Ink Film Review: ‘The Sun’ Rises and We All Go Down

Jack O’Connell and Guy Pearce are superb in Danny Boyle’s Ink, a gripping, exhilarating, appropriately bleak thriller that uses the past to warn us about the present.

And though our Yorkshireman – Daily Mail executive Larry Lamb (Jack O’Connell, of Sinners) – doesn’t know it yet, that very idea is about to become his downfall. But that doesn’t mean he’s not right.

It all begins that very evening, when our Australian man, media magnate Rupert Murdoch (Guy Pearce, of The Brutalist), tells Larry he’s just bought The Sun. “Oh, f*cking hell,” Lamb says, painfully aware of the British newspaper’s reputation, and knowing all too well what Murdock is about to ask. One napkin-scribbled offer he can’t refuse later, Larry is the new Editor of The Sun, a job that comes with a reminder to “give the people what they want” and a speech about “growing a pair”. And though by the time the end credits roll Larry will have done exactly that, our hero’s story is a tragedy that’s still unfolding to this day.

Adapted from James Graham’s 2017 play of the same name by Graham himself, Danny Boyle’s Ink wastes no time setting the scene. That initial conversation tells us everything we need to know about the two main players of this tale, their fast-paced back-and-forth matched by rapid camera cuts and gorgeous wide-angle shots that further highlight the significance of that moment. What comes next is the story of how a team of newly recruited underdogs works hard to deliver exactly the kind of sensationalist content that Murdoch had asked for.

“What do you enjoy?”, Larry asks his staff, brainstorming article ideas for a newspaper that would make people feel alive. “Smoking and drinking,” says crime journalist Brian McConnell (Brian Gleeson, of Peaky Blinders). “Football, darts, organized boxing… Mindless violence,” says sports editor Frank Nicklin (Christopher Fulford, of 28 Years Later). “Television,” someone adds. “The weather”, deputy editor Bernard Shrimsley (Patrick Kennedy, of Blue Moon) jumps in, “because I’m British, and that’s what we talk about.” The list goes on, until Joyce Hopkirk (Claire Foy, of Women Talking) – a high-profile Daily Express journalist whom Larry, her not-so-secret lover, poached – says it: “Sex.”

No topic is off the table for Larry, regardless of moral implications, and to his credit, it works. But there’s a price to pay for selling your soul to the devil. “You’re not the first one to invent it,” Larry’s former employer comments on Lamb’s editorial approach when his decision to involve the public in an open investigation has serious consequences, “You’re just the first one to not care at all about the consequences.”

The comment is on point, but Ink‘s protagonist is an even more complex character than that – one that’s both a product of our capitalist society and a reflection of our own wants and desires. And while the film is perfectly clear about the ways in which sensationalism has shaped all sorts of media today – from journalism to social media, influencer culture and more – it also doesn’t judge a central character who owns every single one of his choices right till the very end.

Jack O’Connell and Guy Pearce are both phenomenal. Their first conversation alone is a masterclass in raw storytelling, and as the film goes on, we find new layers to characters that, in other hands, could have become caricatures. The entire ensemble is perfect in their respective roles, making each character memorable and relatable. The production design feels authentic and lived-in, with incredibly detailed reconstructions that make you feel as if the movie was unfolding all around you. The irresistible soundtrack sets this story in a very specific time and place, with many recognizable, energetic (and mostly British) tracks that will make you want to dance on your seat.

Though the film goes a little overboard with the intensity at times – a recurring sequence sees our protagonists on a fast-moving underground carriage, surrounded by darkness, interlaced with blurred close-ups of O’Connell’s face and it does get a bit repetitive by the end, as do some of the camera movements – the filmmaking makes for a very engaging movie that knows when to deliver the tension and when not to take itself too seriously. Cinematographer Alwin H. Küchler (Tetris) combines many different styles – from vivid color combinations to noir-like framing and grainy black and white sequences – to make the film’s visuals match its themes in every scene. The sound design is just as good, delivering tone and atmosphere throughout.

With great power comes great responsibility, and the price for what Rupert asks of Larry is exactly what both characters get. But as Larry knows all too well, it’s not the ‘why’ that matters in this fast-moving world of ours. The question that remains – for Larry, for journalism, and especially for us – is: what’s next?

Ink, the Opening Film of the 2026 Venice Film Festival, had its World Premiere on September 2, 2026. The movie will be released in select US theatres on December 11, 2026 and in UK & Irish cinemas on January 8, 2027.