An unconventional creature
Mary Shelley is an unconventional and inconsistent film, and Haifaa al-Mansour is an unconventional and inconsistent choice to direct it
Cinema
Mary Shelley: Directed by Haifaa al-Mansour, Nationwide, 12A,Rating:**
Whitney: Directed by Kevin Macdonald, Nationwide, 15A,Rating:****
Haifaa al-Mansour, the first Saudi woman to direct a feature film, picked a simple subject close to home for her debut, 2013’s much-admired Wadjda: a young Riyadh girl entering a recital competition to win money to buy a bicycle, a mode of transport deemed improper for women in the Saudi kingdom.
On the surface, al-Mansour’s follow-up couldn’t ...
