Magpie (2024) – Film Review
Director: Sam Yates
Cast: Daisy Ridley, Shazad Latif, Matilda Lutz
Certificate: 15
By Roger Crow
While Daisy Ridley is between Star Wars movies (yes, another featuring her Jedi, Rey, is in the pipeline), she continues to make fascinating indie movies.
This is not a namesake film conversion of the 1970s kids’ show, but a beautifully crafted drama about a troubled young mother and her husband (Shazad Latif); he is tempted by a famous actress caught up in an online video scandal.
The main Grand Designs-worthy house and the costumes will leave many drooling, but Daisy’s magnetic performance really steals the show. Ridley also produced the movie and was one of the people who hatched the story, while Phoebe’s sister, Isobel Waller-Bridge, crafted the sublime score.
“Daisy’s magnetic performance steals the show”
It’s a slow burner, like Ms Ridley’s sublime 2023 offering Sometimes I Think About Dying, but no less powerful for its simmering study of jealousy. Good support comes from Matilda Lutz, as the other woman, while fabulous cinematography by Laura Bellingham makes this very easy on the eye.
Expect at least one Bafta nod next spring.
