sex education

One of Sex Education’s biggest breakout stars took on a very different role in a sun-soaked new drama coming to streaming soon

Sex Education star Emma Mackey’s latest cinematic role will be available to watch at home very soon.

Best known for portraying Maeve Wiley in all four seasons of Netflix’s beloved comedy-drama, she has since appeared in major films like Barbie and Death on the Nile.

Still currently in cinemas, her latest project sees her taking on her first leading role in a provocative and mysterious drama based on a Booker Prize nominated novel.

Inspired by Deborah Levy’s 2016 novel of the same name, Hot Milk follows Mackey as Sofia, a young woman whose mother, Rose (played by Fiona Shaw), has contracted an unknown illness that’s left her wheelchair-bound.

When the mother-daughter pair travel to a small Spanish seaside town to track down a physician with unusual methods who could hold the cure, Sofia finds herself drawn to an alluring traveller named Ingrid (Vicky Krieps).

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The film will be streaming on Mubi from Friday, 22nd August for anyone who missed out on Mackey’s sultry and thought-provoking drama on the big screen.

The Independent gave Hot Milk four stars, calling it “a slippery, subversive coming-of-age tale”.

Mackey and Krieps were praised as “formidable” in The Guardian, while Deadline says Shaw’s performance is “truly extraordinary”.

One fan of the film gave it a five-star Google review, penning: “Powerful performances set against dreamlike scenery where reality merges with imagination.

“Starts as a slow burn but builds into a heightened frenzy of complex sensations that is impossible not to sense as you witness each separate character’s life unravel and deteriorate.”

Someone else praised: “Fever dream magic, great indie film if you like trippy movies, reminds me of I’m Thinking of Ending Things on Netflix.”

Enthusiasm for the film continued on Letterboxd, where one user wrote: “The pace was perfect. The score was stunning.

“The acting was incredible, Fiona Shaw is such a talented actor. Emma Mackey is just an unreal actress too.

“I felt as if she was speaking to me and I shall carry these words with me the rest of my life. This was a film I watched at the right time in my life. A film I didn’t know I needed till I had seen it. I wish I had words to properly express how much I adore this film.”

And a final fan said: “Beautiful adaptation of the book, felt it in my soul – the story, the characters, the setting…. so moving and so real.”

Film fanatics should make sure they sign up to Mubi to check out this indie cinema gem, and many more movie masterpieces, in just under a month’s time.

Hot Milk will be released Friday, 22nd August on Mubi.

Sex Education star Simone Ashley will return to screens in the fourth season of Bridgerton, and the actress has opened up about filming intimate scenes for the hit Netflix show

Bridgerton sensation Simone Ashley has opened up about feeling “very safe and comfortable” while shooting steamy scenes for the smash-hit series, Bridgerton. The star of Sex Education, who is also on the cusp of dropping her first album, labelled the Netflix sensation Bridgerton as pure “fantasy”.

Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, she said: “It’s about, ‘What if?’ and how love conquers all. Bridgerton represents nudity with a sense of romance, and I felt very safe and comfortable in what I was choosing to show to the world.”

With the fourth instalment of the period drama set to hit screens next year, Ashley shared with the publication: “‘That show just gets bigger and bigger. Everyone has gone off to do incredible things, but we come back and it’s like time hasn’t moved.”

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Recounting her bold move to Los Angeles at the tender age of 18, she revealed: “I was really scrappy. Since I was little, if I wanted something, I would do anything I could to get it. So, I took some modelling jobs to pay the bills and got into acting through that.”

Gracing the digital cover of Harper’s Bazaar, Ashley divulged that her upcoming album was born out of a recent split. She explained: “It’s going to be somewhat confessional… and beautiful and messy.

“Good songs don’t come from times when my life is regimented and predictable. They come when I am feeling vitality, and usually you either feel that way when your heart’s broken, or you’re euphoric. This work has been an amazing channel to put all those feelings into.”

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This new career move comes after Ashley’s recent role in rom-com Picture This. Following the release of that movie, the Bridgerton star opened up about the importance of diversity in romantic-comedies.

The Sex Education icon, who was born to Tamil parents, stars as photographer Pia – who is juggling a failing business while dealing with the arrival of her ex and her parents’ concern for her love life. The feel-good movie was released on Amazon Prime Video on 6 March and also stars Hero Fiennes Tiffin.

She added: “I would say the younger me is kind of like, ‘Oh my gosh, we did a rom com and it’s an Indian girl leading it!'” Although she wishes she could have seen diverse characters when she was younger, she hopes Picture This helps with it. She said: “To put it simply… When it comes to this movie, I just want brown women to have it and to just win!”

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Renowned Irish actress Fiona Shaw stars in Hot Milk, an adaptation of Deborah Levy’s 2016 novel, as a mother with a mysterious illness, who is taken to a seaside Spanish town in search of a cure

The distinguished Irish actress and TV Bafta laureate, Fiona Shaw, speaks about her immersion in her latest character, Rose, a mother beleaguered by an enigmatic illness, in the movie adaptation of Deborah Levy‘s critically acclaimed 2016 novel ‘Hot Milk’.

Against the vivid setting of a sun-drenched Spanish summer, the plot unfolds as Rose and her daughter Sofia, portrayed by ‘Sex Education’ star Emma Mackey, journey to Almeria’s picturesque seaside town seeking healing from a quirky local remedy man.

Rose’s life is dominated by an immobilising ailment, confining her to a wheelchair and riddled with unrelenting pain, rendering her utterly reliant on Sofia for even the simplest tasks such as venturing outside or fetching a drink. A growing sense of exasperation seeps into Sofia’s character who pins her hopes on the exotic clinic to rejuvenate her mum’s vigour, thus liberating her own aspirations for autonomy and independence.

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Shaw, celebrated for her portrayal of Carolyn Martens in the hit series ‘Killing Eve’, lauded her youthful co-star Emma Mackey, age 29, for crafting their characters’ poignant relationship amidst strenuous circumstances. “I had the easier job – it’s much easier to play the selfish person,” Fiona Shaw candidly admits.

“Emma had to decide, in each scene, how she would cope with her mother’s behaviour – but the mother just continues on. She isn’t thinking about the effects, and that’s the problem,” Shaw adds.

She says: “They’re not two people at loggerheads. I don’t think the mother is at odds at all. She adores her daughter, wishes she wouldn’t visit her father, and wants her to focus on her studies.

“She can’t see that she’s the reason none of those things can happen properly. And that blindness is a nightmare for the other person – but Emma had to carry that. We would laugh about it, but she had to play the scenes. I just had to play Rose – she had to play the reception.”

As Sofia’s story unfolds, her fascination with the adventurous Ingrid, portrayed by Phantom Thread star Vicky Krieps, leads her to break free from her mother’s overbearing influence. Yet, as Sofia steps into her own, her mother’s inability to cope with this change brings to light unsettling truths about Rose’s condition.

In her preparation for the role, Shaw delved into the complexities of psychosomatic disorders, where mental stress manifests physically, and consulted individuals who deal with such conditions. “We spoke to people with the syndrome – this tendency to not have any physiological reason why you can’t walk, but you can’t walk,” Shaw shared.

“This syndrome comes with pain and with a twitch. I really concentrated on trying to get the stuckness of the person – and I was helped a lot by using a wheelchair.”

The film Hot Milk marks Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s first venture as a director at 57, and she fondly referred to Shaw and Mackey as “an inseparable couple” during filming. Renowned screenwriter Lenkiewicz, known for hits like Ida and Disobedience, described taking the reins as director for such a woman-centric narrative as “one of the most incredible experiences” of her life.

The eagerly anticipated ‘Hot Milk’ hits UK and Ireland cinemas on Friday, July 4.

Aimee Lou Wood has named a critically acclaimed film that is currently available to stream for free in the UK

Aimee Lou Wood has revealed one of her top film picks that UK viewers can stream for free.

The much-admired film is presently available on Channel 4 and promises to touch your heart in just a little over an hour.

The cherished British actress, known for her roles in The White Lotus and Sex Education, recently popped into the Criterion Closet to chat about some of her most treasured films.

She highlighted Céline Sciamma’s touching work on the themes of youth and bereavement, Petite Maman, labelling it as a ‘heartbreaking’ film that’s a must-see.

With the film’s critical praise and its brief runtime of 70 minutes, available at no cost on Channel 4, it’s easy to fit into your viewing schedule before it disappears from the service, reports the Express.

While discussing her top picks, Wood acknowledged Thelma and Louise, accessible on Prime Video in the UK, and Petite Maman as two standout movies.

Speaking about the celebrated French creation from 2021, she referred to it as “the sweetest, most haunting, beautiful film and it just tears me apart.

“It’s just mums, mums. Anything about mums gets me right in the ticker. I love my mum, I’ve got her name tattooed on my arm.

“And I also love [Sciamma’s] Portrait of a Lady on Fire, so I love all of her movies, so she’s just one of my faves.”

For those needing more persuasion, cinephiles have shared glowing five-star feedback supporting Wood’s enthusiasm for Petite Maman.

One enthusiast exclaimed over the motion picture, celebrating it as “A beautiful, tender hug of a film.

“And refreshing to have a film mainly from a child’s point of view. The child actors were wonderful. As was the pace of the film. Perfection.”

Another fan commented: “Mysterious, enchanting and very unusual. It draws you into their world and makes you ask questions. Very poignant. I wanted more!”

Meanwhile, a fan on Letterboxd raved: “What Céline Sciamma achieves in a mere 72 minutes is dumbfounding.”

They added: “A moving and tender portrait of familial relationships told through a fantastical but still grounded lens of time travel. My heart is full and I wept as the credits rolled. Sciamma is truly a master of the craft.

“I hope every living soul gets a chance to watch this.”

These glowing reviews make Petite Maman a must-watch for the week.

Petite Maman is available to stream on Channel 4.