TAGGED AS: Cannes Film Festival
Rotten Tomatoes is in the South of France to break down the biggest news, acquisitions, early reactions, and other happenings of the 77th Cannes Film Festival daily. Check back here for ongoing updates, including the premieres of Ari Aster’s Eddington, Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love, and the final installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
Monday, May 19: Likely the only things that could keep lifelong Knicks Fan Spike Lee from every game of their current playoff run are the birth of a child or a film’s premiere. This week, he had to make that hard choice, and cinema thankfully won, which allowed the NYU professor to bring his Kurosawa remake Highest 2 Lowest to Cannes. Possibly the last time we will see Denzel Washington in a Spike Lee Joint, Highest 2 Lowest was a winner with critics. Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com called it “unabashedly epic, fearlessly funny, and proudly Black. Highest 2 Lowest might derive from a Japanese filmmaker. But its soul clearly resides in Lee.” The evening was full of starry and teary moments as Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, and Wendell Pierce were present when Lee presented his longtime friend and collaborator Denzel Washington with an Honorary Palme d’Or.
The other big-name premieres, Alpha and Splitsville, had very different receptions. Splitsville was universally lauded and basked in an 11-minute standing ovation, bringing director Michael Corvino to tears. Elsewhere, Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau took the divisive vibes of the films thus far and said, “Hold my Rosé.” Not to be unexpected from the woman who gave us Raw and Titane, but the ferocity of the divide is noteworthy and eclipses the controversy around Eddington, Die, My Love, or Sirat. Still, the avant-garde tale about a troubled 13-year-old with a mysterious tattoo seems to have pushed the Cannes audiences past the favor they gave a cannibal coming-of-age story and a go-go dancing serial killer thriller. Nicholas Barber of BBC.com wrote, “The issue is that the fictional illness doesn’t shed any new light on its non-fictional counterpart, nor does it expand upon it to build a more resonant and universal myth. The metaphor isn’t a rich one.”
Sunday, May 18: Wes Anderson returns to Cannes with The Phoenician Scheme and mostly positive reviews. Kaleem Aftab for Time Out wrote, “Watching this Anderson extravaganza is like assembling a meticulously detailed puzzle: at times frustrating, but deeply rewarding when the full picture comes together.” In another fashion film highlight, Alexander Skarsgård made heads turn when he sported thigh-high leather boots to celebrate and promote his film Pillion during The Phoenician Scheme Red Carpet.
In Harry Lighton’s debut feature, the Swedish actor plays a brooding biker dom to Harry Melling’s shy submissive with an aptitude for adoration. Playful, graphic, and heartwarming, it is the most tender love story you will find wrapped in that much ink and patent leather. Hannah Strong of Little White Lies wrote, “The boldness, nuance and humour with which Lighton navigates BDSM dynamics as well as Colin and Ray’s personal and joint complexities results in a film that’s frequently touching and surprising.”
Saturday, May 17: Ari Aster’s Eddington continued to be the film on everyone’s lips, as the press conference on day five had more than a few buzzworthy moments, with many going as far as to call the press conference as divisive as the film. However, Aster did a credible job of framing the film for audiences somewhat by sharing his ethos behind it.
In a bit of strange juxtaposition, the other buzzy Eddington news of the day was centered on Pedro Pascal’s bicep-blazing outfit for the photo call, as well as the actor’s impassioned words about the film’s message. Both of these made headlines around the world.
To add a bit more controversy for the day, the Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson-starring Die, My Love also debuted Saturday to mixed reactions but a much stronger Tomatometer. Damon Wise of Deadline wrote, “As maddening as it sometimes can be, with its dream logic and dialogue, it builds on the ideas expressed and genres intuited in all of Lynne Ramsay’s previous films, creating something genuinely new. Still, almost every review agrees that it is possibly Jennifer Lawrence’s best work and all but guarantees late season awards.
Friday, May 16: Ari Aster’s Eddington was easily one of the most anticipated titles of the festival. However, the film received a somewhat divided response, a common refrain for the film and for this edition of the festival. Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com wrote, “[Eddington]’s not just about the divisiveness of 2020; it’s designed to be divisive itself in 2025. To that end, even if you hate it, it’s kind of done its job.” And that is chiefly where the film has remained since it premiered. Many heralded it as a masterpiece, while others were left cold, but one thing cannot be denied: Everyone was talking about it. The film currently sits at 67% on the Tomatometer with 33 reviews, and we will see whether audiences agree or disagree with the critics.
Elsewhere, Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, and the doc Bono: Stories of Surrender both debuted to positive reviews. This apparently shocked Stewart, who joked that she had expected and hoped for folks to come after the film. Still, we think the overwhelming praise will help her deal with the disappointment.
Thursday, May 15: When the third day of the Cannes film festival wrapped, we had our first unanimous rave, our first divisive fave, and more market news shaped to ripple throughout the industry. Our first unanimous rave came from last year’s Palme d’Or winner Sean Baker. Baker, who began his career with the low-budget indie darling Take Out, returns to Cannes and reteams with his Take Out co-director Shih-Ching Tsou. Tsou, who also served as producer on Baker’s Tangerine, Starlet, Red Rocket, and The Florida Project, was met with rapturous raves on her debut solo feature, Left-Handed Girl. Lee Marshall of Screen International wrote, “This is a film that will travel widely — not just because of the Baker stamp of approval. There’s engagement in its energy, its sense of humour, its simmering feminist anger, and the standout performances of three fine leads.”
The first divisive fave came courtesy of Sirat, a film that is so trippy and ambitious it must be experienced, not described. But if you want some details, John Bleasdale from Time Out International wrote, “If you’re down for a trip, Sirat is The Wages of Fear meets The Vanishing on shrooms; startlingly original, jarringly hilarious and deeply disturbing.” Be on the lookout for this one to spark discourse when it hits audiences.
And finally, the news that has a lasting effect on our industry was when Neon announced that they added the Awards Season icon Ryan Werner to their executive team as the head of Global Cinema. As the studio to distribute the last five Palme d’Or winners and two of the last five Best Picture winners, all eyes will be on Neon this week. And adding Werner to their growing team will likely further cement their reign of success.
Wednesday, May 14: On the second day of Cannes, all eyes were on the Palais and the biggest star to grace it this year: Tom Cruise. The day started with a conversation by director Christopher McQuarrie, during which Cruise popped by to heap more praise on his long-time collaborator and director of the last four installments of the franchise.
The eighth Mission: Impossible film was met with mostly positive albeit muted enthusiasm, a five-minute standing ovation, and is already Certified Fresh on the Tomatometer. Following up on Cruise’s last epic trip to Cannes with Top Gun, Maverick would be a tough sell for anyone, even Mr. Mission: Impossible himself. We will have to wait until later this month to see if audiences agree with the critics or not.
Tuesday, May 13: Kicking off the festival on Tuesday was the opening night film Leave One Day, a romantic musical centered on a rising chef Cécile (Juliette Armanet), who is about to fulfill a lifelong ambition of opening her own signature gourmet restaurant in Paris. Though it has received mixed reviews, Ben Croll of Indiewire wrote, “This is an expressly millennial nostalgia play — often endearingly so, if you ask this particular millennial — and one that, in key respects, pines for an already-globalized era.”
In truth, it was a quiet day overall, with most of the highlights coming from the Opening Night ceremony or the few things that had little to do with the films on the screen. The first bit of news of the day came from the Cannes Jury, which is comprised of Jury president Juliette Binoche and members Carlos Reygadas, Payal Kapadia, Dieudo Hamadi, Jeremy Strong, Alba Rohrwacher, Leïla Slimani, Halle Berry, and Hong Sang-soo.
Many in the press questioned the members at the Jury press conference on the political climate around movie-making and potential film tariffs. Jury Member Jeremy Strong went as far as to say, “The truth is under attack,” adding, “The role of films is increasingly crucial in combating these forces.” The other newsworthy moment of day one was the announcement of a ban on large train dresses and nudity. Not an unreasonable request, but the choice to announce the ban so close to the festival was bemoaned by many a fashionable attendee, as many of the models and starlets learned about the ban after they arrived on the Croissette, causing panic and irritation in more than a few fashion houses.
Perhaps the best day one highlight was seeing Quentin Tarantino, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro on stage during the opening ceremony. DiCaprio was on hand to present De Niro with his Honorary Palme d’Or, and Tarantino opened the festival ahead of his Cannes Classic program screening of director George Sherman’s work.
