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Ali & Ava

2021

Clio Barnard

Adeel Akhtar, Claire Rushbrook, Ellora Torchia, Shaun Thomas ...

6.1

799

Drama. Romance Ali & Ava, both lonely for different reasons, meet and sparks fly. Over a lunar month a deep connection begins to grow, despite the legacy of Ava's past relationship, and Ali's emotional turmoil at the breakdown of his marriage.

	Media	Author	Review
		Jude Dry IndieWire	"Barnard once again proves herself the bard of the British working class. In 'Ali & Ava,' (...) [she lets] the delight of unexpected connection break through the storm clouds."
		Phil de Semlyen Time Out	"Sparky romance (...) This is her most welcoming film so far, spearheaded by two soulful, likeable performances (...) It’s cheesy, sure, but it’ll leave you with a spring in your step (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Beth Webb Empire	"Rushbrook and Akhtar's chemistry feels effortless, believable and utterly captivating (...) A compassionate and tenderly performed love story, with a musical current coursing through it (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Caroline Tsai The Playlist	"The film is a moving yet realistic exploration of a relationship across a cultural and class divide in northern England (...) However, Barnard can’t quite avoid the tropes of more conventional romantic fare"
		Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"A social-realist tale that you might compare to Ken Loach’s Ae Fond Kiss (...) Barnard’s film is an essay in acceptance and love (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Justin Chang Los Angeles Times	"In 'Ali & Ava', a lovely surprise from English filmmaker Clio Barnard, music is more than just a soundtrack; it’s the characters’ very lifeblood"
		Leslie Felperin The Hollywood Reporter	"[It's] Barnard’s slightest work, dramatically a bit thin and stuck in a conventional British social realist groove (...) The performances make this worthwhile."
		Anna Smith Deadline	"Ali & Ava is a charmer: Barnard’s most accessible and hopeful film to date."
		Jason Solomons The Wrap	"Obviously, the film is a (perhaps naive) plea for tolerance, but Barnard is too careful a filmmaker to make crass demands of her audiences"
		Fionnuala Halligan Screendaily	"The film’s adroit flow is somewhat undermined by a third act (...) But there’s enough in Ali & Ava and their characters to force the film over these bumps, and to let audiences remember the light of its stars."
		Glenn Kenny rogerebert.com	"This is a gentle unassuming film about gentle unassuming people. It’s possible that many viewers might find it too gentle (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Peter Debruge Variety	"There’s a lovely sense of equity, as two people typically defined by the ways others perceive them (...) see one another for who they really are."
		Jake Cole Slant	"[It] is her most straightforward film to date, but it showcases her uncanny ability to capture the insoluble complexities of life, and in ways that stretch the boundaries of the social realist film (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"
		Jared Mobarak The Film Stage	"A heartwarmingly funny, melancholic romance (...) Rushbrook and Akhtar's complexly three-dimensional performances prove as infectiously humorous as they are devastatingly honest"
		Kaleem Aftab Cineuropa	"[It is fascinating until] the filmmakers decide to crowbar in a plot (...) It's all beautifully shot and put together until the final act, where it becomes a bit clichéd"

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