Executioner review – sleazy MP hams it up with sex worker in darkly comic blackmail thriller

Based on actor-director Peter Benedict’s own play this tiny-budget thriller has the feel of a stagey recording as the double-crosses pile up higher than an MP’s promises The fictional shadow cabinet minister at the centre of this darkly comic blackmail thriller is offended when the male prostitute he has hired describes his reputation as “colourful”. Colourful MPs support bloodsports and wear bow ties, he says; he prefers the term “maverick”. It’s never said out loud, but clearly he sits on the right in political terms; you can tell from the sneer in his voice as he utters the word “proletariat”. Executioner is adapted by Peter Benedict from his play Deadlock, with a staginess that feels a bit much for the screen. Benedict also co-directs and stars as the MP, called Robert Marlowe, giving a lip-smacking performance that makes Hannibal Lecter look like a character from kitchen sink realism. The entire film is set in the basement studio of Marlowe’s country pile, where he dabbles in pott...

Julia Roberts clarifies why she hasn’t been in a rom-com for 20 years

The Pretty Woman star admitted that she is rarely offered scripts of a decent level. In an interview with New York Times Magazine, Julia Roberts explained why the last 20 years have switched from romantic comedies like Pretty Woman and Notting Hill to dramas like Bringing Ben Back and Gaslit. According to the Oscar-winning actress, she always wants to do something else, not what she is doing at the moment. "When I'm doing a comedy, I think how good it would be to just sit at the table with a cup of tea and sob over something. Then I do it and think: "I wish I could laugh in a beautiful dress now!" Roberts also noted that she rarely comes across worthy comedy scripts. "If I read a Notting Hill-level script or something as wildly hilarious as Best Friend's Wedding, I would." Julia Roberts' last notable role in a romantic comedy was Kiki in America's Darling. Subsequently, the actress appeared in "Valentine's Day" by Garry Marshall and his "Horrible Ladies, "but in minor roles. According to the actress, in addition to the high requirements for the material, her work and choice of roles were also influenced by the presence of three children. Roberts cited Ol Parker's Ticket to Heaven as the first worthwhile screenplay in 20 years. "But even then, I thought: "Catastrophe! It will only work if George Clooney is in the picture ." Somehow, George thought it would only work if I was in the picture." Thus, everything coincided, and in October 2022, the romantic comedy "Ticket to Heaven" will be released, where Roberts and Clooney played ex-spouses who go to Bali to prevent their daughter from "making the same mistake they made 25 years ago".

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