Sara Sugarman’s “Save the Cinema”

Save the Cinema (2022)

Samantha Morton sparkles beyond the limits of this sugary, sentimental melodrama telling the true story of a hairdresser’s campaign to save her local cinema from property developers

Pantomime Hallmark sentimentality with an astounding array of talent is less than the sum of its parts which would have benefitted from toning down the dewy-eyed gloss, instrusive sappy music and flat cinematography. With great actors led by Samantha Morton including Jonathan Pryce, Adeel Akhtar, Tom Felton, Colm Meaney and Rhod Gilbert, it defies logic how such an interesting true story turned into this. Morton is great as always but it’s like seeing a bird in a cage made of banality or a diamond set in a plastic tiara.

If you feel compelled to watch, consider getting drunk or high beforehand (preferably both) and hit the hard stuff. You’ll thank me.