“Just because you’re the first people to do something doesn’t mean you were the first ones to think of it. You’re just the first people who didn’t care enough not to do it.”
I feel this one quote spoken by Bertie Carvel’s Hugh Cudlipp towards the conclusion of Ink summarises the message of the film perfectly. This gem is just one of the extremely quotable lines from James Grahame’s delicious screenplay; I am also a particular fan of Murdoch’s “Please tell me you’re only angry because they’re celebrating mediocrity in there.”
In the new film from British Indie director Danny Boyle, whose impressive filmography boasts films like Trainspotting, 28 Years Later and Slumdog Millionaire, Jack O’Connell and Guy Pearce play newspaper moguls Larry Lamb and Rupert Murdoch who teamed together to create the British tabloid The Sun, which quickly became one of the most popular newspapers in Britain. Joining O’Connell and Pearce is an impressive ensemble cast including The Crown’s Claire Foy; Bad Sisters’ Brian Glesson; The Inbetweeners’ Blake Harrison and stage actor Bertie Carvel (who originated the role of Murdoch in Grahame’s play of the same name he has adapted).
This is a film of two halves. The first half chronologises the rise of The Sun, from Lamb and Murdoch’s initial meeting in 1960s Fleet Street to The Sun’s risqué material and focus on sensationalised headlines causing controversy within the industry. The tone of this half is clearly dark absurdist comedy; I mean Blake Harrison’s character is recruited within a pornography theatre for crying out loud. It is with the second half however that things take a darker turn. To avoid spoilers, Lamb begins reporting on a very public ongoing police investigation, much to the horror of his co-workers and Murdoch, going to any lengths in order to dethrone his rivals at the Daily Mirror. By the conclusion of the second half, Danny Boyle presents his audience with a modern British horror story that leaves you rethinking the presence of The Sun in British society and realising how much evil has spilled from the ink that covers the pages of the newspaper.
The main draw of the film is, of course, the performances of Jack O’Connell and Guy Pearce as both Lamb and Murdoch find themselves becoming at odds with each other, as neither wants to accept the blame for what The Sun has become. Whilst Pearce is immensely charismatic and calculating as the Aussie billionaire Murdoch, it is O’Connell as Lamb which drives the film to the finish line. Larry Lamb is a man fuelled by bitterness, hatred and jealousy after being undervalued in his previous job as Junior Editor of The Daily Mirror. What this installs in Lamb is a drive to get the last laugh over his bullies and make something of himself, discarding any sense of morality and integrity to sell the story.
O’Connell completely transforms himself into this role with the same intensity and nuance I haven’t seen since 1990s Gary Oldman. O’Connell is quickly proving himself as one of Britain’s finest character actors and I can sense great things coming from him. This is of course O’Connell’s second standout performance this year after his performance as Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (which was also produced by Danny Boyle).
Boyle’s manic direction is also one of Ink’s finer elements. In typical Boyle fashion, he comes in and breaks every filmmaking law possible, leaving his audience in a constant state of unease due to his unusual camera placement and editing. This unease also takes a new form in Ink through Boyle’s use of generative A.I. for a tiny portion of this film. This has caused quite a bit of controversy surrounding the film, which I think is unnecessary for how little it is featured in Ink (only serving about 30 seconds of the 1 hour 56-minute runtime).
For those who don’t know, after Ink premiered at Venice Film Festival last month, certain audience members noticed that select shots of the film looked like they had been generated using Artificial Intelligence, which Boyle would confirm a couple days later. This culminated in almost every question of Ink’s press tour being in some way connected to this issue, and for Boyle to be even heckled during a Q and A at the Toronto International Film Festival. Look, do I agree with Boyle using the A.I.? No. But do I see the value of its place in the story and Boyle’s vision? Yes, I do, which I think a lot of people are quick to judge the film for without taking this into account. Also, it forms such a tiny part of the runtime that it isn’t that distracting, just ignore these 30 seconds and focus on how amazing the other 1:55:30 are.
I understand I really shouldn’t go into spoilers on a film that isn’t getting a general release for 3 months, so I’ll keep this conclusion brief. Ultimately, Ink is an incredible dive into British culture and how dominated it is by The Sun, filled with pulsating direction from Danny Boyle, an immensely quotable script from James Grahame, and two of the finest performances of the year from Jack O’Connell and Guy Pearce. The final montage as well, which left me in shock for about an hour afterwards, should definitely be watched. Ink is certainly not a film to be missed.
5 stars.
Ink opens in British theatres on 8th January 2027
