“There’s something inherently disappointing about success.”

Masterpiece.

Been meaning to watch this ever since I heard Rian Johnson talk about it as one of his most re-watched films on a podcast.

Altman-esque is a massive sell for me!

I see Shirley Henderson, I add the movie to my to watch list

“How is Claire Denis capable of infusing the human body with such depths of meaning, how does she render it so volatile?' brightwalldarkroom.com/2024/04/11/bea…

I have no idea why it took me 25 years to watch Topsy Turvy, but now i just want to watch it every day again forever. My goodness, this movie—each scene is a treat, acted to perfection & woven together into a sprawling Altmanesque narrative about what it’s really like to Make Art

gorgeous words from tschüss wisely on the bleak and beautiful ballet of Beau Travail

simply delighted to be back in Bright Wall/Dark Room talking about Beau Travail, ballet, motion, emotion, and my favorite film of 1999 or any other year

having a lot of feelings about the Blair Witch remake announcement! for fellow franchise fans, here's my Bright Wall/Dark Room deep-dive on the legacy of Heather Donahue and what made the original so unique

brightwalldarkroom.com/2023/12/08/sea…

'RIFIFI was Dassin’s comeback film, his revenge fantasy film, a revenge not only on foes across the pond but on capitalism itself.' brightwalldarkroom.com/2023/08/28/eas…

This book literally would not exist without Chad and Bright Wall/Dark Room. The editorial guidance & opportunities he, as an editor, gave me to develop my work at a writer’s dream of a publication are too special for this character count limit

Not to mention he gave me my first EM byline!!!!

My Money Is Still In Your Pocket: The Death of the American Dream in Michael Mann’s THIEF
brightwalldarkroom.com/2023/08/07/my-…

Can’t Remember to Forget You: MEMENTO in Twenty Fragments brightwalldarkroom.com/2023/10/02/can…

Hello! I've started a Patreon!; a little hub for all of my interests (and some of yours!), and a home for all things related to my own work (exclusive print access! process posts!). If you like what I do, please consider joining so I can do more of it!

patreon.com/BriannaAshby?u…

'MAGNOLIA is an apocalypse movie, but its apocalypse is Pauline. This isn’t the sort of world-ending event we tend to conjure when we think of the term; when the frogs rain down, they represent a world-clearing force, one that rearranges the world.
brightwalldarkroom.com/2024/03/13/mag…

No. 5 now in production

New today on the site:

Poet Elizabeth Cantwell on David Cronenberg's EXISTENZ

(art by Moses Lee)

brightwalldarkroom.com/2024/04/08/a-g…

'In Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, Dickie doesn’t love Marge. Or at least, Dickie doesn’t say he loves Marge. In Anthony Minghella’s film of the same name, Marge is loved—maybe, probably, or at least she believes herself to be loved.' brightwalldarkroom.com/2024/03/29/the…

Less talk about Gene Hackman's fashion choices & more talk about the way in NIGHT MOVES, he's like, 'You know what's great after sex? Fondue!' ;)

'In the sweltering Spanish sun, his body glistens—reddened, beads of sweat dripping, clad in just a tight yellow Speedo. He is totally at ease, motionless, reclined.' -natalie on SEXY BEAST brightwalldarkroom.com/2023/08/21/rab…