Last month I attended the BFI London Film Festival and was lucky enough to see a number of this year’s most anticipated films as well as some that have flown under the radar.

Here are three of the best…

Springsteen Deliver Me from Nowhere

The musical biopic has remained a constant around film festival and award season these past few years with the likes of Queen, Elton John, Elvis and Bob Dylan all getting the Hollywood treatment. This year it’s Bruce Springsteen’s turn.

Springsteen Deliver Me from Nowhere takes place in 1981 and studies the time Springsteen spent writing and recording his 1982 album Nebraska, the folksy, bluesy album that his record label absolutely did not want to release. This is coupled with an exploration into Springsteen’s struggles with depression which ultimately leads him to push those who care about him further and further away.

Jeremy Allen White of ‘The Bear’ fame does a great job as the thirty-something Bruce. His take is a refreshing one; aside from some ever-so-slightly unnerving contact lenses he’s not been dolled up to look like he’s trying to win a Springsteen look-alike competition – no false teeth, no new hairline, no prosthetics. Nor does he adopt much of an accent (we’re surely all familiar with Austin Butler and his Elvis ‘voice’) allowing him to play the character through his acting rather than letting the hair and makeup department do the heavy lifting.

What makes this biopic stand out from the hoards that have come before it is that it focuses on one particular period of Springsteen’s long career. This is no ‘origin’ story, when the film starts, Bruce is already a star and we don’t have to spend the first thirty minutes watching him convince a label to sign him and his consequence rise to fame. And that’s a welcome relief. If there’s one thing that hold musical biopics back it’s the formulaic approach to storytelling that they all adopt. Deliver Me from Nowhere bucks this trend whilst also managing to insert the stuff we all want to see; of course we get to see Bruce on stage and of course we get to see him record Born in the USA (which Jeremy Allen White knocks out of the park) allowing those more casual fans (those less likely to be familiar with Nebraska) something to enjoy.

The movie doesn’t completely avoid cliché. The black and white flashbacks to Bruce’s childhood are very on the nose, and there’s an overwhelming ‘the artist is always right’ air to some of the later scenes, but overall this is a nice move away from the stereotypical musical biopics of the last few years, with a stellar leading performance, offering something for both the die-hards and the more causal fans of The Boss.

In cinemas now

Die My Love

Die My Love stars Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson – two of the biggest stars of the late 00s/early 10s thanks to their starring roles in the Hunger Games and Twilight franchises respectively. They’ve teamed up to play couple Grace and Jackson in this thriller/black comedy – and millennials rejoiced.

Lawrence’s Grace is a lonely, frustrated new mother who slowly descends into postpartum psychosis as she spends her days stuck in an isolated, ramshackle house in rural Montana as her partner Jackson spends most of his time on the road for work. It’s the kind of look into motherhood that most mothers don’t want to talk about – the unforgiving loneliness, the anger, the sheer boredom that comes with ‘losing’ oneself to motherhood. Unfortunately for Grace, with a lack of support from virtually anybody she begins to psychologically unravel over the course of this two-hour thriller. The dark humour that is present throughout the film prevents it from becoming too depressing and offers the cast great opportunities to showcase some wonderful comedic timing as well.

Jennifer Lawrence is on course for an Oscar nomination with this performance. It’s exposed, raw, unhinged but never ventures into cartoonish or unrealistic. Pattinson is more restrained in his role as Jackson but holds his own alongside Lawrence’s scene stealing role; showcasing both lackadaisical nonchalance and enough pent-up frustration that you never actually dislike Jackson despite him frequently letting Grace down. They’re supported by the excellent Sissy Spacek who brings some tenderness to proceedings in her first role in three years.

Die My Love is a must see, not least for Jennifer Lawrence’s award-worthy performance.

In cinemas now

A Private Life (Vie Privée)

One of the most under the radar showings might just be one of the best. The always fabulous Jodie Foster shows off her French skills in this charming, murder-mystery comedy set in Paris.

Foster plays American psychiatrist Lilian Steiner – on paper a very typical ‘Jodie Foster’ kind of role; intelligent, reserved, stoic – who suspects that the death of one of her patients may have been murder. Enlisting the help of her ex-husband (the incredibaly likable Mathieu Amalric), Lilian begins an investigation of her own that sees her slowly unravel into an impulsive, irrational and emotional mess, allowing Foster to showcase some excellent comedy skills.

The plot – when it sticks to its murder-mystery roots – is good; fun, a little camp and with a touch of Parisian sophisticated – however there are moments of tonal whiplash. Lilian visits a hypnotist (her own form of therapy, it seems) where we spend too much time on a sort of psychological trip that doesn’t really enhance the film in any credible way (not least because we’re suddenly transported to the 1940s where Paris is under Nazi occupation). And yet, these diversions never detract enough to ruin the enjoyment, they’re the kind of quirky additions that you might just shrug off and just attribute to being ‘very French’.

One thing that never gets talked about is the quality of the translation. Aside from a few f-bombs from Foster, the dialogue is entirely in French meaning non-French speakers will need the subtitles – the jokes still land, the explanations aren’t convoluted, and nothing is lost in translation, something that cannot always be said.

A Private Life is undoubtedly one of the best hidden gems of the year and makes for a fun, enjoyable jaunt through Paris coupled with intrigue, suspense and plenty of laughs.

UK release – November 13, 2025, as part of the UK’s French Film Festival 2025.