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MAVERICK: THE EPIC ADVENTURES OF DAVID LEAN |
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| See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 11.Nov.26 | |||||||||||||
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Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean Review by Rich Cline | 
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 dir-scr Barnaby Thompson prd Jack Heller, Nick Taussig with Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Denis Villeneuve, Wes Anderson, Alfonso Cuaron, Steven Soderbergh, Celine Song, Paul Greengrass, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Nia DaCosta, Joe Wright, Autumn Durald Arkapaw voices Cate Blanchett, Kenneth Branagh release US Oct.26 afif, UK 4.Dec.26 26/UK 1h44 CANNES FILM FEST Now streaming... |
 Taking a superbly personal approach to the director of some of the most spectacular movies ever made, this documentary uses David Lean's private life to add new nuance to his masterful films. Writer-director Barnaby Thompson assembles this beautifully, with extensive archival material and movie clips, allowing Lean and others to speak in their own words. And lively interviews with current filmmakers speak about Lean's vast influence on cinema. Born in south London to Quaker parents, Lean had a cold upbringing with a distant father who abandoned the family. Lean replicated this with affairs during his six marriages, all while making movies about unusual romantic entanglements and illicit liaisons. See early classics like Brief Encounter (1945) and Summertime (1955), plus character connections in masterworks The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). He also had a tetchy relationship with New York critics, leading to a 14 year pause before his final film A Passage to India (1984). A brisk pace helps to densely pack the film with details, although this also means that it seems to race past some of the bigger events and several darkly intriguing morsels of information. These mostly relate to Lean's relationships, which are accompanied by voiceovers from each wife and a few mistresses. While the film never probes the psychological ideas it raises, it does cleverly connect them with the films, skilfully dropping in relevant clips. In addition, stills have been eye-catchingly deepened and animated, and the doc makes wonderful use of those iconic movie scores. And everything is boosted by Blanchett's narration and Branagh reading from Lean's journals. In other words, this is a fascinating romp through the life of a pioneering artist, exploring the mark he made on the industry and his huge impact on generations that followed. It's no surprise that Spielberg watches Lean's classics before he begins his own projects. Cuaron and Villeneuve clearly revere Lean's work, and they don't even need to note how it influences them, because we can see it. And the way Thompson deploys some of Lean's most magnificent shots is a simple reminder that spectacle is only powerful when it connects us to the characters.
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1 in 2 Review by Rich Cline |
Now streaming...
|  Because one in two people will have cancer in their lifetime, documentary filmmaker David Wilkinson traces his own experience with diagnosis and treatment while looking into why it has become increasingly common among younger people. While it is overlong, this urgent film is superbly shot and edited, providing vital information in a way that's witty, intimate and unafraid to tackle difficult details. It's a movie that can save lives. Even after regular testing, Wilkinson is diagnosed at 69 with stage-four bowel cancer. As he begins chemotherapy, he is shocked to discover that the disease is now more prominent among patients under 50. And like him, many have no symptoms. Wilkinson requires surgery when the cancer spreads, but he also responds to treatment. Through medical highs and lows, he documents his experience while also travelling to meet specialists and patients, including several doctors who have cancer themselves. Some of them don't survive, while he wryly notes that he has no choice but to carry on. Earthy and honest, this documentary takes a clear-eyed, supportive approach. Misinformation about cancer is common on social media, so it's important test regularly and speak to experts. It's fascinating to watch Wilkinson's physicality shift over the years, and to see how determined he is to get on with his life, refusing to let being terminally ill define him. Clearly, his proactive attitude and sense of humour have helped him survive and thrive. Comprehensively exploring the issue, the film's perspective feels hugely resonant, as Wilkinson parallels his personal journey with making this film and speaking to medical professionals and patients about their own experiences. Many of these are rendered in nicely animated segments. And Wilkinson says it's profoundly unfair that so many of his fellow patients have died at younger ages. He feels lucky that he has become old. Wilkinson notes that colorectal cancer is at epidemic proportions, with a growing number of diagnoses especially among younger patients. There are many reasons for this, from ultra-processed foods to inadequate screening rates. Even so, he praises the UK's National Health Service for its wonderful provision of care. He interviews researchers who are pioneering prevention and treatment, offering a strong sense of hope even. And his most salient warning is that we should be vigilant and more openly talk about our everyday bodily functions: "Don't die of embarrassment!"
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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL © 2026 by Rich Cline, Shadows
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