Culture
The Best Of The Fest: London Film Festival 2025
Monsters, madmen and an uproarious murder mystery: discover the top five titles that made our must-watch shortlist at London’s premiere cinematic event
Every October, the bustling streets of the UK capital become the beating heart of the movie-making world, as the bright lights of Leicester Square shine on cinema’s best and brightest during the London Film Festival. We were there among the actors and auteurs to capture the atmosphere, yes, but most importantly to deliver our verdict on the festival’s top titles – the standout films that will have chins wagging in the awards season to come.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
The opening night gala at the Royal Festival Hall featured a star-studded screening of the third instalment in director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out trilogy, which sees detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) attempt to solve the murder of a priest.
[Image courtesy of Netflix]
In a press conference before the gala, Johnson confessed he’d be “thrilled to keep making these for the rest of my life”; it would seem the audience shares that appetite, as the laughs kept coming with every twist and turn of the masterful murder mystery. By the third film, many franchises begin to show signs of fatigue, but here, the talented ensemble cast keeps things fresh and thrilling – particularly The Crown star Josh O’Connor, who plays the priest at the centre of the investigation. Another triumphant return for one of Hollywood’s most beloved contemporary sleuths.
Bugonia
Teaming up for her fourth film with Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone was the star of the show at the movie’s London premiere, telling reporters she was surprised to find her role to be “pretty physical”. Continuing the filmmaker’s streak of unusual tales, the movie casts Stone as an obnoxious pharmaceutical CEO who is kidnapped by one of her employees (Jesse Plemons), a conspiracy theorist convinced that she is an alien.
[Image courtesy of Focus Features]
Stone does indeed get physical in a performance that requires her to transform from glamorous leading lady into something more feral. Offering off-the-wall comedy and absurd twists, Lanthimos slowly builds a clever satire about the dark places we can find when we poke around the wrong corners of the internet. Stone remained coy when asked about her chances of a third Oscar win, but we think she will be a contender.
Hamnet
There were more than a few tears at Chloé Zhao’s (Nomadland) powerful new drama about William Shakespeare, appropriately holding its premiere a short walk from The Globe Theatre on London’s South Bank. Star Jessie Buckley was among those affected, confessing at the event that “it’s kind of set a bar, I only want to make films that are as brave and as human as this from now on.”
[Image courtesy of Focus Features/Universal]
“Brave and human” are certainly apt descriptions for the movie, adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel, in which Buckley plays the wife of the great writer (Paul Mescal) struggling to cope with the loss of their son, Hamnet – a tragedy that’s said to have inspired one of the Bard’s most famous works. A heartbreaking tale of love and loss, it further solidifies the reputations of Buckley and Mescal as two of the most exciting talents in film today, while underlining Zhao’s unique talent for rendering quietly devastating depictions of humanity. Far more than a stuffy costume drama, the story takes a different approach to history, imagining the people behind the legends.
Anemone
London welcomed home one of its most celebrated actors, as Daniel Day-Lewis returned to the big screen for his first role since 2017. Here, he plays a reclusive former soldier sought out by his estranged brother (Sean Bean), in a film directed by Day-Lewis’s son, Ronan. Speaking at a special Screen Talk masterclass at the festival, the multi-time Oscar winner and reclusive star described it as a “joyous” occasion to work with his son; however, he also expressed “certain reservations about being back in the public world again.”
[Image courtesy of Focus Features/Universal]
The film itself is a departure for him, with the younger Day-Lewis relying on stunning visuals and unspoken emotions to convey the tone. However, other viewers in attendance echoed our sentiment that Daniel Day-Lewis has not lost any sense of mastery during his absence from the screen, delivering one of the most striking performances of the year.
Jay Kelly
George Clooney, on the other hand, had no difficulty with public attention as he greeted the crowds arriving for the premiere of his latest film and joked around with co-star Adam Sandler during the film’s introduction.
[Image courtesy of Netflix]
In this Noah Baumbach-directed film, Clooney and Sandler look to be having just as much fun. The former plays a celebrated movie star who embarks on a journey across Europe with his manager (Sandler) in tow, facing the mistakes of his past that have hampered his search for fulfilment. It’s a funny and tender tribute to the highs and lows of Hollywood, featuring two of its most successful stars. Clooney, for his part, surprises with a charming vulnerability, while Sandler expands his horizons with a witty but emotional performance.
Frankenstein
We end with the perfect film for the spooky season, as director Guillermo del Toro takes on Mary Shelley’s 1818 classic of life and death. Oscar Isaac plays the titular scientist, with Jacob Elordi (Saltburn) packing on prosthetics as the iconic monster.
[Image courtesy of Netflix]
All three men turned up to London’s Southbank Centre alongside co-star Mia Goth, but all the audience’s smiles soon turned to gasps as the Gothic tale unfolded on screen. One of the most visceral films in this year’s schedule, we glimpsed more than one movie fan hiding behind their hands as the nightmarish imagery illustrated the anguish and inhumanity of this time-honoured story. As the lights came up, the audience gave a standing ovation, hinting that another awards run for the Oscar-winning director of The Shape of Water may not be out of the question.
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