David Parkinson

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Empire
For 400 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 39% higher than the average critic
  • 4% same as the average critic
  • 57% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 7.3 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

David Parkinson's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 73
Highest review score: 100 Sansho the Bailiff
Lowest review score: 40 Tommy's Honour
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 239 out of 400
  2. Mixed: 161 out of 400
  3. Negative: 0 out of 400
400 movie reviews
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    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Lovely Rita (2001)
    As with a number of arthouse films, the ending leaves something to be desired. But, courtesy of its meticulously mundane digital imagery, this is a film of precise details that sketches an outline of existence and then leaves it to the audience to draw their own conclusions.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    The Taste of Things
    Dramatically, this may seem slight. But bounteous pleasures lie in the intimacy of the acting and in the exquisite cinematic and culinary craftmanship on display.
    • 86 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Fallen Leaves
    Drolly scripted, impeccably designed and photographed, and played to succinct perfection, this may only be a slender drama, but it's also a cherishable summation of what makes Aki Kaurismäki special.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Pamfir
    Visually striking and explosively violent, this simmering parable makes exceptional use of its rustic locations — and the faces of a vibrant cast — to reinforce a sense of authenticity.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    More Than Ever
    An affecting reflection on the loneliness we will all have to face at our end, held together by Vicky Krieps's poised display of unself-pitying despair and liberating acceptance.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Tori and Lokita
    Meticulously controlled, but simmering with a tension that is suffused with fury, this treatise on dignity and depravity, aspiration and apathy is the Dardennes at their most accusatory and damning.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Both Sides of the Blade
    Despite the almost caricatural Frenchness of the premise, this is a superbly acted and intricately directed drama that makes a virtue of its very human feelings and follies.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Murina
    Showing how paradise can be hell, this audiovisual treat is spiritedly played by its leads and bristles with a brooding menace that can't quite disguise the story's essentially melodramatic nature.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Europa
    Filmed over 13 days in Tuscany and based on genuine Balkan Route testimony, this is an innovative, immersive insight into the migration crisis that also reveals much about human depravity.
    • 96 Metascore
    • 100 David Parkinson
    Sansho the Bailiff
    Moving and atmospheric, this quest tale is among the best of its kind.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Gunda
    Full of fascinating behavioural insights and moments that are both hilarious and adorable, this studied treatise on the personality and emotionality of domestic animals should provide plentiful food for thought.
    • 97 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Quo Vadis, Aida?
    This study in chaos and calculation not only makes for harrowingly compelling viewing, but it also exposes the apathy of an international community that simply turned the other way.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Rojo
    With each subplot reinforcing the simmering sense of unease, this compelling recreation of a pernicious period soberingly exposes the ease with which morality can become a casualty of human nature.
    • 82 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Maiden
    Instructive, insightful and inspiring, Maiden is a rousingly riveting record of a remarkable accomplishment that says as much about British bloody-mindedness as it does about feminist fortitude and underdog pluck.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    The House by the Sea
    Challenging the truism that you can never go home, this doesn't entirely integrate its political subtext. But the storylines are involving, the setting is picturesque and the performances are impeccable.
    • 93 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Shoplifters
    The spirits of the old masters pervade this disquieting but deeply moving drama. But Kore-eda stands alone as the chronicler of family life in a country facing an identity crisis.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Mirai
    Tempering its flights of fancy with moments of whimsical humour and kid’s-eye realism, this thoughtful treatise on growing pains reveals a realist side of Japanimation that’s all too rarely seen.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    The Guilty
    Echoes of Dog Day Afternoon and Locke reverberate around this claustrophobic thriller, which is tautly plotted, precisely paced and grippingly played by Jakob Cedergren and his unseen co-stars.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Dogman
    Abetted by Nicolaj Brüel's prowlingly ominous camerawork and Dimitri Capuani's soul-destroying interiors, Garrone proves once again that even the lowest-rung southern Italian gangster can't afford a shred of human decency.
    • 94 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Faces Places
    Whether rediscovering La France périphérique or hurtling through the Louvre, Varda and JR make a surprisingly empathetic team and their collaboration is as provocative as it is poetic and poignant.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Summer 1993
    Impeccably performed by its young leads and nurturing supporting cast, this deeply personal picture particularly impresses in the closing scenes, which are quietly devastating in their intimacy, insight and truth.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Jeune Femme (Montparnasse Bienvenüe)
    Thrillingly capturing both time and place and fizzing with non-judgemental empathy and cinematic flair, this is a magnificent debut that catapults Laetitia Dosch into the front rank of French actresses.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Lean on Pete
    Detached, but never dispassionate, this may not be Andrew Haigh's best film. But its slow-burning authenticity suggests a versatility to go with his acuity for credible characters in recognisable situations.
    • 83 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Custody
    Knowingly blending realist grit with generic guile, this unrelentingly tense account of a fragmented family living in constant fear thoroughly merited the Best Director prize at the Venice Film Festival.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    The Square
    Pondering everything from free expression and sexual harassment to bourgeois guilt and migrant rage, this superbly acted saga may not always hit the target. But it unerringly leaves its mark.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Lady Macbeth
    This intelligently scripted and imposingly played costume noir revisits the conventions of Victorian melodrama to comment on modern attitudes to oppression, prejudice and morality.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Graduation
    With the camera placement being as meticulous as the use of Handel on the soundtrack, this impeccably played saga deservedly earned Mungiu a share of the Best Director prize at Cannes.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    I, Olga Hepnarová
    Atmospheric and engrossing, this meticulous recreation of time and place acquires an unsettling contemporary relevance through its analysis of the mindset of a mass murderer with a death wish.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Christine
    Impeccably played by Rebecca Hall, this is a thoughtful reflection on life’s casual cruelties and how little attitudes towards women have changed since Watergate.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 David Parkinson
    Endless Poetry
    Vibrantly recreating a seminal period in Jodorowsky's personal and artistic development, this bullishly played saga has enough quirky detail, audacious incident and visual panache to sweep the storyline through its less persuasive phases.
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