Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane is a New Yorker staff writer. From 1993 to 2024, he served as a film critic. Before coming to the magazine, he worked at the Independent, in London, where he was appointed deputy literary editor in 1989 and, a year later, a film critic for the Independent on Sunday. In 2001, his reviews received the National Magazine Award for Reviews and Criticism. His writings for The New Yorker are collected in the book “Nobody’s Perfect.”
How “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” Bring Monumental Figures to Life
Christopher Nolan sets the physicist in a swirl of Cold War conspiracy, and Greta Gerwig tries to imbue a story about the doll with a feminist critique of capitalism.
The Extravagant Treats of “Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One”
In the series’ seventh film, Tom Cruise returns to perform stunts of outsized magnificence.
Indiana Jones and the Losing Battle Against Mortality
Flashbacks in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” recall the early days of the franchise, using Harrison Ford’s digitally rejuvenated face to moving effect.
In “Asteroid City,” Humans Can Leave Impact Craters, Too
Emotions are as stylized as clothes in Wes Anderson’s new film, but Scarlett Johansson’s performance, opposite Jason Schwartzman, cracks the movie’s ordered surface open.
Celine Song’s “Past Lives” Is a Calm but Moving Début
This story of childhood friends from Seoul who reunite as adults in New York is less a love story than a meditation on transplantation and transience.
“You Hurt My Feelings” Doesn’t Hurt Enough Feelings
Nicole Holofcener has made a career sharply observing an oversensitive subset of society, but her new film goes surprisingly easy on its troupe of fools.
The Uneventful Success of King Charles’s Coronation
The careful preparation with which every detail had been mapped out in advance is a prerequisite for military maneuvers. A comparable precision had been applied to the minutiae of peace.
“BlackBerry” Tracks a Tech Dream That Died
In contrast to the business triumphalism of Ben Affleck’s “Air,” Matt Johnson’s film shows that a rise and fall is more gripping, and more morally provoking, than pure success.
“Beau Is Afraid” ’s Wearisome Excess
Ari Aster’s Oedipal horror, starring Joaquin Phoenix, is filled with nervous wreckage, and leaves the unsettling sense of having stumbled upon an extended therapy session rather than a film.
The Exhausting History of Fatigue
Having too much to do can be tiring; having nothing to do may be worse.
The Warmth and Weirdness of “Air”
Ben Affleck’s pacy, adept portrayal of Nike’s pursuit of Michael Jordan, co-starring Matt Damon and Viola Davis, kneels at the altar of high capitalism.
The Funny, Forward, and Bracingly Political “Joyland”
The Pakistani director Saim Sadiq’s sensuous film mounts an indictment of misogyny and transphobia without ever lecturing us.
The Thief as Artist in “Inside”
Starring Willem Dafoe as a stranded art thief, Vasilis Katsoupis’s film pushes the heist genre in the direction of performance art.
The 2023 Oscars Were a Vanity Fair
The ceremony was filled with royals, courtiers, fools, a donkey, and a cocaine bear.
“Cocaine Bear” and the Problem of High-Concept Plots
Like “Snakes on a Plane” and “We Bought a Zoo,” Elizabeth Banks’s film provides exactly what the title promises. Then what?
The Phantom Menace of “Knock at the Cabin”
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller abounds in compositional devilry, but the frights don’t leave a lasting impression.
“When You Finish Saving the World” Is Very Jesse Eisenberg
Twitching with the same unease that characterizes his performances, Eisenberg’s directorial début is taut with unhappiness but allows itself to be funny.
An Anatomy of a Murder in “Saint Omer”
Based on an actual case, the first feature by the French documentarian Alice Diop is a troubling story of matricide, racism, and sorcery.
Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” Goes Nowhere, in a Mad Rush
The “La La Land” director’s over-the-top paean to silent Hollywood, starring Margot Robbie as a hopeful actress and Brad Pitt as an affable superstar, amounts to a frenzied scrapbook.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” Is Split by James Cameron’s Contradictory Instincts
In the “Avatar” sequel, Cameron’s two strains—the vegan who wants to plumb the mysteries of nature, and the hard-core weapons guy—are at odds.
How “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” Bring Monumental Figures to Life
Christopher Nolan sets the physicist in a swirl of Cold War conspiracy, and Greta Gerwig tries to imbue a story about the doll with a feminist critique of capitalism.
The Extravagant Treats of “Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One”
In the series’ seventh film, Tom Cruise returns to perform stunts of outsized magnificence.
Indiana Jones and the Losing Battle Against Mortality
Flashbacks in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” recall the early days of the franchise, using Harrison Ford’s digitally rejuvenated face to moving effect.
In “Asteroid City,” Humans Can Leave Impact Craters, Too
Emotions are as stylized as clothes in Wes Anderson’s new film, but Scarlett Johansson’s performance, opposite Jason Schwartzman, cracks the movie’s ordered surface open.
Celine Song’s “Past Lives” Is a Calm but Moving Début
This story of childhood friends from Seoul who reunite as adults in New York is less a love story than a meditation on transplantation and transience.
“You Hurt My Feelings” Doesn’t Hurt Enough Feelings
Nicole Holofcener has made a career sharply observing an oversensitive subset of society, but her new film goes surprisingly easy on its troupe of fools.
The Uneventful Success of King Charles’s Coronation
The careful preparation with which every detail had been mapped out in advance is a prerequisite for military maneuvers. A comparable precision had been applied to the minutiae of peace.
“BlackBerry” Tracks a Tech Dream That Died
In contrast to the business triumphalism of Ben Affleck’s “Air,” Matt Johnson’s film shows that a rise and fall is more gripping, and more morally provoking, than pure success.
“Beau Is Afraid” ’s Wearisome Excess
Ari Aster’s Oedipal horror, starring Joaquin Phoenix, is filled with nervous wreckage, and leaves the unsettling sense of having stumbled upon an extended therapy session rather than a film.
The Exhausting History of Fatigue
Having too much to do can be tiring; having nothing to do may be worse.
The Warmth and Weirdness of “Air”
Ben Affleck’s pacy, adept portrayal of Nike’s pursuit of Michael Jordan, co-starring Matt Damon and Viola Davis, kneels at the altar of high capitalism.
The Funny, Forward, and Bracingly Political “Joyland”
The Pakistani director Saim Sadiq’s sensuous film mounts an indictment of misogyny and transphobia without ever lecturing us.
The Thief as Artist in “Inside”
Starring Willem Dafoe as a stranded art thief, Vasilis Katsoupis’s film pushes the heist genre in the direction of performance art.
The 2023 Oscars Were a Vanity Fair
The ceremony was filled with royals, courtiers, fools, a donkey, and a cocaine bear.
“Cocaine Bear” and the Problem of High-Concept Plots
Like “Snakes on a Plane” and “We Bought a Zoo,” Elizabeth Banks’s film provides exactly what the title promises. Then what?
The Phantom Menace of “Knock at the Cabin”
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller abounds in compositional devilry, but the frights don’t leave a lasting impression.
“When You Finish Saving the World” Is Very Jesse Eisenberg
Twitching with the same unease that characterizes his performances, Eisenberg’s directorial début is taut with unhappiness but allows itself to be funny.
An Anatomy of a Murder in “Saint Omer”
Based on an actual case, the first feature by the French documentarian Alice Diop is a troubling story of matricide, racism, and sorcery.
Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” Goes Nowhere, in a Mad Rush
The “La La Land” director’s over-the-top paean to silent Hollywood, starring Margot Robbie as a hopeful actress and Brad Pitt as an affable superstar, amounts to a frenzied scrapbook.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” Is Split by James Cameron’s Contradictory Instincts
In the “Avatar” sequel, Cameron’s two strains—the vegan who wants to plumb the mysteries of nature, and the hard-core weapons guy—are at odds.