Catherine Wheatley
Catherine Wheatley is a lecturer at Kings College, London and the author of Michael Haneke’s Cinema (Berghahn Books, 2009).
Online articles
Free Men Review
Viewing Occupied Paris through a Muslim prism, Ismaël Ferroukhi’s muted drama is a more contemplative sort of Resistance film, says Catherine Wheatley.
from S&S June 2012
She Monkeys Review
Lisa Aschan’s cryptic fairytale of young womanhood casts its subjects in an uncanny ambience of pale half-light and thick steam. Catherine Wheatley peers quizzically.
from S&S June 2012
Breathing Review
Karl Markovics’ debut study of an institutionalised teenager finding release in mortuary work takes several leaves from the Dardennes’ neorealist playbook. Catherine Wheatley sees muted naturalism turn to the sublime. from S&S May 2012
If Not Us, Who Review
A melancholic addition to the canon of films about Germany’s 1960s radicalism, Andres Veiel’s biopic of lovers Bernward Vesper and Gudrun Ensslin ponders the rivalry of word and deed, says Catherine Wheatley.
from S&S April 2012
We Have a Pope Review
Nanni Moretti’s tragi-comic story of a newly elected pope on the run is no toothless satire of organised religion, says Catherine Wheatley, but a bittersweet portrait of age, fate and fallibility. from S&S January 2012
The films of 2011 Poll
In a strong year for arthouse cinema, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life emerged as the clear winner of the S&S poll of international critics’ best films of 2011, says Nick James. from S&S January 2012
Forgotten pleasures of the multiplex
Survey
Unloved, unlauded but no longer alone: 80 mainstream movies from the past 30 years that were either commercially or critically buried.
from S&S June 2011
Critics’ inspirations Women on film competition
Our female writers offer thumbnail descriptions of their own film-world inspirations.
Web exclusive, April 2011
The films of 2010 Poll
The Social Network and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Remember His Past Lives head our round-up of the films and highlights of the year, as voted by 85 critics and curators. from S&S January 2011
4.3.2.1. Review
Noel Clarke's four-girl British heist caper may be mix-and-match derivative, but Catherine Wheatley admires its cheeky, cheerful charm. from S&S July 2010
The best film books Survey
51 leading critics and writers nominate their top five films books. A clear-cut top five emerges – and film writing may have found its Citizen Kane. from S&S June 2010
The films of 2009 Poll
A Prophet, The Hurt Locker and 35 Shots of Rum lead our favourite releases of the year. Jonathan Romney discerns a French resurgence and an unprecedentedly strong showing by women directors.
from S&S January 2010
Unexpected tenderness Feature
Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or-winner The White Ribbon is a tale of cruelty set in a north German village in 1913. Despite its monochrome austerity, Catherine Wheatley sees hints of a new softness in the director’s work.
from S&S December 2009
Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno Review
from S&S November 2009
Man on Wire Review
from S&S August 2008
The Edge of Heaven Review
from S&S March 2008
Longing Film of the month
Longing probes the fragile nature of happiness and the desires that bubble unbidden beneath seemingly idyllic lives. It’s a reinvention of the Heimat films with the quiet detail of the Dardennes, says Catherine Wheatley.
from S&S June 2007
Into Great Silence Review
from S&S February 2007
The films of 2006 Poll
We asked our regular reviewers to choose five films they were impressed by in 2006. Whether these were the best, their favourite or the most culturally significant was left up to the writers. from S&S January 2007
Secrets, Lies & Videotape Feature
Michael Haneke's Hidden continues his probing of western audiences' guilt at their own privilege. But are the threats we perceive all in the mind, asks Catherine Wheatley.
from S&S February 2006