Matthew d’Ancona
21 July 2025
What a big scandal says about small Britain
The Afghan leak cover-up is symptomatic of a crumbling, outmoded state where self-preservation trumps honour
Read the full article19 July 2025
Inter Alia is a remarkable production
Rosamund Pike delivers a quite astonishing performance as a Crown Court Judge wrestling with the legal system's shoddy handling of sexual assault cases
Read the full article16 July 2025
Trump’s private army
He promised to end America’s wars abroad. Instead, he is starting one at home
Read the full article12 July 2025
Too Much is one of the best streaming series you will watch all year
Lena Dunham’s first major television project since Girls is so much more than the romcom it's billed as
Read the full article09 July 2025
Peter Thiel and the Antichrist
A very influential, rich American says the Antichrist has returned. The worst thing is how many people might actually believe him
Read the full article05 July 2025
Grace Pervades proves theatre can be everything
Directed by Jeremy Herrin, David Hare's compelling new play is not only admirably cerebral but profoundly moving
Read the full article01 July 2025
One-year Keir: the man without a why
On the PM’s first anniversary, Britain is still waiting to be told a narrative in which he turns our crises into a shared endeavour, a patriotic adventure
Read the full article28 June 2025
F1 will have you on the edge of your seat
Joseph Kosinski’s F1 is a throwback to the age of the summer blockbuster in which (literally, in this case) the film was a vehicle for a true star
Read the full article23 June 2025
Trump is risking a forever war
An impulsive reign has taken a deadly turn in Iran that could end in years of conflict in the Middle East - and an authoritarian power grab at home
Read the full article21 June 2025
The savage yet mystical 28 Years Later
Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland triumphantly reanimate their dormant franchise
Read the full article18 June 2025
American democracy is on thin ice
The Los Angeles riots highlight how Trump has changed America in so many ways. But one thing he has certainly not done is make it great again
Read the full article14 June 2025
Tornado is exactly the film we've been waiting for
John Maclean's spaghetti western samurai film set in late 18th-century Britain is another example of how the director's eclecticism defies categorisation
Read the full article13 June 2025
Israel strikes as the sheriff leaves town
Trump doesn’t care about the bombing of Iran, or global security. Now Europe must fill the volatile vacuum he has left behind
Read the full article10 June 2025
William F Buckley, the man who put prime time into politics
Before Trump, there was William F Buckley Jr – the reactionary showman who shaped our modern culture wars
Read the full article07 June 2025
Ana de Armas’s new licence to kill
Ballerina is a smart and stylish John Wick universe detour that weaponises grace
Read the full article04 June 2025
Trump’s war against the law
It’s high noon for American democracy. Can the Supreme Court hold the line against MAGA’s madness?
Read the full article31 May 2025
Mountainhead is a whip-smart dystopian comedy
Jesse Armstrong’s return as writer and director of this feature-length drama has been giddily anticipated. And it does not disappoint
Read the full article28 May 2025
Trump and Putin, the accidental founders of modern Europe
If the continent wants to survive, it has to adopt new fresh and bold thinking
Read the full article24 May 2025
The Phoenician Scheme, a gem of a film
Wes Anderson's latest project immerses us, once again, in his surreal but sincere emotional universe
Read the full article20 May 2025
The plot to fool America
It’s possible to feel the deepest sympathy for Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis and still be appalled by the cover-up of his cognitive decline
Read the full article17 May 2025
Why you must see The Fifth Step
Jack Lowden and Martin Freeman are whip-smart in this theatrical display of profundity, humour and compassion
Read the full article13 May 2025
The Tories are dead
A toxic and debased brand may be still in denial, but the only vital signs on the right are now with Reform
Read the full article10 May 2025
Riefenstahl is forensic film-making at its very best
Andres Veiel’s magnificent documentary lets Riefenstahl, in her interviews, recordings and archived files, speak for herself
Read the full article07 May 2025
The populist war on law
From El Salvador to Greater Lincolnshire via the White House, populists want to sweep aside the criminal justice system as we know it
Read the full article03 May 2025
Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road is truly unmissable
This stunning exhibition is the first London show dedicated to Utagawa Hiroshige’s prolific creativity in more than 25 years
Read the full article29 April 2025
Welcome home to Gilead
In a world reordered by Trump, The Handmaid’s Tale is now more relevant than Nineteen Eighty-Four
Read the full article26 April 2025
The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes and the questions the Met left unanswered
To this day, the family of de Menezes has received no true justice for his killing
Read the full article21 April 2025
A very British victory for women
The fundamental error in the case that led to the Supreme Court ruling was one of wilful blindness: the refusal of trans rights activists to acknowledge that there were two vulnerable groups involved in this controversy
Read the full article19 April 2025
Sinners is much more than a grisly vampire movie
At its heart of this film is the megawatt screen charisma of Michael B Jordan and a deep appreciation of the blues
Read the full article12 April 2025
Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus, and the importance of forgetting
Uberto Pasolini’s new film adaptation of the Odyssey is a psychological exploration of trauma in a world where the gods are absent
Read the full article08 April 2025
The Beatles vs Andrew Tate
One of the Beatles’ great gifts was to reconcile masculinity with emotional intelligence
Read the full article05 April 2025
Review: How Four Mothers connects generational divides
Directed by Darren Thornton and co-written by his brother Colin, Four Mothers is more ambitious than a gentle drama
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