THE GUARDIAN: Though it’s meant to be a one-on-one interview, and government rules prohibit group gatherings, Jessie Buckley has brought along a companion when we meet by the River Lea in London. “This is my bike,” says the Irish actor, proudly presenting a battered turquoise Bridgford that has a malfunctioning bell, clickety spokes and rattling chains. “Sorry about the noise she makes.” As we set off walking along the river path, Buckley, 31, explains that she once paid a cycle mechanic to tighten the nuts and screws, which definitely made it a quieter ride, but also stripped the bike of its character. So she got the mechanic to loosen everything again and has been jingle-jangling around the city since, “like a happy, noisy clown”. Buckley thumbs the bell twice with satisfaction. Ting-ting!

The river path is bustling with activity this afternoon. Geese honk, narrowboaters tend wood fires, and in a car park that borders the water a man stands alone striking golf balls into a bucket. Buckley, dressed in torn jeans and a tightly fitted beret, stomping through puddles in her felty shoes, fits in well with the general chaos and eccentricity of the scene. At one point she falls into conversation with a bearded older man in a T-shirt who staggers by, recognises her County Kerry accent, and wonders (of the beret) why anybody from that lovely part of Ireland would want to “masquerade as a Frenchwoman”. Buckley hoots with laughter. The pair of them wind up exchanging endearments in Irish.

Listening to her chat, I realise that it’s possible to have watched through many hours of Buckley’s consistent and excellent acting work without having met this true Irish persona at all. She played a Glaswegian in her breakthrough film, Wild Rose, in 2018. Afterwards she went gravelly, English and posh in 2019’s Judy. That year she was allowed to do a generalised Irish brogue in the ensemble drama Chernobyl, but her two biggest roles from 2020 (in the TV drama Fargo, and in Charlie Kaufmann’s movie I’m Thinking Of Ending Things) required she go American. Happily, in Buckley’s next bit of work, a filmed version of Romeo & Juliet that was produced by the National Theatre and will soon broadcast on Sky, we get something close to the realer thing – a Kerry-accented Juliet, vital and quirky as Buckley herself, and perfect foil to the English actor Josh O’Connor as a hunched, repressed Romeo.

Keep reading…

          

THE COURIER is a true-life spy thriller, the story of an unassuming British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history. At the behest of the UK’s MI-6 and a CIA operative (Rachel Brosnahan), he forms a covert, dangerous partnership with Soviet officer Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) in an effort to provide crucial intelligence needed to prevent a nuclear confrontation and defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Last Friday, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” debuted on Netflix, which was a critical and public success. Jessie was one of the great highlights of the film, having her acting as Lucy, Louisa, Yvonne… let’s stay with ‘Young Woman‘, widely acclaimed. I can say that the feature film, in addition to opening many doors for Jessie and bringing a lot of recognition to her, is among the best of our favorite actress. It needs, if possible, a prior reading of Ian Reid‘s book or a very open mind so that there are no hasty interpretations and judgments. Finally, check out Jessie’s screen captures in the film in our gallery:

           

In 2014, Jessie starred in the first episode of the second season of the British series Endeavor entitled ‘Trove‘ as Kitty Batten. On the story chapter, four months after DC Endeavor Morse’s involuntary leave of absence, he returns to the force and a case that unites an unidentifiable corpse, an enigmatic note, and the theft of medieval artifacts – seemingly unrelated cases as fractured as Morse’s state of mind after his terrifying brush with death. Check out the screen captures in the gallery:

          

From Academy Award winner Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and based on Iain Reid’s acclaimed novel.

Despite second thoughts about their relationship, a young woman (Jessie Buckley) takes a road trip with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his family farm. Trapped at the farm during a snowstorm with Jake’s mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis), the young woman begins to question the nature of everything she knew or understood about her boyfriend, herself, and the world.

I’ve updated the gallery with Jessie’s screen captures as Jo Robinson in Misbehaviour! The film was released in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2020. Due to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic the film’s theatrical release was cut short and the film was released early to video on demand on 15 April. Fortunately, the film was successful among critics with the following consensus: “Misbehaviour’s overall arc will be familiar to fans of feelgood British cinema — and so will the way it triumphs over formula to tell a thoroughly crowd-pleasing story“.

           

New film Misbehaviour, which stars Keira Knightley, might just change your way of thinking.

Set in 1970, the comedy-drama follows the events of that year’s Miss World competition, which was disrupted by a group of feminist activists who wanted to “overthrow the patriarchy”.

The film is told through the perspectives of members of the Women’s Liberation Movement, the Miss World contestants and the ceremony’s host, Bob Hope (here played by Greg Kinnear).

In an exclusive featurette, the film’s cast reflect upon the importance of the event, which came as the movement began to affect great change to women’s rights throughout the world.

“It was bigger than the World Cup – it was bigger than the Olympics,” Knightley says, with co-star Jessie Buckley adding: “In the 1970s, women weren’t allowed to dream beyond making a cupcake.”

Knightley says that placing the spotlight on such an event will “make you question what you think” regardles of “who you agree or sympathise with”.

For Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who plays Jennifer Hosten – the first woman of colour to win Miss World – it was important for the film to have a crew comprised of women.

“[It has] female writers [Gaby Chiappe, Rebecca Fray]), a female director [Philippa Lowthorpe], all female producers [Suzanne Mackie, Sarah-Jane Wheale] – the female gaze is so strong in this film,” she said.

Misbehaviour arrives in UK cinemas on 13 March.

• Source

Our gallery was updated with Jessie’s screen captures as Queen Victoria in the movie Dolittle. Unfortunately, the film was not successful with critics with the following consensus: “Dolittle may be enough to entertain very young viewers, but they deserve better than this rote adaptation’s jumbled story and stale humor”.