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Orla Smith

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Orla is a London-based freelance film critic and the Executive Editor of film site and publishing house Seventh Row. She is the editor of several books about film, such as "Roads to nowhere: Kelly Reichardt's broken Americans Dreams" and "Beyond empowertainment: Feminist horror and the struggle for female agency."

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Sharp Stick (2022) 50% EDIT “Lena Dunham is back to feature filmmaking with Sharp Stick, a prickly, hilarious film” – Seventh Row Apr 30, 2022 Full Review Mija (2022) 88% EDIT “Mija, directed by Isabel Castro, is a poignant and beautifully shot character study documentary about what the American Dream means to many immigrant families.” – Seventh Row Mar 15, 2022 Full Review All That Breathes (2022) 99% EDIT “Its a film with an intimate scope thats about so much more than it first appears to be. You might not know much about black kite birds going into All That Breathes, but youll leave this documentary caring deeply about them.” – Seventh Row Mar 15, 2022 Full Review Framing Agnes (2022) 81% EDIT “So many films about history elide these questions in favour of telling a streamlined story about the past. Joynt and Page upend this by tackling the messiness of history head on.” – Seventh Row Mar 15, 2022 Full Review The Mission (2022) 64% EDIT “Anderson is incredibly empathetic toward her subjects; her observational style with no voiceover or expert talking heads means she doesnt force an opinion on the viewer.” – Seventh Row Mar 15, 2022 Full Review I Didn't See You There (2022) 97% EDIT “Davenport recontextualises shaky images or images shot from unusual angles, which might otherwise be considered flaws in cinematography, as an authentic expression of his viewpoint.” – Seventh Row Mar 15, 2022 Full Review Girl Picture (2022) 97% EDIT “Girl Picture stands out as a coming-of-ager that takes teenagers seriously, exploring how complicated sex and love can be for teenage girls, and how trauma can make relationships difficult.” – Seventh Row Mar 15, 2022 Full Review Fresh (2022) 82% EDIT “Steves business is extreme. But that first act is important context: the film places Steves sadism on a continuum with other men Noa encounters in the dating world.” – Seventh Row Mar 15, 2022 Full Review Spencer (2021) 83% EDIT “Pablo Larraín's impressionistic portrait of Princess Diana takes big swings that rarely hit.” – Seventh Row Dec 20, 2021 Full Review The Humans (2021) 92% EDIT “Stephen Karam's The Humans (adapted from Karam's own play) is a treat for anyone who loves to watch actors act and bounce off of each other, developing rich and recognisable characters and relationships over the course of a film.” – Seventh Row Dec 20, 2021 Full Review Boiling Point (2021) 99% EDIT “Its a wildly entertaining ride full of amazing performances.” – Seventh Row Dec 20, 2021 Full Review C'mon C'mon (2021) 94% EDIT “C'mon C'mon wants to believe in a brighter future, but in the process, risks romanticising the often troubling world we live in.” – Seventh Row Dec 20, 2021 Full Review DASHCAM (2021) 47% EDIT “I had a lot of fun with DASHCAM, but I wished it was able to combine its thrills and its social commentary into something more cohesive.” – Seventh Row Nov 29, 2021 Full Review Ahed's Knee (2021) 74% EDIT “I've felt so much rage and nihilism lately over how little agency I have to fix global problems... Nadav Lapid's latest, Ahed's Knee , bottles this frustrated feeling better than any other piece of art I've seen in the last few years.” – Seventh Row Nov 26, 2021 Full Review The Hill Where Lionesses Roar (2021) 92% EDIT “Portrait of a Lady on Fire actress Luàna Bajrami makes a wonderful directorial debut with The Hill Where Lionesses Roar, a coming-of-age tale set in Kosovo.” – Seventh Row Nov 26, 2021 Full Review Huda's Salon (2021) 77% EDIT “Huda's Salon has just as many smarts as it has thrills.” – Seventh Row Nov 26, 2021 Full Review The Mad Women's Ball (2021) 86% EDIT “The Mad Women's Ball is a shallow look at 'female hysteria'.” – Seventh Row Nov 26, 2021 Full Review Aloners (2021) 98% EDIT “For anyone who's ever willingly self-isolated (for non-COVID reasons) in a haze of depression, and buried themselves in creature comforts, Aloners will resonate.” – Seventh Row Nov 26, 2021 Full Review Scarborough (2021) 100% EDIT “Scarborough, from directors Rich Williamson and Shasha Nakhai, is a big-hearted portrait of families in a low-income neighbourhood.” – Seventh Row Nov 26, 2021 Full Review Yuni (2021) 100% EDIT “Andini never tips into sentimentality. Things that start out as a joke at the beginning of the film, like Yuni's obsession with the colour purple, quickly become sinister when you learn it's the colour of widows.” – Seventh Row Nov 26, 2021 Full Review Good Madam (2021) 84% EDIT “The film certainly succeeds in using horror to convey the visceral unease that Tsidi feels in white spaces, and her desperation to protect her daughter from white supremacist influences” – Seventh Row Nov 26, 2021 Full Review The Surrogate (2020) 92% EDIT “Jasmine Batchelor gives one of the best performances of the year in Jeremy Hersh's The Surrogate, a smart and sensitive drama about a pregnancy surrogate who finds out the foetus will be born with Down Syndrome.” – Seventh Row Aug 29, 2021 Full Review Scales (2019) 91% B- EDIT “With a more patient script that's richer in character detail, Scales could have been breathtaking. As it stands, it's a slight visual feast.” – The Film Stage Jul 8, 2021 Full Review Scenes from an Empty Church (2021) 82% EDIT “Scenes from an Empty Church is one of Tukel's most subdued, dramatic films to date - although it's not short on wit.” – Seventh Row Jul 4, 2021 Full Review The Perfect Candidate (2019) 93% A- EDIT “This is that rare, miraculous thing: a political crowdpleaser that doesn't sand off its edges in an effort to be palatable.” – The Film Stage May 13, 2021 Full Review
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