Ellie Goulding, Robin Hood, and The Gentlemen: The best things to do, hear, see or watch in Europe this week
Among this week's highlights are A24's dark and violent take on Robin Hood, Ellie Goulding's new album, and the return of Guy Ritchie's stylish gangster series.
At first glance, the themes of this week's recommendations might seem a bit... bleak.
We have an exhibition on death, a movie about violence, a TV series about organised crime, and an album about the perils of knowing too much — but on the flip side, there's also beautiful Columbian art, energising synths, and Ray Winstone looking dapper. Everything in balance!
And September is all about balance; curling up with a good book or movie now just as enticing as embracing the last of the summer sun.
As a bonus addition to the below, don't forget to check out our underrated albums list too — it's filled with some amazing suggestions from our team and (hopefully) not as controversial as our overrated albums proved!
Until next time, here are our recommendations.
Where: White Cube (London, UK)
The vivid art of the late Columbian painter Emma Reyes is striking to behold — and finally getting its first solo presentation in the UK. Notable for their distinct latin American qualities, Reyes drew inspiration from her cultural heritage and traditions, with a particular affinity for faces and flora. Textured with colour, lines, and repeating patterns, many of her works appear almost hallucinogenic; subjects so bright and hypnotic, they seem to swallow your vision. Some of the best examples of this, curated from her almost six decade-long career, form the White Cube's new retrospective and provide a focused exploration of an artist many might not have previously heard of.
Bonus highlight: ‘The Sun and The Moon: Art Inspired by the Celestial’ is entering its final week at London's Saatchi Gallery. Find out more here.
When: 2 September
A dark reimagining of a mythical outlaw, The Death of Robin Hood turns its titular character (played by Hugh Jackman) into a tortured soul consumed by rage and bitterness. So.. not quite the philanthropic hero that legend later turned him into. After becoming dangerously wounded, Robin seeks refuge at a priory run by a kind nun (Jodie Comer) — and begins a reckoning with the evil deeds of his past. The latest film from indie studio A24, it's a bleak character study that contemplates the cost of violence.
Bonus highlight: The last of Europe's big three film festivals begins this week, with the 83rd Venice Film Festival running from the 2 - 12 September. Find out more about the line-up here.
Guy Ritchie's hit gangster series — a spin-off from his 2019 movie of the same name — returns after an almost two and a half year hiatus. It follows Eddie Horniman (Theo James), who previously inherited his father's estate — and the criminal enterprise attached to it. Quickly sucked in to a world of organised crime via the intimidating charm of drug baron Bobby Glass (Ray Winstone), societal worlds collide, and Eddie finds himself navigating the knotty networks of a volatile underworld. Both funny and tense, Ritchie's trademark dark British humour and glossy violence — along with a stellar cast — make this a thoroughly enjoyable watch.
Bonus highlight: The fourth season of Netflix's crime drama anthology series, Monster, tells the story of Lizzie Borden — a woman accused and acquitted of axe murdering her father and stepmother in 1892. Available to stream from 5 September.
Yenibakis-Culture