Features – ROUGH CUT

New Cinephilia: The Rise and Rise of A24

Rhea Thomas dives deep into the independent US studio’s cleverly constructed public image, from ‘Midsommar’ merch to the reinvention of Robert Pattinson.

Features, Melbourne International Film Festival

‘Ema’ and the Explosive Composite of the Dance Film

Pablo Larraín’s latest film is a metaphysical exploration that gives into the domination, submission and total openness of the senses.

Features, Melbourne International Film Festival

Lessons in Tenderness from ‘First Cow’

Kelly Reichardt’s quiet film offers examples of kindness amongst the exploited.

Features, Melbourne International Film Festival

The Slippery Substance of ‘Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets’

Matilda Dorman deciphers the hollow political and social resonances that lie with a quasi-fictional film about a bar on closing night.

You Tried: Uma Thurman in ‘Batman and Robin’

Thurman is the sole performer in this goofy BatFilm to not only perfectly reflect Schumacher’s weightless camp, but to enrich it.

Sketch & Study, Sydney Film Festival

Sketch & Study: ‘A Year Full of Drama’

Marta Pulk documents a teen’s shifting sense of self, as she is tasked with watching 224 plays in 365 days.

Features, We Are One: A Global Film Festival

Fantasy and Loneliness in ‘Tremble All You Want’

Curated by Tokyo International Film Festival, Akiko Ohku’s 2017 comic romance deftly explores the dangers of idolising relationships when it halts an engagement with real-life.

The True Apocalypse Trilogy

Rory Doherty looks at three films set before, during and after apocalypses, and uncovers how they reveal the strain global catastrophes can have on human life.

Sketch & Study: ‘Under the Skin’

Jonathan Glazer taps into the poetic potential of cinema, bringing an original and alternative cinematic vision to life.

Real, From the Heart

Reflections on the enduring power of one scene from John Cassavetes’ ‘Husbands’.

Sketch & Study: ‘Uncut Gems’

The last thing you should try to do when watching the Sadfies’ latest film is surface for air.

Cinemascopes, Features

Cinemascopes: Pisces

A time of heightened sensitivity, mystical intuition, and death.

You Tried: Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Joker’

Is it just me, or are things getting crazier out there this awards season?

Features, Hyperlinks Film Festival

The Cyber-Chaos of ‘0s & 1s’

Eugene Kotlyarenko’s proto-desktop film details life on the precipice of total internet poisoning.

Features, Hyperlinks Film Festival

Stuck Between Presence & Absence: ‘Demonlover’ and ‘Mating’

Two films from Static Vision’s Hyperlinks Film Festival explore the type of connections that flow from relational forcefields both online and IRL.

Cinemascopes: Aquarius

Trip out, detach (with intention), and change the world.

Features, Hyperlinks Film Festival

Those Grey Men in ‘Leave the Bus Through the Broken Window’

A winding trip through Hong Kong’s art world digs at the cryptic muddle of art.

‘The Lighthouse’ in Three Parts

Isolation, repression, two bodies, and a lingering stench.

The Unexceptional Hero in ‘A Hidden Life’

Terrence Malick’s latest opus brings to the fore the unconventional heroism of ordinary people.

Tactile Affects in ‘J’ai Perdu Mon Corps’ (‘I Lost My Body’)

After watching Jeremy Clapin’s new film in a Parisian theatre, Lauren Ironmonger reflects on the incorporeal power of touch.

‘Little Women’, ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’, and the Significance of Materiality

Indigo Bailey admires Céline Sciamma and Greta Gerwig’s visions of female artistry – of something tangible, intimate, and real.

What Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ Tells Us About Film In 2019

Elroy Rosenberg spotlights Scorsese’s creative ambition in the midst of 2019’s slick, focus-group filmmaking.

You Tried: Richard E. Grant in ‘Spice World’

Grant’s highly-strung manager nearly turns a 90s cinematic wannabe into girl group gold.

Cinemascopes: Capricorn

These glamorous GOATs are already married – to their work.

Star Wars Should’ve Let the Past Die

Madeleine McRae interrogates blockbuster filmmaking through the legacy of Star Wars and reckons with its Disneyfied future.

Let’s Fix ‘Cats’!

Eliza Janssen knows how to make 2019’s biggest critical failure less of a cat-astrophe.

Rough Cut’s Best of the Decade (2010-2019)

To mark the end of the decade, the Rough Cut crew reveal their favourite films of the 2010s.

Pedro Almodóvar and Quentin Tarantino: A Tale of Two Directors

Bina Bhattacharya reflects on two of her favourite directors’ latest films, and finds unlikely parallels between their filmmaking styles.

Yesterday Is Gone: Sondheim in ‘Marriage Story’ and ‘Lady Bird’

The music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim mean something to both Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig – Claire White figures it out.

Cinemascopes: Sagittarius

They’re breathtaking, they’re elegant, and they’re everywhere.

Disney Princesses and the Women Who Made Them

Tansy Gardam searches for a fairytale ending in Disney’s first century of female animators and characters.

A Reflection on Pain and Glory

Sophie Gibson ponders Pedro Almodóvar’s latest in a series of gentle and personal reflections.

Cinemascopes: Scorpio

It’s the spookiest, sexiest, silliest time of the year.

Why The Boss Still Works

In the past year, Bruce Springsteen’s music has been the subject of four films ― what is it about The Boss that still resonates with audiences today?

Guide to The Great Astor Spooktacular of 2019

From psychosexual body-horror filth to satanic panic frights, Jamie Tram steps through the line-up of Melbourne’s most anticipated Halloween filmgoing event.

Video Essay: Big Duck Richie

A celebration of those times when a guy just comes into your workplace and dances.

Ride Like a Girl is an Affront to Feminism

Rachel Griffiths’ Melbourne Cup biopic ignores the cruelty through which its female protagonist achieves her so-called ‘success’.

Pubic Hair and Other Lies: The Farewell

Amidst the noise of diversity and representation discourse, filmmaker Hyun Lee reflects on why she loved The Farewell.

Cinemascopes: Libra

Keep your ego in check, and stand up for your beliefs (if you can decide on them).

Cinemascopes: Virgo

Get organised, team up, and listen to your instincts this season.

Video Essay: Hae-Mi Monroe

Ivana Brehas presents a side-by-side comparison of two pivotal dance scenes from Burning (2018) and The Misfits (1961), finding parallels between characters decades and continents apart.

Features, Melbourne International Film Festival

And Then We Danced: A Facebook Chat

Claire White and George Kapaklis reflect on the highlights of a tender, queer love story set in Georgia.

Features, Melbourne International Film Festival

Baby, or The Politics of Performance and Pain

Kai Perrignon challenges the state of political art in the age of cancel culture.

Cinemascopes: Leo

The sun is in Leo, so get glowing and dress the part.

Huge Ackman: The Curious Case of Hugh Jackman’s Career

Sam Twyford-Moore delves beneath the shiny surface of one of Australia’s most beloved yet ‘bifurcated’ entertainers.

Features, Melbourne International Film Festival

Melbourne International Film Festival 2019: Top Picks

The Rough Cut team pick out the weird, the compelling, and the essential out of this year’s 375-strong MIFF catalogue.

Scarlett Johansson: A Tree is Born

André and Jack unpack ScarJo’s tree-related acting catalogue, past, present, and future.

Parasite: A Group Chat

Rough Cut contributors, Zach, Michael, and Claire discuss this year’s witty, biting, and wildly unpredictable Palme d’Or winner.

Features, Sydney Film Festival

Populism Projected in The Brink and Reason

Faraaz Rahman examines truth and accountability in two documentaries charting the rise of populism.

Mother Knows Best: I Am Mother, and Searching For Non-Sexualised AI

The AI at the heart of Netflix’s latest sci-fi plunge opens up provoking questions of femininity and motherhood.