Friday 3 September
Clare Dunne in Herself (Photo: image.net)

Herself, dir. Phyllida Lloyd

Despite being mostly produced by British companies, Herself has taken a deplorably long time to reach UK shores. The film premiered at a pre-pandemic Sundance in January 2020 and screened later at the London Film Festival, where Culture Whisper gave it four stars. Finally, Phyllida Lloyd’s excellent social drama is on release this September. And it's worth the wait.


The story follows Sandra (Clare Dunne), a survivor of domestic violence, who manages to escape her fraught living situation and takes the kids with her. After she’s refused a new home, she decides to embark on an unusual project: building her own house. Seeking help from charitable hands, Sandra begins to construct her dreams.

Read more ...
WHEN
Friday 10 September
Respect, dir. Liesl Tommy

Respect, dir. Liesl Tommy

In recent months, there’s been a sharper focus on the Black women who reshaped music. Just this year, we’ve had a Billie Holiday biopic and an in-depth documentary about Tina Turner. The BFI Southbank even reopened its doors with a film season dedicated to Black female musicians. A new biopic about Aretha Franklin, coming three years after the acclaimed concert film Amazing Grace, was only inevitable.


In Respect, Jennifer Hudson plays Aretha – tracing her affluent origins and early talents, especially in the church. You see her difficult childhood, giving birth to her first child at 12 years old and facing the abuses of a patriarchal world. Even after she’s grown up and made several albums, she still can’t make a hit. Then Respect comes along, shooting her to stardom.


Photo: EPK/MGM

WHEN
Friday 10 September
The Many Saints of Newark, dir. Alan Taylor

The Many Saints of Newark, dir. Alan Taylor

The Sopranos creator David Chase has had to field questions about the ending for years, but he’s never revealed its true meaning. And the new movie prequel The Many Saints of Newark, set in the late 60s, clearly doesn’t want to unveil those answers. But doubtless it will serve as a curious, fascinating, and formative chapter in the story of Tony Soprano, played for eight years by the late James Gandolfini.


Michael Gandolfini – James Galdolfini’s real-life son – plays the teenage Tony, who's growing up among the Italian-American Mafia during the Newark race-riots in 1967. From the trailer, you see his close relationship with Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola) as well as the emotionally abusive friction that his mother (Vera Farmiga) creates.


Photo: Warner Bros.

WHEN
Wednesday 22 September
Daniel Craig in No Time to Die

No Time to Die, dir. Cary Joji Fukunaga

How long have we been hearing about Bond 25? No Time To Die has had a tumultuous history, even before the pandemic. Director Danny Boyle and his regular screenwriter John Hodge were initially on board. And then they exited the project due to ‘creative differences’, a classically elusive excuse.


But Cary Fukunaga, of True Detective fame, replaced Boyle and everything seemed to be going well… until the pandemic. After three delays, No Time To Die looks set to finally be released at the end of September – becoming a suave and heavenly light of hope for cinemas everywhere. That is, as long as the Delta variant doesn’t scupper those plans.


As always with a franchise as big as Bond, plot details are scarce. We know that Bond has gone into hiding (again) following the events of Spectre, and an old friend seeks him out for a new job. This leads him to a new supervillain, Safin (Rami Malek), who’s armed with a dangerous new technology.

Read more ...
WHEN
Thursday 30 September
Venice Film Festival 2021

Also: the Venice Film Festival 2021

La Biennale di Venezia was one of the only film festivals to open publicly when Covid hit the world last year. The festival is still going strong for 2021, and with a sumptuous selection, too.


Returning auteurs include Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), Pedro Almodóvar (Parallel Mothers), Paul Schrader (The Card Counter), and Paolo Sorrentino (The Hand of God). Pablo Larraín’s new Princess Diana biopic Spencer is also in the competition, and stars Kristen Stewart in the titular role. Stewart's portrayal follows Emma Corrin’s lauded performance in The Crown season four and precedes Elizabeth Debicki’s depiction for season five.


Actor Maggie Gyllenhaal makes her filmmaking debut with The Lost Daughter, adapted from the Elena Ferrante novel, which stars Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.


Denis Villeneuve’s eagerly anticipated sci-fi epic Dune is premiering out of competition, alongside Edgar Wright’s giallo-inspired horror film Last Night in Soho (starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie) and Ridley Scott’s medieval drama The Last Duel with Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.


TV also makes a rare appearance. Hagai Levi’s five-part HBO remake of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes From A Marriage, starring Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac, is also premiering at the festival.

WHEN
Wednesday 1 September - Saturday 11 September
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Venice Film Festival

Italy

Cinema

Film Festival

Jane Campion

Benedict Cumberbatch

Denis Villeneuve

Annette

Herself

The Many Saints of Newark

No Time To Die

The Lost Daughter

Dune

Spencer

Edgar Wright

2021

You may also like:


  • Daniel Craig in No Time to Die

    No Time to Die review ★★★★★

  • Clare Dunne in Herself (Photo: image.net)

    Herself movie review ★★★★★

  • Lady Gaga in House of Gucci (Photo: EPK/MGM)

    House of Gucci review ★★★★★

  • Ron and Russel Mael in The Sparks Brothers (Photo: EPK/Anna Webber/Focus Features)

    The Sparks Brothers movie review ★★★★★

  • Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow, Disney Plus (Photo: Getty/Disney)

    Black Widow review ★★★★★

  • Lady Gaga in House of Gucci (Photo: EPK/MGM)

    House of Gucci review ★★★★★



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