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Adam Nayman

Adam Nayman is a critic and lecturer based in Toronto. He is the author of books on the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, and David Fincher.

All Articles
May 30, 2025
Adam Nayman
Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme Embraces the Modest Pleasures
It’s also a rollicking not-quite thriller about family, financing, and (broadly) filmmaking itself.
May 13, 2025
Adam Nayman
Jia Zhangke’s Caught by the Tides Is an Epic of Loss and Perseverance
The filmmaker’s tale of modern China probes the emotional toll of living through two decades of social upheaval.
April 18, 2025
MagazineAdam Nayman
David Cronenberg Takes High Tech to the Graveyard
In his new film, Shrouds, paranoia seeps into the afterlife.
March 3, 2025
Adam Nayman
The No-Drama Oscars
In an evening light on politics and controversy (mostly), host Conan O’Brien turned the show into a boosterism event for the film industry.
December 23, 2024
Adam Nayman
A Complete Unknown Misses the Elusive Genius of Bob Dylan
The biopic starring Timothée Chalamet is a star-is-born fable viewed with 20/20 hindsight and through rose-tinted glasses.
December 19, 2024
MagazineAdam Nayman
Pedro Almodóvar’s Self-Indulgent Portrait of a Woman’s Last Days
“The Room Next Door” is not quite willing to confront its subject in all its difficulty.
October 16, 2024
MagazineAdam Nayman
Guy Maddin’s Surreal Summit at the End of the World
“Rumours” imagines a version of the G7 where world leaders descend into absurdity.
September 30, 2024
Adam Nayman
Saturday Night Live Deserved Better Than Saturday Night
Jason Reitman’s movie is an ode to Lorne Michaels, afraid to take even small risks.
August 5, 2024
Adam Nayman
M. Night Shyamalan’s Very Sinister Dad Joke
“Trap” is an escape-from-the-room thriller as well as a touching exploration of a father-daughter bond.
July 16, 2024
Adam Nayman
The Wayward Conservative Fantasies of Kevin Costner
Nostalgia is Kevin Costner’s specialty, from hits like “Field of Dreams” to revanchist epics like “Horizon.”
June 26, 2024
MagazineAdam Nayman
Last Summer Is a Marvel of Toxic Lyricism
Catherine Breillat’s provocative new film is like a watercolor dabbed with cyanide.
May 3, 2024
MagazineAdam Nayman
The Unsettling Eco-Horror of Evil Does Not Exist
In Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s new movie, an isolated community faces an existential threat and the fragility of its own defense mechanisms.
March 11, 2024
Adam Nayman
The Oscars’ Spectacle of Seriousness
The night saw a jarring dissonance between political statement and glitzy showmanship.
February 19, 2024
Adam Nayman
The Taste of Things Is More Than an Ode to Pleasure
Tran Anh Hung’s gourmet-themed drama celebrates the superficial and the sublime.
January 22, 2024
Adam Nayman
All of Us Strangers Chases the Elusive Elasticity of Love
Past and present overlap eerily in Andrew Haigh’s new film, starring Paul Mescal.
December 14, 2023
MagazineAdam Nayman
May December Is a Wicked Imitation Game
Todd Haynes took the story of a tabloid scandal and made it something much stranger.
November 16, 2023
MagazineAdam Nayman
Nicolas Cage Can’t Escape Himself in Dream Scenario
Kristoffer Borgli’s surreal comedy probes the benefits and horrors of instant fame.

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