Byrne delivers a barnstorming performance as a shrink – counselled by an impatient Conan O’Brien – being pushed to the edge by stress of parenting

Here is a psychological horror-comedy of postnatal depression and lonely parental stress, like a flip-side to Eraserhead or Rosemary’s Baby; it’s a scary movie with a heroine shot almost solely in looming closeup – but instead of supernatural apparitions, there are simply the banal problems of childcare and no time to deal with them. It’s also a film about therapy and transference when there’s nothing left to transfer. Mary Bronstein is its writer-director, and her film-maker husband Ronald Bronstein serves as producer – as does Josh Safdie, whose influence, through movies such as Uncut Gems and Marty Supreme, can perhaps be detected in the sprint towards a nervous breakdown.

Rose Byrne delivers a barnstormer as Linda, a psychotherapist whose husband is away, leaving her to deal with a sick infant daughter whose face is not shown until the very end, indicating perhaps the way in which the little girl’s identity is simply that of a gigantically blank all-pervasive problem to be managed. The girl is intubated via a feeding machine that must be carted around with her, especially to the day-care hospital whose brusque doctor in charge (played by Mary Bronstein in cameo) supervises group therapy sessions that blandly reassure the parents present that all this is not their fault, while curtly reprimanding Linda for her failure to turn up to appointments and to discuss her daughter’s failure to gain the weight necessary for the tube to be removed.

Continue reading...

New technology has workers spooked, but experts say it’s creating an opening for a resurgence in worker power

In 2026, it’s a scary time to work for a living.

Gone are the days of quiet quitting, the Great Resignation, and the highly visible union-organizing battles that began the decade and signaled that perhaps worker power was on the rise again in the US. Instead, much of that momentum is being crowded out of our minds by anxieties: a worsening affordability crisis, geopolitical instability, and the specter of artificial intelligence looming over the workplace.

Continue reading...

Dubbed ‘the holiest of holies’, produce from this former Soviet republic today boasts a variety and deftness that’s sending sales surging

France, Italy and Spain purport to be the best-loved classical wine regions, but if you’re in the market for the real old-world deal, look no further than Georgia, which has more than 8,000 years of winemaking prowess. There’s something about this place on the lush intersection of the silk roads between Europe and Asia that gets under the skin. Perhaps it’s the combination of unpolished authenticity paired with profound generosity (guests are considered a gift from God and fed accordingly), all while being gently rocked in a cradle of civilisation, that make Georgian wine so beguiling. (My first visit in August 2023 – a khachapuri-fuelled reconnaissance for my book, Drinking the World: A Wine Odyssey – lingered in my mind long after my flight touched back down on British tarmac.

What I find most refreshing is that the country, and its wine, is completely itself, despite being hemmed in by empires with a proclivity for invasion (Persians, Turks, Mongols et al), as well as the decades spent under USSR rule, which between 1922 and 1991 switched the grape-growing focus to yield over quality. Today, you really feel the Georgian delight at flipping that old Soviet diktat on its head.

Victoria Brzezinski is co-author of Drinking the World: A Wine Odyssey, published by Pavilion Books/HarperCollins at £22. To order a copy for £19.80 go to guardianbookshop.com

Continue reading...

Film editor who made an important contribution to the work of the directors Terry Gilliam and Richard Attenborough

Lesley Walker, who has died aged 80, edited films as lively and varied as Letter to Brezhnev (1985), a salty romantic comedy about two Merseyside women who fall for Soviet sailors; the thriller Mona Lisa (1986), a kind of Soho spin on Taxi Driver; and a pair of escapist, female-led crowd-pleasers revolving around Greek getaways: Shirley Valentine (1989) and the Abba musical Mamma Mia! (2008).

“It was unusual to have a woman editing at that level when Lesley began,” said her friend and former assistant editor, Sue Kingsley. “She was well ahead of the game there.”

Continue reading...

Abbey theatre, Dublin
The sale of the parental home triggers a generational showdown in Una McKevitt’s droll play about money, inheritance and caring for ageing relatives

On a brief stopover in Dublin to settle some scores, celebrity interior designer Sandra (Aislín McGuckin) makes a forceful impact. Una McKevitt’s black comedy brings members of the Thornton family together to mark the sale of their parental home. If family is the psychological battleground here, the house itself is alive with “triggering” elements, with designer Liam Doona’s faded decor and crammed furnishings playing a key part in the unfolding conflict.

Having inherited the house from her grandmother, Sandra’s estranged daughter Kiera (Caroline Menton) now envisages a new life, free from caring responsibilities and the watchful eye of her grandmother from her full-length portrait, which dominates the room. Upstairs, unseen, Kiera’s uncle Terry is lying in a coma, and about to be moved to a nursing home. A second uncle, Daragh, arrives: “a character actor, in demand”, played with downbeat charm by Garrett Lombard, as Kiera ushers Rio (Jack Weise) out of the house, following a quick hook-up that is so contrived it clearly signals trouble.

Continue reading...

As pancake day and Orthodox Maslenitsa – or cheesefare week – overlap, I’m leaning into halloumi scones, oozy taleggio galettes, and sweet and savoury crepes

• Sign up here for our weekly food newsletter, Feast

In terms of religious food festivals, this week is kind of a double whammy. First up was pancake day, which is always a whole-day affair in our kitchen, with both sweet and savoury stations, crepe pans and all the toppings (you can always rely on Felicity Cloake for a foolproof recipe). And, because of the way the calendars fall this year, we are also celebrating Orthodox Maslenitsa, or cheesefare, week at the same time.

OK, so the sentiment is pretty much the same (it’s the week before the start of Lent, when people ease into their strict fasting period), but these two celebrations can often be weeks apart (blame the battle of the Gregorian and Julian calendars). For those of Orthodox faith, last week was all about eating meat, and this week is all about dairy. Essentially, you are trying to consume all the animal products and get them out of the house in preparation for the 40-plus-day fast. And, whether or not you are religious, in my book any tradition that means you get to eat loads of cheese is a win.

Continue reading...

BRUSSEL (ANP) - Voorzitter van de Europese Commissie Ursula von der Leyen brengt volgende maand een bezoek aan Groenland, laat haar woordvoerder weten. Een exacte datum is nog niet bekend.

Von der Leyen zei vorige maand dat de EU flink meer wil investeren in de veiligheid van het arctisch gebied, waar Groenland toe behoort. De aanleiding daarvoor was het dreigement van de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump om Groenland te annexeren. Hij zag daarvan af nadat de NAVO beloofde een nieuwe missie in het poolgebied te lanceren.

De EU en Groenland halen de banden al langer aan. Zo wil de EU in de komende meerjarenbegroting (2028-2034) dubbel zoveel geld reserveren voor Groenland. Ook was de Groenlandse premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen eind vorig jaar in het Europees Parlement.

EU-kopstukken reizen ook af naar andere landen in Noord-Europa. Voorzitter van de Europese leiders António Costa is donderdag in Noorwegen en EU-buitenlandchef Kaja Kallas is te vinden in Zweden.

Het Nederlandse Algoritmeregister telt inmiddels meer dan 1.300 bijdragen van overheidsorganisaties. Tegelijk waarschuwen experts dat inzicht niet gelijkstaat aan begrip en dat overheden kampen met „AI-mateloosheid”.

Na haar 1.000 meter op de langebaan komt Suzanne Schulting vrijdag in actie op de 1.500 meter shorttrack. Daar ging een eigenzinnige route met hoge pieken en diepe dalen aan vooraf. „Ik heb gewoon een kans. Klaar.”