Our halls have been decked, and our mulled wine is bubbling away in a ginormous vat… Things are getting festive this month at The Lexi. And even more cause for celebration: our programme this month is full to the brim with must-see titles and some unmissable independent features.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at this month’s programme…
NAPOLEON arrives Friday 1 December
Allegedly, Napoleon once said: 'history is a set of lies agreed upon’. And perhaps there’s no historical leader with more swirling rumours, scandalous allegations, and general intrigue attached than Napoleon. So who was the great emperor, really? In Ridley Scott’s astoundingly wide-scale epic, emperor Bonaparte is portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix both as a magnificent military leader, and an egomaniac with a pomposity that sometimes borders on the comic. Alongside Phoenix, The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby stars as Napoleon’s enduring love: Joséphine, whose tumultuous relationship with the emperor is as infamous as his military campaigns and (spoiler alert for those not familiar with the Napoleonic wars) ultimate downfall. View showtimes.
THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER screens from November 1 at The Lexi
From acclaimed filmmaker Joanna Hogg (The Souvenir), The Eternal Daughter is a disquieting study of mother-daughter relationships starring Tilda Swinton as both an artist and her elderly mother. When mother and daughter return to an old family home - now a secluded and entirely empty hotel shrouded in a thick fog - they find that long-held secrets are embedded within the building’s fabric, and numerous unsettling truths come to the fore. A ghost story of sorts, it’s a mesmerising take on parental relationships, and the traces of ourselves that we leave behind in the places we call home. View showtimes.
FALLEN LEAVES arrives Friday 8 December.
Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre, The Other Side of Hope) is renowned for his off-kilter, deadpan humour. In tragicomedy Fallen Leaves, his signature style is at its best, in this story of an odd couple finding one another in the midst of life’s gloom… and then continually losing one another, through a series of increasingly frustrating obstacles. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, this is a tender, heartfelt, and amusing portrait of love and loneliness in contemporary Helsinki. View showtimes.
Catch TÓTEM from Saturday 9 December
Unbridled vitality collides with the realities of mortality in the spell-binding and bittersweet family drama Tótem. From Lila Avilés, the director of 2018’s acclaimed The Chambermaid, the events of Tótem are presented through the curious eyes of seven-year-old Sol. She’s spending the day in her grandfather’s house, as preparations are underway for a surprise party for Tona, Sol’s 27-year-old father. So begins a bustling multi-generational gathering, spilling over with love as well as a strange uneasiness. We learn that Tona is seriously ill, and over the course of the party, Sol discovers that her world is about to be irreversibly changed, as she begins to recognize that the party’s not just a celebration: it’s also a farewell. View showtimes.
MAESTRO hits our screens on Friday 15 December
Bradley Cooper both directs and stars in Maestro, a powerful and exuberant biopic of celebrated conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein. Carey Mulligan stars alongside as Bernstein’s wife, actress Felicia Montealegre (a ‘career-best’ performance for Mulligan, writes Wendy Ide for The Guardian). Bernstein’s life-long partnership with Montealgre takes centre stage in this sparkling feature, as does his complicated psyche made up of numerous dualities: he’s both a showman and an introvert; an adoring husband to his wife and a queer man in a straight world. As you’d expect, Bernstein’s majestic and moving compositions feature throughout, wonderfully underscoring and intensifying the complex emotions depicted on screen. View showtimes.
FERRARI comes to The Lexi on Friday 29 December
The latter years of race car driver turned entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) are put under the microscope in Michael Mann’s electrifying new drama Ferrari. While Ferrari’s vehicles might be meticulously engineered, the personal life of the man behind the machines seems poised to implode: the greying businessman is reeling from the loss of his son Dino, his company faces bankruptcy, and his marriage is on the rocks. In the midst of his various personal crises, Ferrari enters his racing team into the1957 Mille Miglia, a treacherous race across Italy, pushing both himself, and his drivers, to the limit. There’s a stellar cast alongside Driver: Penélope Cruz stars as Ferrari’s wife, while Shailene Woodley plays his mistress, Lina.View showtimes.
WONKA screens from Friday 15 December
From Paddington director Paul King comes the charming Wonka, the whimsical origin story of the world-famous chocolatier Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet). As a young man Willy’s just a boy with a dream… And a penchant for breaking into song. He’s travelled the world perfecting his craftsmanship and his magic skills, and now he’s ready for the chocolate big time. Woe betide anyone who gets in the way of his cheery personality and boundless ambition! An all-star cast stars alongside Chalament, including Hugh Grant, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman. View showtimes.
This is a film which simply demands snacking throughout. Luckily we’ve got you covered with the various snacks on offer at our box office and bar. Honestly, the range of sweet treats would impress even Mr Wonka himself! Just make sure not to polish everything off before the trailers have even finished…
IT’S WONDERFUL LIFE screens on December 23 and December 24
This one needs no introduction. It’s a Wonderful Life is the quintessential Christmas film. You’ll laugh! You’ll cry! You’ll be filled with a renewed sense of hope for humanity and the world at large! And you’ll also, optionally, eat a mince pie, because we’re giving one to each attendee. A warming story of a family man whose existential crisis is averted by a guardian angel (where do we sign up to get one of those?) one snowy Christmas eve. View showtimes.
Lexi Updates
We’re gearing up for Christmas here at The Lexi Cinema! We’ve put up our twinkling decorations, so if it’s seasonal cheer you’re after, then The Lexi is the place to be. We also have a number of Christmas and New Years’ events to look forward to - including a Lord of the Rings extravaganza.
In November, our ESOL women’s film club, run in collaboration with refugee charity Salusbury World, continued with a screening of A Man Called Otto. And we’re also very excited to be hosting a number of community groups at The Lexi over the festive period.
Gen Sandle
Lexi Marketing and Comms
