This film is part of Rentals
Southside with You
This smart, sophisticated, Sundance-nominated romance follows the first date of a couple who would go on to change the world – Barack and Michelle Obama.
Director: Richard Tanne
Overview
In the summer of 1989 a lawyer and her legal associate go on a first date, taking in an art gallery, a trip to the movies and a shared ice cream. Standard date-fare perhaps but this couple would go on to be one of the most powerful in the world, marking their own chapter in American history – Barack and Michelle Obama.
With a premise straight out of the romance-movie textbook, writer-director Richard Tanne has crafted a smart and sophisticated drama that offers much more than a meet-cute. Earning a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, it’s since gone on to achieve widespread critical acclaim.
Recounting the couple’s real experiences as closely as possible, which includes a cinema screening of Spike Lee’s landmark race movie Do the Right Thing, Tanne’s script expertly portrays two modest figures starting out on a momentous journey, helped along by two uncanny performances from Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter. The result is a film with the same breezy charm and intellectual undertow as Richard Linklater’s ‘Before’ trilogy, blessed with the calm charisma we've come to associate with the real Obamas.
Infrequent strong language, moderate violence, references to drug misuse
Related
Jackie Jackie
Biopic 2017 100 mins Director: Pablo Larraín
Natalie Portman is exceptional as the iconic First Lady who has to quickly adjust to the world-shaking trauma of her husband’s assassination.
I, Tonya I, Tonya
Biopic 2017 120 mins Director: Craig Gillespie
Athlete. Champion. Villain. Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) played them all…
Dark Waters Dark Waters
Biopic 2019 126 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Mark Ruffalo plays an attorney trying to uncover the corporate scandal of a chemical company poisoning a local community, in this searching ecological drama from Todd Haynes (Safe, Carol).
Tracks Tracks
Biopic 2014 113 mins Director: John Curran
Mia Wasikowska stars in this inspirational true story about one woman’s extraordinary odyssey through the Australian Outback.
Mr. Turner Mr. Turner
Biopic 2014 150 mins Director: Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh’s Cannes-winning account of the later years of J. M. W. Turner, brilliantly played by Timothy Spall.
Vice Vice
Biopic 2018 133 mins Director: Adam McKay
Christian Bale is the infamous Dick Cheney, in Adam ‘The Big Short’ McKay’s exuberant and acrid satire.
Tom of Finland Tom of Finland
Biopic 2017 116 mins Director: Dome Karukoski
The story of a gay icon is brought to life in Dome Karukoski’s handsome biopic of Touko Laaksonen, the artist whose homoerotic drawings gave visual expression to a growing gay culture.
Lovelace Lovelace
Biopic 2013 93 mins Director: Jeffrey Friedman and Robert Epstein
Porn star Linda Lovelace (Amanda Seyfried) finds herself abused by the industry and her maniacal husband– so she sets off to embrace feminism and, vitally, herself.
Control Control
Biopic 2007 122 mins Director: Anton Corbijn
The life story of Ian Curtis, the tortured singer of Joy Division who suffered epilepsy and crippling self-doubt, filmed in stunning monochrome.
England Is Mine England Is Mine
Biopic 2017 94 mins Director: Mark Gill
A deeply insecure young Morrissey dreams of escaping drudgery but seeks the confidence to bloom, in this captivating account of The Smiths' genesis.
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
Biopic 2017 106 mins Director: Paul McGuigan
Annette Bening and Jamie Bell bring to life the true story of the love affair between Gloria Grahame and young, Liverpudlian actor Peter Turner.
Redoubtable Redoubtable
Biopic 2017 108 mins Director: Michel Hazanavicius
From the Oscar-winning director of The Artist, a brilliantly realised portrait of France’s maestro director Jean-Luc Godard spiralling into philosophical and romantic crisis.
Monsoon Monsoon
Drama 2019 85 mins
Henry Golding shines in this gorgeous study of memory and legacy, a pleasing reflection on the endurance of both.
Monsters: Dark Continent Monsters: Dark Continent
Science Fiction 2015 119 mins Director: Tom Green
The pyrotechnic sequel to Gareth Edwards’ cult sci-fi follows US soldiers attempting to police alien-infested zones while also battling human insurgents.
No Other Land No Other Land
Documentary 2024 92 mins Director: Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
This powerful documentary from a Palestinian-Israeli collective might be one of the most important films of this year.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.