In this episode, Alex Heeney digs into Celine Song's Materialists, a film about Lucy, a matchmaker struggling with her own love triangle. Will Lucy (Dakota Johnson) choose love — in the form of her poor ex John (Chris Evans) — or money with eligible bachelor Harry (Pedro Pascal)? And can love and money even co-exist?

With its charming cast, elegant blocking, and standout sound design, Materialists could have been a sharp, class-conscious rom-com.

But for all its promise, it ends up skimming the surface.

You will hear:

• What works well in the film, including the visual storytelling and sound design

• Where the film struggles, especially with its thin characterization and reluctance to fully engage with class and money

• Comparisons with other works, such as Gossip Girl (2007–2012) and Patricia Rozema's Mansfield Park (1999), that tackle similar themes with more depth

🎟️ Reel Ruminators: http://seventh-row.com/reelruminators

🎥 Guide to One of the Best Films of 2024: seventh-row.com/guide

📚 Kelly Reichardt ebook: http://reichardtbook.com

💡Lindsay Pugh on Materialists

Ep 137: Luca Guadagnino's Challengers

TIFF 2024 Ep 7: Luca Guadagnino's Queer

Ep. 172 and 173: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life — a film that delivers more fully on the promise of a smart, satisfying modern rom-com.

Join me (Alex Heeney) on a journey through three films I programmed inside Reel Ruminators — a British political thriller, an Indigenous Canadian documentary, and a queer South African drama — and discover how their contrasts actually illuminate one another.

By the end of this episode, you'll see how exploring differences between films can reshape your own viewing of film as an art form.

• Hidden threads connecting three very different films—and how noticing those threads can deepen your own film palate.

• Time as a storytelling tool in cinema: why stretching or compressing time matters, and how you can see it in action.

• Imagining "an otherwise": an academic concept—one I first encountered through queer cinema—that helps you consider films about marginalized lives in a new light and uncover new layers of meaning.

• Tiny moments, lasting impact: why just a few minutes of film can carry immense emotional weight—and stick with you long after the credits roll.

• Sneak peek at upcoming picks: what's on deck next inside Reel Ruminators and the threads you might spot in hindsight.

Links & Mentions:

• 🎬 Join Reel Ruminators

• 🎁 Free companion guide to one of 2024's best films

Now best known for its stunt-heavy sequels, Mission: Impossible began as a Brian De Palma thriller about surveillance, performance, and how what you see isn't always the whole story.

In this episode, we get into:

• How the opening scene teaches you how to watch the film

• What makes the writing in this film sing

• Why the production design is more than just stylish — it's integral to the storytelling

• What costumes, props, and performances reveal about character

• The crackling chemistry of a cast that brings texture to even the smallest roles

• How the film's set pieces are more than just excuses for impressive stunts

💌Get the FREE companion viewing guide: Discover one of the best films of 2024, a different kind of genre film from the other side of the world

💬 Enjoy digging into filmmaking details like this? That's one of the things we do inside Reel Ruminators — a space for curious film lovers to explore great movies together, spark insights, and deepen your appreciation of film craft.

Join by June 2, and you'll get access to May's featured film and the close readings we did together — perfect if you want more of the kind of scene-level analysis you heard in this episode.

👉 Click here to join Reel Ruminators

✍️ More on cinematic structure and craft at Seventh Row

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is one of the best films of 2025. In this episode, Alex Heeney zooms in on its beginning and ending scenes to show how they set up and pay off the film's emotional arc.

From the start, you know you're in a warm, fun place (with a touch of sadness); by the end, you land on a romantic high the film truly earns.

Alex unpacks how choices from structure to song lyrics to blocking work together to deliver that strong emotional payoff.

🎧 Full breakdown of the film: Episode 172

💌Get the FREE companion guide to one an under-the-radar gem from 2024

💬 Enjoy digging into filmmaking details like this? That's one of the things we do inside Reel Ruminators — a space for curious film lovers to explore great movies together, spark insights, and deepen your appreciation of film craft.

Join by June 2, and you'll get access to May's featured film and the close readings we did together — perfect if you want more of the kind of scene-level analysis you heard in this episode.

👉 Click here to join Reel Ruminators

✍️ More on cinematic structure and craft at Seventh Row

Laura Piani's Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is more than just a great rom-com — it's a funny and moving portrait of grief, writer's block, and a woman learning to move forward. Alex Heeney digs into how Agathe's emotional arc is mirrored in the film's structure, how the frame composition is key to the film's humour and storytelling, and how Piani reimagines Jane Austen archetypes for 2025.

🎁 Want more films that linger? Grab my free companion guide to a recent hidden gem — complete with a streaming guide, intro video, and prompts to deepen your viewing.

👉 Get the Guide

Read detailed show notes

The 2025 Cannes Film Festival kicks off today...and the question on everyone's mind is: what will be the great movies?

Mostly, people look to the Cannes Competition (the films that compete for the Palme d'Or) to find the best films. But it's a lesser-known fact that many amazing films screen in the festival's sidebars.

And many of the best films in cinema history have screened in the festival's sidebars. In fact, Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, which was named the greatest film of all time in the 2022 Sight & Sound poll did not screen in competition! It screened in the Directors' Fortnight.

So on today's episode, Alex peels back the curtain on how all the different parts of the Cannes Film Festival work together. And she talks about the amazing films you've heard of (and some you probably haven't) that have screened outside the festival's competition. And she talks about some of the films she's excited for this year.

Finally, Alex talks about some of the films she's excited for in this year's competition, and how they were already making fantastic films years ago that were hiding out in the festival's sidebars.

• Become a Seventh Row Insider to stay updated on the best films at Cannes this year and in past years that you might not otherwise stumble upon
• Interested in picking up Seventh Row's ebooks on Lynne Ramsay, Joachim Trier, Joanna Hogg, Debra Granik, or Céline Sciamma? They're available exclusively on Seventh Row. Peruse our ebooks here
• Listen to the Women at Cannes Podcast Season
• Listen to the Women at Cannes episode on Kelly Reichardt

If you look back on the last year, how many African films have you watched?

And how does this compare to the other international films you've seen from other continents?

Chances are, you're seeing way more films from every other continent than from Africa. That's not your fault. That's how the film industry works.

So on today's episode, Alex talks about why it's so hard to see African films and what you can do if you'd like to add more of them to your cinematic diet.

**Become a Seventh Row insider: http://email.seventh-row.com

**If you'd like to join Reel Ruminators in May to watch an exquisite work of queer South African Cinema, sign up here: http://seventh-row.com/reelruminators

Today on the podcast, Dr. Angelo Muredda joins Alex Heeney to discuss one of the year's best films: David Cronenberg's The Shrouds.

We talk about why The Shrouds is a good entry point if you're new to Cronenberg, but will also please diehard fans. And we discuss how what we love about Cronenberg's films isn't necessarily the selling point you'll often hear.

Yes, he sometimes directs body horror, and he often makes movies about sex and the body. But we also love his films because they're talky chamber dramas with a wry sense of humour and great performances. Plus, Cronenberg has a unique angle on changing bodies, illness, and disability.

**Become a Seventh Row insider: http://email.seventh-row.com

**Purchase access to Angelo's talk "Does this look like a sick man? Disability, aging, and illness in David Cronenberg's The Fly": http://seventh-row.com/thefly

Alex reviews Andrew Ahn's 2025 adaptation of the 1993 film The Wedding Banquet, starring Lily Gladstone, Youn Yuh-jung, and Joan Chen (and many more). The film is about two queer couples who end up conspiring to marry one half of each couple in exchange for a green card and money for IVF treatments.

Alex discusses the film's unexpected delights — including the wonderful, tender sound design and lovely blocking — and how the film thoughtfully updates (and even queers some more) Ang Lee's classic queer rom-com.

**Stay updated on the best under-the-radar films that just might shift your perspective by joining the Seventh Row Newsletter: http://email.seventh-row.com

**Want to join Alex and a group of movie lovers to watch and discuss a Queer African film in May 2025? Join the waitlist for Reel Ruminators: http://seventh-row.com/reel-ruminators

**Want Seventh Row's ebook on Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire? It's available at http://sciammabook.com

Pope Francis died today, which means it will soon be time to elect a new pope. Instead of rewatching Oscar Winner Conclave, Alex recommends catching the delightful Italian comedy We Have a Pope.

On this episode, Alex talks about why watching Conclave made her immediately want to rewatch Nanni Moretti's We Have a Pope, and what Moretti's film has that Conclave lacks.

If Conclave is a film about how everyone wants to be pope, We Have a Pope is a film about a man who has a panic attack as soon as he becomes pope...and then runs away from the Vatican while he has an existential crisis.

**If you want to stay updated on the best new under-the-radar films, become a Seventh Row Insider at http://email.seventh-row.com