The plot follows Dot, a very pleasant homemaker living in Minnesota but after a fracas at a school board meeting where she genuinely accidentally assaults a cop she is arrested. While she is soon out on bail Dot is very antsy about being arrested. Days later she is kidnapped, or at least attempted to be. It turns out, that Dot has not always been Dot but used to be Nadine, married to Roy Tillman, a sheriff in a nearby county and an absolute maniac. Roy is corrupt, violent and puffed up with religious zealotry. Nadine escaped this terrible man and became Dot, meeting a very gentle and kind man, marrying him and having a child, Scotty. Alongside these central characters, we have Dot’s husband Wayne Lyon, her mother-in-law Lorraine Lyon who is CEO of the largest debt collection agency in the country, Deputy Indira Olmstead and State Trooper Witt Farr, as well as Roy’s son Gator. Finally, there is the sinister, mysterious, murderous Ole Munch.

On The Screen

The show revolves around two central performances; Juno Temple as Nadine/Dot and Jon Hamm as Roy Tillman. Temple manages to capture both the gentle manner and basic decency of the Minnesota mom and the unstoppable force of someone who has survived a harrowing ordeal and won’t go back. Likewise Hamm has two existences as Roy Tillman – the public persona of no-nonsense tough but fair sheriff, with his aww shucks charm, and a brutal and corrupt man justifying his actions with self-serving Bible verses.

Another standout performance is Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lorraine Lyon (I have been trying to perfect her contemptuous drawl for weeks), Nadine/Dot’s mother-in-law billionaire.

The Characters

Dot/Nadine

Dot very early on is described by someone as a tiger and this is an apt description. She fights fiercely at every opportunity – in the course of the show, she sets people on fire, hits them with hammers, chokes them with chains, electrocutes them and more. She is also an extremely caring and loving mother, wife and person. The amount of time we see Dot baking and cooking in this season almost makes it a cooking show.

Roy Tillman

Domestic abuse, up to and including murder, is very present this season, Tillman is violent to all three of his wives that we see (and others). Nadine ran from Tillman because of this violence. He feels entirely justified in this, quoting all manner of verses from the Bible to support the horror he puts women through. The casting of Jon Hamm is an interesting one, he is the sheriff, a public and political figure, he can put his face on a campaign billboard and look impressive. Roy Tillman is the latest in a long line of terrifying Fargo villains and Tillman might be the scariest since season one’s Lorne Malvo. He dishes out Old Testament punishment to those he feels have done wrong – rarely involving a trial – is as staggeringly corrupt as to be selling police weapons and equipment to far-right militias, and does whatever he wants. He has a large group of henchmen made up of deputies and thugs who will murder, threaten and kidnap for him. So sure of his own power when the FBI arrive to tell him they know of all of his crimes he barely registers it.

The Rest

As with every season of Fargo, it has its share of odd, puzzling characters. Danish Graves, Lorraine’s besuited lawyer whose eyepatch always matches his outfit, Roy’s son. Gator, who is utterly incompetently childish and so far out of his depth he will soon be surfacing on the other side of the world. And then there is Indira’s husband, now for someone who isn’t violent or a terrible criminal he has to be one of the most unlikeable characters of all time. While Indira is out working as a cop and desperately manages their crushing debt, he is intent on becoming a golf pro, spending thousands on equipment and not looking for work. Ole Munch, it’s hard to know what to say about him, like the UFOs in Fargo season 2 or the Heaven bowling alley in season 3 he might be something in a more supernatural bent. Ole Munch looks bizarre and talks in a ludicrous manner of quasi-philosophical rhetoric, answering every reasonable question with things like “when a man digs a grave, he must fill it, otherwise it is just a hole”. He is a creepy murdering criminal but is a very different way to Roy and his cronies.

The Show

The show spirals in and out of Dot’s safety, her past and present, and those around her given choices about what they will do. Will the police deputy and state trooper look the other way for an easy life? Will Lorraine Lyon back her daughter-in-law or destroy her? Perhaps the key concept in the show is debt – Roy feels Dot/Nadine has a debt to him, one that he cannot forget, Lorraine is literally a billionaire manager of debt, her lawyer Danish Graves has a ledger of debts to call in to get things done and she calls in all manner of political favours. Indira is drowning in debt while her useless husband complains about how she is not fulfilling her obligations to him as a wife. And then there is Ole Munch – a personification of debt, something he took on and will insist all debts are paid.

Season 5 is one of the best seasons of the show and just an all around fantastic tv show.

Rating: (4.5 / 5)

Also Read: True Crimes, Real Lives: Exploring the Ethics of the Sub-Genre

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Adam Deacon (2012)

Since 2012, the Kidulthood star and Anuvahood director had several days in court. Deacon was sectioned due to mental health troubles and received a restraining order from the now-disgraced Noel Clarke. But after beating his demons he began working again. His Righteous Villains part won him a Vegas Movie Award, he appeared in the Megan Fox film Rogue and is directing his second film Sumotherhood.

Juno Temple (2013)

Juno Temple has maintained a steady workload post-2013. Ranging from the odd Maleficent series to the experimental Unsane, and earning a lot of awards attention for her part in the beloved Ted Lasso. Temple’s work may seem small scale but no matter where she appears she’s always a highlight.

Will Poulter (2014)

His versatility was already known when he accepted his award. But since winning, Poulter was in the successful Maze Runner series, critical darlings Detroit and The Revenant, and highly considered genre projects Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Midsommar. Finally, with Poulter joining the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise as Adam Warlock his star will only continue climbing.

Jack O’Connell (2015)

After his stellar 2013-2014 output Jack O’Connell’s release schedule paused. But he returned in 2016s Money Monster and he scored another performance award for the affecting short film Home. Additionally, he led the acclaimed western series Godless. And he has been cast in Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre’s upcoming Lady Chatterley’s Lover adaptation. O’Connell has come a long way since Skins.

John Boyega (2016)

Outside of Star Wars, John Boyega’s moves were sometimes unsuccessful (Pacific Rim: Uprising) but Detroit earned him praise, and Small Axe: Red, White, and Blue won him a Golden Globe. His return as Moses in Attack the Block 2, and his part in Gina Prince-Bythewood’s forthcoming The Woman King looks set to continue showcasing Boyega’s unique voice.

Tom Holland (2017)

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man was a sensation. After accepting his BAFTA Holland headlined his own Spider-Man trilogy and had supporting roles in the final Avengers movies. Aside from the MCU Holland starred in the well-regarded Devil All The Time and Onward but Dolittle and Uncharted had poorer reception. With a huge profile and his recent interesting project choices, what will Holland’s future hold?

Daniel Kaluuya (2018)

Get Out and Black Panther (which opened just before the 2018 BAFTAs), showed Daniel Kaluuya’s talent to the world. But magnificent appearances in Widows, Queen and Slim, and Judas and the Black Messiah (which won him an Oscar) cemented him as one of this generation’s best actors. We will soon see him in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Jordan Peele’s Nope.

Letitia Wright (2019)

Claiming her award after universally praised roles like the MCU’s Shuri and Nish in Black Mirror: Black Museum Letitia Wright gained further awards attention for Small Axe: Mangrove. She lent her voice to Sing 2 and joined Kenneth Branagh’s star-studded Death on the Nile adaptation. Currently, she is rumoured to become the lead in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However recent controversy has many questioning this.

Micheal Ward (2020)

Michael Ward secured BAFTA recognition for Top Boy‘s 2019 series and the controversial Blue Story. Since then, he received more awards nominations for his part in Small Axe: Lovers Rock. And with a starring role in Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light alongside Olivia Colman and Colin Firth coming up he may soon be a big name.

Bukky Bakray (2021)

From her explosive debut in Rocks, Bukky Bakray went on to star in the series You Don’t Know Me. For which she again received praise. She has several projects currently in production. Including the drama Self-Charm and the class-conscious thriller The Strays. After making a huge impact so quickly, Bukky is a talent to watch.

This concludes our look at the last ten years of BAFTA Rising Star winners. Who is your favourite BAFTA rising star and who do you want to see nominated in the future?

Also Read: BAFTA: Steering Towards Greater Inclusion

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A magical story about love and war

Just a quick recap to Maleficent. Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), a compassionate but heart-breaking fairy, finds Aurora, the newborn daughter of her ex-lover Stefan. Being vengeful against her and Stefan at first, Maleficent opens us towards Aurora and makes her the princess of the Moors. The goal is to unite the human kingdom and the magical one under one throne and that’s the start of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. After meeting and falling madly in love with each other, Aurora (Elle Fanning) is now engaged to her Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson). This is the perfect opportunity o unite two lovebirds but also two different kingdoms.

However, not everyone shares that same joy. Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer), the mother of Philip, sees Aurora as a mysterious and dark intruder like Maleficent and Maleficent herself doesn’t want to give up her daughter to the humans. During the oh-so-important family dinner, it all goes off the rails. King John (Robert Lindsay) falls ill and Maleficent is being accused of poisoning him. When Aurora chooses the side of her in-laws and breaks her loyalty to Maleficent, Maleficent feels betrayed and is out for revenge. She’s not the only furious, vengeful and powerful woman. Queen Ingrith wants to honour the legacy of her husband and gather her troops to protect her kingdom, no matter the consequences. It becomes an immensely heated battle. Who will win this war and what will happen to the union of the kingdoms?

Characters are key

There was already the battle between “dark vs white”, “good versus evil”, “magical creature versus human” in the 2014 film and it’s that same conflict that Rønning is showing in this movie. Because of that and also because it’s a fairytale, the storyline seems very predictable. However, there’s still some elements that will make you fall in love with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

The characters in this sequel are both hit and miss. The biggest hit is without a doubt casting Pfeiffer (Avengers: Endgame, Murder on the Orient Express) as Queen Ingrith. If you’re a fan of accents, you might wonder why they cast her but once you’ve seen her in the full battle outfit as the furious, head-strong and dark Queen, you know why. Pfeiffer puts on such a bombastic and powerful performance as the warrior but also a more emotional and friendly one as the caring and protective mother(-in-law). The scenes between her and Jolie (By the Sea, The Tourist) are the dark highlights of this movie. Of course, this is also because of Jolie’s stunning acting. Yes, sometimes her white and thin face can be a little bit over-the-top but once you get over that you see an energetic, impressive and badass Jolie. Luckily for us and this film, Sam Riley (Radioactive, Sometimes Always Never) is returning as Diaval, Maleficent’s loyal servant. Riley brings an immense rock ‘n roll vibe, tons of humour, wittiness and funny moments to the screen

This film is not only about the war but also about love and the marriage between Aurora and her Philip. In a relationship, it’s all about chemistry and passion but that’s not visible in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. This has absolutely nothing to do with Fanning (Teen Spirit, Mary Shelley) her wonderful, beautiful and strong performance, especially during the second part of the film when she gets the chance to shine bright. The reason why there’s no chemistry is the character of Prince Philip and the associated acting performance from Dickinson (County Lines, The Darkest Minds). It falls incredibly flat, it’s bland and doesn’t do this movie any justice. We would have loved to see Brenton Thwaites again as Philip.

Is there such a thing as too much CGI?

In a fantasy film like this, the CGI should be on point and again, we’re divided about this. The special effects are stunningly made, definitely the eye-catcher of this movie and fit the story incredibly well. It brings the fairytale element to life, especially when the ones taking place in the magical forest. At first, you will be swept off your feet by all the romance, the clever and sticky special effects. Sadly, the great VFX will fade when things are heated and becoming more darker. There’s just overuse of CGI. It becomes too much, a little bit of confusion and a mess. As a result of that, Jolie and Pfeifer can’t show their acting skills. Don’t get us started how cringy it feels to see Juno Temple (Lost Transmissions, The Pretenders), Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, Hampstead) and Imelda Staunton (Downton Abbey, Finding Your Feet) as the three CGI fairies.

Not great but certainly not bad

Rønning is no stranger when it comes to making big-budget films as he sat in the directors’ chair during Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Just like that film, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil doesn’t reach its full potential. The reasons for that are the extravagant use of special effects and some half-written characters. However, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is still an entertaining, marvellous and eye-catching film because of some strong acting performances, humour, and vividness.

Rating: (3 / 5)

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