Matthew d’Ancona
17 July 2026
The Odyssey is a masterwork that reinvents the epic
Christopher Nolan’s grand vision confirms him as the David Lean of his generation, the IMAX magus
Read the full article13 July 2026
Ann Widdecombe changed politics – and I should know
The horribly murdered politician wrote the playbook of the right wing populism that Andy Burnham must now confront
Read the full article11 July 2026
From Don Corleone to Donald Trump: David Thomson puts the movies on trial
Our greatest film writer’s new book says that Hollywood has made us all complicit in populism’s rise and intellectualism’s fall
Read the full article07 July 2026
The Odyssey and our summer of myth
Homer’s epic speaks powerfully to any age troubled by anxiety that the notion of home, reciprocity and social stability is in jeopardy
Read the full article04 July 2026
Olivia Wilde’s The Invite is the year's best film so far
Billed as a sex comedy, it’s subtle, ambiguous and moving
Read the full article29 June 2026
Andy Burnham v London
The PM-in-waiting will shift power from the capital to the cities to help national cohesion and end the populist right’s grievance culture. It has to work
Read the full article27 June 2026
Larry David, the surprising standard-bearer for American hope
The Curb Your Enthusiasm star’s US history sketch series is pretty, pretty funny – and stacked with digs at Trump
Read the full article21 June 2026
Burnham must run fearlessly into the future – and this is how
The PM-in-waiting has 18 months, tops, to reset Britain and save it from Farage
Read the full article20 June 2026
Sandra Oh kills it in a West End show of rare power
A modern update of Molière’s The Misanthrope sees the Killing Eve star battling conformity and cancellation
Read the full article17 June 2026
Ten years of Brexit: The lessons of a low, dishonest decade
Build coalitions, revive internationalism and join – not rejoin – the EU. But be prepared to question your own assumptions, too
Read the full article13 June 2026
Disclosure Day is a thrilling finale to Spielberg’s lifelong UFO obsession
A helter-skelter adventure is full of pace and enchantment - with a religious twist
Read the full article08 June 2026
The White House UFC fight will have one loser: Trump
His gaudy White House UFC event is taking place just as those who love and take part in the sport are deserting his presidency
Read the full article06 June 2026
Inside Marilyn Monroe’s image machine
A triumphant National Portrait Gallery exhibition shows how the star created her own myth
Read the full article27 May 2026
Could post-Trump Brit Steve Hilton win California?
Less rage, more delivery is the former David Cameron adviser’s message in the race to become the state’s next governor
Read the full article23 May 2026
This sublime, audacious Whistler exhibition is an absolute must-see
Tate Britain’s retrospective shows the significance of a dazzling radical
Read the full article19 May 2026
‘Ungovernable Britain?’ Don’t be absurd
The UK has deep-seated problems its political leaders refuse to confront. But that doesn’t make it a dystopian wasteland beyond the powers of reasonable statecraft
Read the full article16 May 2026
Gary Oldman’s Beckett masterclass
The Slow Horses star follows Gambon and Hurt in Krapp’s Last Tape – and outshines them both
Read the full article13 May 2026
How to beat Farage
Reform haven’t peaked – and their march to No 10 can only be stopped if we face up to why they're winning
Read the full article09 May 2026
Kokuho, the dazzling, savage Japanese epic you must not miss
Lee Sang-il’s remarkable film charts the cost of being a national treasure
Read the full article06 May 2026
The case for a British post-populist right
Péter Magyar managed it in Hungary. Can his counterpart be found here to avoid the catastrophe of Nigel Farage?
Read the full article02 May 2026
Widow’s Bay, the best horror-comedy since An American Werewolf in London
Matthew Rhys shows off his comic chops in a show that references It, Hallowe’en and The Shining
Read the full article29 April 2026
UFOs over the White House
Already rooted in conspiracy theory, the Trump presidency is now obsessing over aliens – another sign of US political culture gone insane
Read the full article25 April 2026
Richard Gadd’s Half Man is brutal, thrilling and unforgettable
Two years after Baby Reindeer, the actor and writer has surpassed himself
Read the full article22 April 2026
Is Donald Trump the antichrist?
The president has so offended US evangelicals that the previously loyal are calling him demon-possessed and the Biblical ‘father of lies’
Read the full article18 April 2026
Criminal Record has the makings of a classic
The cop drama is compelling, fiercely contemporary and underpinned by mighty performances by Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi
Read the full article14 April 2026
How to stop the next Trump
The president’s apocalyptic threats should spur major constitutional change
Read the full article11 April 2026
What everyone gets wrong about The Stranger
After years of misinterpretation, François Ozon’s blank and beautiful movie truly understands the Camus classic
Read the full article04 April 2026
Welcome back to Gilead: The Testaments is a triumph
Violence and cruelty lurk at the lavishly appointed finishing school for daughters of the patriarchal regime
Read the full article01 April 2026
How MAGA ate itself
Iran, Israel and insults have torn Trump’s alt right army apart
Read the full article28 March 2026
The Pitt: One hospital, one hour, one hell of a show
Noah Wyle is exceptional in the best medical drama for years
Read the full article23 March 2026
To Trump, Iran isn’t war – it’s showbiz
More than 1,300 dead, up to 3.2m Iranians displaced, shockwaves through the world economy - and the president is having the time of his life
Read the full article21 March 2026
The chaotic magic of Rebecca Lucy Taylor
The singer also known as Self Esteem is phenomenal as she follows revival in a revival of David Hare’s Teeth ’n’ Smiles
Read the full article