Jennifer Merin

New York

Film Journalist and Critic at Freelance

Film Journalist/Critic @ Cinema Citizen Blog; wEnews; Rio Times. Pres @ Alliance of Women Film Journalists @AWFJ.org; Co-Chair CriticsChoiceDocAwards @ BFCA.

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Articles

MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 18, 2025: THE PRESIDENT’S WIFE

1 week ago | awfj.org | Jennifer Merin

0 Flares 0 Flares × Catherine Deneuve shines as iconic French First Lady Bernadette Chirac in director Léa Domenach’s sly dramedy The President’s Wife. Based in fact but taking plenty of liberties to tell the story of the woman who stoically stood by the side of France’s President Jacques Chirac no matter what blunders or missteps he made, it depicts Madame Bernadette as a canny, crafty strategist who was ultimately far more politically savvy than her notorious husband.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 11, 2025: THE UGLY STEPSISTER

2 weeks ago | awfj.org | Jennifer Merin

0 Flares 0 Flares × The Brothers Grimm by way of the ill-advised early-2000s Fox extreme-makeover show The Swan, Norwegian writer-director Emilie Blichfeldt’s stylish feature debut The Ugly Stepsister is a dark but thought-provoking retelling of the classic Cinderella fairy tale.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 2, 2025: WE WERE DANGEROUS

3 weeks ago | awfj.org | Jennifer Merin

0 Flares 0 Flares × Forced against their will to “Christianize, civilize, and assimilate” in a strict New Zealand reform school in the 1950s, three teenage girls refuse to accept a fate that’s been pre-determined for them in director Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu’s rousing feature debut We Were Dangerous. The girls’ stirring story — and the movie’s strong themes of friendship, hope, and self-determination — ensure that the 2024 SXSW Special Jury Award winner resonates powerfully.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 4, 2025: WE WERE DANGEROUS

3 weeks ago | awfj.org | Jennifer Merin

0 Flares 0 Flares × Forced against their will to “Christianize, civilize, and assimilate” in a strict New Zealand reform school in the 1950s, three teenage girls refuse to accept a fate that’s been pre-determined for them in director Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu’s rousing feature debut We Were Dangerous. The girls’ stirring story — and the movie’s strong themes of friendship, hope, and self-determination — ensure that the 2024 SXSW Special Jury Award winner resonates powerfully.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 28, 2025: MERKEL

1 month ago | awfj.org | Jennifer Merin

0 Flares 0 Flares × In a time when “broligarchy” is the word of the day, with far-right, male-dominated political parties garnering ever-more-frightening levels of support around the world, Eva Weber’s documentary Merkel is unquestionably worth an hour and a half of your time.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 21, 2025: THE ASSESSMENT

1 month ago | awfj.org | Jennifer Merin

0 Flares 0 Flares × Director Fleur Fortune’s somber sci-fi drama The Assessment puts a bleakly dystopian spin on the old saying that “if you wait for the perfect time to have a baby, you’ll never have one.” With unsettling keenness, it explores the psychological stress that a couple (played by Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel) undergoes while being evaluated for their potential as parents in a world where parenthood is strictly regulated by the government.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 14, 2025: BEING MARIA

1 month ago | awfj.org | Jennifer Merin

0 Flares 0 Flares × The impact of the male gaze on women in film is a subject that’s been documented and debated for decades. But Jessica Palud’s drama Being Maria viscerally reminds us of just how damaging that gaze can be as it tells the true story of Maria Schneider, the young French actress whose career — and life — were derailed by the men who manipulated her while making the controversial classic Last Tango in Paris.
BEING MARIA - Review by Jennifer Merin

1 month ago | awfj.org | Jennifer Merin

0 Flares 0 Flares × Being Maria is a revealing truth-based biopic about the life and career of actress Maria Schneider, whose star ascended when she was just 19, after her daring performance opposite Marlon Brando in Bernardo Bertolucci’s highly controversial film, Last Tango in Paris (1972). Director Jessica Palud’s compelling telling of the story shows how Schneider’s risqué role and the fame that came with it impacted young Maria’s future relationships and repertoire.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK March 7, 2025: THERE’S STILL TOMORROW

1 month ago | awfj.org | Jennifer Merin

0 Flares 0 Flares × Paola Cortellesi proves that she’s a formidable, talented triple threat with There’s Still Tomorrow. As the director, star, and co-writer of this compelling Italian dramedy — the winner of six David di Donatello Awards (the Italian equivalent of the Oscars) — she deftly blends pathos, humor, and social commentary to tell the story of Delia, a long-suffering housewife and mother who’s struggling to get by in post-World War II Rome.
SPOTLIGHT March 2025: Mona Fastvold, Filmmaker, Oscar Contender, THE BRUTALIST

1 month ago | awfj.org | Jennifer Merin

0 Flares 0 Flares × This awards season has brought filmmaker Mona Fastvold newfound fame for her work on The Brutalist, the highly acclaimed, top Oscar contender for which she is credited as screenwriter, along with her writing and life partner Brady Corbet, who also directed the film.