Mar 30, 2021 — Mike Leigh’s midcareer masterpiece is one of the finest examples of his ability to construct riveting drama from ordinary life.

The actor, comedian, and screenwriter shares why he thinks Secrets & Lies is Mike Leigh’s “juiciest” work, praises the powerful simplicity of The Celebration, and selects contemporary films that have inspired him, like Anatomy of a Fall and The Worst...

The writer, director, and actor talks about the formative influence of Richard Linklater and the Coen brothers, does his best impression of Brenda Blethyn in Secrets & Lies, and shares why Close-up transcends the bounds of cinema.

The actor shares her personal connection to Blow-Up, talks about being inspired at a young age by Laura Dern’s performance in Smooth Talk, and takes home favorites like Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Secrets & Lies.

Feb 21, 2020 — Songbook “In an instant, I remembered everything.” The Cure, “The Walk” It’s the mid-1980s, and a student in a black leather jacket walks down the hall of Polytechnic of North London. Her hair is dyed a shocking orange, maybe to...

Apr 24, 2019 — Channel Calendars The Women (1939) It’s going to be a packed month on the Criterion Channel, with a spotlight on the unforgettable female characters of a classic Hollywood master, a tribute to the great Japanese cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa, a new...

Apr 2, 2019 — Mike Leigh’s endless fascination with human behavior is palpable in every one of the films he’s made over the course of his nearly fifty-year career. With an acute sensitivity to rhythm, character, and setting, he extracts extraordinary moments from the...

Jun 12, 2026 — We’re hunkering down with an oral history of Steven Spielberg and reading about Mary Harron, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Radu Jude, and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Sep 11, 2024 — Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays a deeply frustrated woman in Leigh’s first film set in contemporary Britain since Another Year (2010).

Aug 1, 2024 — Philadelphia’s showcase of work by Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists opens today and runs through the weekend.