Loves Labours Watched

Loves Labours Watched goes virtual with our first social-distancing episode! Join us as we chat to one another from afar and call up bestselling author Holly Bourne! Holly talks to LLW about her fantastic new novel Pretending, which delves deep into complicated truths about modern life, love and dating apps. Holly also discusses her frustrations with the concept of "women's fiction", why she writes so candidly, plus, why she's loving Netflix's Love is Blind.

Meanwhile, Helena's rewatched Disney's Robin Hood(the one with the suspiciously hot cartoon fox) while Francesca is seeking refuge from the world in Kleinfeld's Bridal store via Say Yes to the Dress. We're also both getting excited about Hollie Rubenhold's The Five.

TW: Please note that Pretending deals with issues surrounding trauma and sexual violence. If you want to avoid any reference to this content, skip the first half of the episode. Lots of love and we hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!

This week we're chatting about new movie Misbehaviour, directed by Philippa Lowthorpe and starring three of our favourite actors: Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jessie Buckley. This British film is based on the real life events of the 1970 Miss World Contest, where the newly-formed Women's Liberation Movement disrupted proceedings, while Jennifer Hosten, Miss Grenada, was crowned the first black Miss World winner. We were so excited to sit down with director Philippa Lowthorpe and discuss her role bringing this true life story to the big screen. The three of us fangirled about Little Women, talked about the importance of intersectionality on screen, the transformative power of clothing and why women want to see their stories reflected in film.

Later, Helena fills us in about her experience finally watching Netflix's Sex Education, and Francesca has some thoughts on musical classic Les Miserables. Enjoy!

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! This week we're discussing Celine Sciamma's new film Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a breathtaking cinematic portrayal of a love affair between a painter and her subject in 18th century France. Find out why we were totally enthralled by the movie's contemporary feel, striking cinematography and exploration of the roles and interior lives of women, plus why it reminded us of two of our faves: Call Me By Your Name and God's Own Country. Spoiler alert, we do discuss the plot of this film in detail, so if you've not seen it yet, head to the cinema ASAP and bookmark our discussion for right after!

Later, we discuss Parasite, Snowpiercer and why Helena's found herself returning to Outlander, despite some misgivings.

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! This week we debrief the 2020 Oscars, from the films to the fashion (Timothee Chalamet, as always, making an appearance!) and chat all about Autumn de Wilde's new adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel Emma, starring Anya Taylor Joy and Johnny Flynn. We absolutely loved it, in case it's not obvious!

Thanks for listening and, as always, connect with us on Twitter and Instagram for outside of podcast chat and updates!

Welcome back to Love's Labours Watched! It's a new year and (somewhat) new us, as we kickstart our new bi-weekly episode schedule with a discussion of Greta Gerwig's 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. We discuss the two-stranded narrative structure, the Oscar-nominated performances, the modern themes of money, female agency and what really happened in the end...

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! On the back of the announcement of Stranger Things 4 by Netflix this week we're talking all about Stranger Things 3, what we loved so much about it, and the continuous battle in our hearts between Steve and Jonathan. Jokes we love Max really.

We also chat about Margaret Atwood's recently released book The Testaments, and the cultural and political currents surrounding it, and what we've been interested in and looking forward to. Thanks for listening, give us a share if you like it!

LLW: Poldark Season 5 and Interview with Kerri McLean by Loves Labours Watched

We absolutely devoured The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary and absolutely adored chatting to Beth about her wonderful, funny, heartwarming and romantic debut novel. Beth spoke to us about the inspiration behind the book, crazy London flat share scenarios and writing a romantic comedy that felt real. There are minor spoilers for the book, so if you’d rather go in fresh, we recommend reading first! We also discuss everything we’ve been enjoying recently, from Seth Rogen movie Long Shot to moving novel An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. Enjoy!

Welcome to Loves Labours Watched! This week we're so excited to be talking to author Madeline Miller, author of recent novel Circe, which has been longlisted for the 2019 Women's Prize. We chat all about Circe, plus Madeline’s first novel The Song of Achilles. We also discuss her writing process, her favourite books, women’s role in the modern and ancient world, retelling classic stories and the power of recentering narratives. We had such a great time and hope you enjoy the conversation too!

Welcome back to Loves Labours Watched! This week on the show, we have a special guest - Emma Morgan, author of new novel A Love Story for Bewildered Girls. We chat to Emma all about her book and its themes of modern love, female friendships and family. We're also talking about Netflix's new dating show Dating Around, in which one New Yorker goes on five identical dates wearing the exact same outfit...enjoy!