"Death of a Unicorn" - Review

Corporate lawyer Elliott (Paul Rudd, ever reliable) has recently been widowed and immerses himself in his work. He is invited to a corporate retreat at the Leopold Estate, owned by his bosses at a pharmaceutical giant, alongside his morose vaping daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega, always welcome) so as to assess his potential as executor of their estates. Along the way, the pair hit a unicorn with their car. In trying to hide the body, father and daughter become wrapped up in their own strained-relationship, the ambitions of head of Elliott's boss Odell Leopold (Richard E Grant, hell yes) and an ever escalating unicorn problem on the property as vengeful parents seek their spawn.

This really should have worked when embracing the madness of its concept, and indeed there are parts of the satirical part which do (the unicorns showing more care for their spawn than the Leopold clan; Will Poulter who steals the show as their idiot son, snorting unicorn horn like cocaine and having visions of the future; and the plot essentially being capitalists brutalising and slicing up the remains of something wonderful in order to secure more profit); however its lack of focus means most things do not land as well as they should. The father-daughter relationship of Rudd and Ortega lacks the pathos and warmth it needs, and the humourous parts are too infrequent to make up for the lesser scares and tension building. It's fine as is, but could have been a lot worse. I prefer a swing and a miss than generically competent.

"The Lesson" - Review

Liam Sommers (Daryl McCormack) is an aspiring novelist hired to be the tutor to young Bertie Sinclair (Stephen McMillan), the son of esteemed novelist J.M Sinclair (Richard E Grant at his most Richard E Grant), of whom Liam is an enormous fan. Settling into his enormous house with Sinclair's French wife Helene (the treasure Julie Delpy) and their guarded butler Ellis (Crispin Letts), Sommers is both the pupil and mentor when it comes to how to write...

A 3 or 4 hander, very much a slow burn, it feels like a stage play were it not for Alice Troughton (known primarily for her television work, particularly with Russell T Davies) and her long, sometimes experimental shots. It largely works, and feels exceedingly 90s and European in a good way. Delpy is always welcome, and Grant is always great. I was expecting the whole thing to get gory or properly nuts, but it still kind of works.
Side note: off the back of this and "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande" (which is fantastic, by the way) I am convinced that Daryl McCormack is on a mission to only do movies where he sleeps with esteemed older actresses. Based. I'm all for it.