---
title: "Ink"
year: 2026
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/ink"
fi1m_id: "ink"
imdb_id: "tt37967547"
tmdb_id: 1532610
fi1m_score: 64
critics_score: 66
critics_reviews: 13
published: "2026-09-24T21:31:19.285736+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-24T21:31:19.831828+00:00"
region: "NL"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ink (2026)

Directed by Danny Boyle · 1h 56m · Drama, History

## Identity

Ink

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/ink
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** ink
- **IMDb ID:** tt37967547
- **TMDB ID:** 1532610
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt37967547/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1532610

**Fi1m score: 64** · Critics 66 from 13 reviews

*In a sentence:* Fleet Street at full volume, cut like a pop video, while Rupert Murdoch barely raises his voice

> Danny Boyle and James Graham turn the 1969 rebirth of the Sun into a loud, fast, often funny film with a fine Jack O’Connell at its centre. It has enormous energy and, on the question of what it thinks about any of this, it goes quiet.

## Synopsis

London, 1969. Rupert Murdoch (Guy Pearce), an Australian proprietor few on Fleet Street have bothered to take seriously, buys the Sun, a failing broadsheet, from Hugh Cudlipp (Bertie Carvel) of the Mirror group, who is glad to be rid of it. To edit it he hires Larry Lamb (Jack O’Connell), a Yorkshireman the Mirror has passed over, and gives him weeks to relaunch it as a tabloid that can take on Cudlipp’s own paper. Lamb goes recruiting: Bernard Shrimsley (Patrick Kennedy) as his deputy, Ray Mills (Blake Harrison), Brian McConnell (Brian Gleeson) and the photographer Beverley Goodway (Angus Imrie). Jules Davies (Claire Foy) is among the newcomers. Murdoch’s deputy, Sir Alick McKay (Jonathan Hyde), watches the money. The first edition has a date, the presses are waiting, and the Mirror expects them to fail.

## Review

In 1969 an Australian nobody in London took much notice of bought a dying broadsheet and, with a Yorkshire editor the Mirror had turned down, made it the Sun. Danny Boyle’s film of James Graham’s stage play tells that story at the pace of a print run, and for a long stretch it is the most fun we have had in a newsroom drama in years. It is also, when the noise drops, hard to say what it makes of any of it. That is the verdict: a good night out that does not know its own mind.

Jack O’Connell plays Larry Lamb with a grudge he can burn as fuel. He is a provincial who has been patronised by the men on the Mirror and intends to make them read him, and O’Connell is quick, funny and slightly frightening, holding the centre of a film that is otherwise always on the move. Guy Pearce’s Murdoch is the quietest thing in it. He watches, nods, rarely lifts his voice, and the faster Boyle spins the room around him, the more that stillness reads as where the power actually sits. Bertie Carvel, who played Murdoch on stage, is here the Mirror’s Hugh Cudlipp, and he gives the old guard’s contempt a weary intelligence the script does not always honour.

Alwin H. Küchler’s camera is hardly ever allowed to rest. It pushes down corridors, swings across the composing room and crowds in on faces, and Fin Oates cuts to match, so that the first hour moves like a montage that has decided to be a whole film. Daniel Pemberton’s score is loud and pulsing and treats every front page as a goal scored. Gareth Pugh and Carson McColl, credited for both production design and costume, build a Fleet Street of presses, partitions and ashtrays and dress Lamb’s recruits so that you can read each man’s opinion of himself from his collar. For an hour this is exhilarating, and we enjoyed it more than we expected to.

Somewhere in the second hour we noticed we were waiting for the film to disapprove of something, and it kept declining. Graham gives Cudlipp the case against Lamb and gives Lamb the better lines, and Boyle films Lamb’s victories as victories. When the film wants us to feel a cost, it stops and has someone say so, at length. The speeches are the weakest writing in it. It keeps announcing an argument and then going back to the presses, and the presses are more persuasive.

The second half turns on a real crime from December 1969 that involves the McKay family, and we will not describe it. What we can say is that the speed which serves the newsroom serves this part badly. Boyle does not slow down enough for it, and Lucy Russell and Jonathan Hyde are given less room than what happens to them deserves. Meanwhile the paper’s front pages keep escalating, each louder than the last, and the escalation starts to repeat. By the final stretch we were tired, and a little uneasy about how much we had been enjoying ourselves before that.

Against Boyle’s own record this sits in an odd place. [*Trainspotting*](https://film.one/film/trainspotting) (1996) had this fizz and knew exactly what it thought of the people it was fizzing about. [*Steve Jobs*](https://film.one/film/steve-jobs) (2015) took another talky script about a difficult man building something and let the words lead. Here Boyle seems to be fighting Graham’s words, drowning the debate the play was built on under the kind of spectacle the play was about. Claire Foy’s Jules Davies is the one performance that survives both approaches, dry and watchful, and the film is calmer whenever she is in shot.

Go for O’Connell and Pearce, for the first hour, and for the pleasure of watching a newspaper being made by people who love making it. Do not expect it to tell you whether that love did any harm. It runs 116 minutes and most of them are loud.

*Fi1m score 64, published 24 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics come away entertained. Nine of the thirteen reviews are positive, and the praise clusters in two places: Danny Boyle’s direction, which the reviews describe as kinetic, high-energy and, more than once, a return to the fizz of Trainspotting, and Jack O’Connell’s performance as Larry Lamb, singled out as charismatic and assured by admirers and sceptics alike. Claire Foy and Guy Pearce are named repeatedly in the ensemble, and several reviews enjoy the period detail.

The reservations cluster on what the film is actually saying. Even warm reviews call its moral perspective elusive or its politics overcooked, and a few find the relentless camera flourishes exhausting. The spread is wide. Vulture calls it Boyle’s strongest work in decades, while Little White Lies finds it all style and no substance and Time Out calls it toothless. The Guardian, more measured, faults its detached handling of the central kidnapping. It is worth noting that the sharpest dissent comes from the British press.

## Straight answers

**Is Ink worth watching?**

*Ink* is worth watching for its first hour and for Jack O'Connell and Guy Pearce, and we scored it 64. Danny Boyle films the 1969 relaunch of the Sun at full speed and it is often very funny, but it never decides what it thinks about the paper it is celebrating. Go for the energy, not for an argument.

**How long is Ink, and what is it rated?**

*Ink* runs 1h 56m. It is a drama and history film.

**Where can I watch Ink in the Netherlands?**

*Ink* is not on any streaming or rental service in the Netherlands at the moment. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Ink, and is it suitable for children?**

*Ink* has no UK certificate yet and carries an R in America, which points to an adult drama rather than anything violent or frightening on screen. It is a loud, fast, sweary newsroom film about grown men making a newspaper, and its second half turns on a real crime from 1969 that it treats seriously without dwelling on it. Fine for older teenagers, of little interest to children.

**How does Ink compare to Network?**

*Ink* is the faster and funnier of the two, but [*Network*](https://film.one/film/network) is the better film, because Sidney Lumet knows exactly what he thinks about giving the public what it wants and Danny Boyle does not. Both lean on speeches that crowd out their people; Lumet's at least make a case. Choose *Ink* for Fleet Street energy and O'Connell, *Network* for the argument.

**What should I watch after Ink?**

After *Ink*, try [*Network*](https://film.one/film/network) (1976, Fi1m 86): Television giving people what they want, and Lumet knowing exactly what he thinks about it. Then [*Steve Jobs*](https://film.one/film/steve-jobs) (2015, Fi1m 80): Boyle and a talky script about a difficult man; here the words are allowed to win.

### Reviews we read (13)

- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (90/100, inferred): Ebiri calls the film Boyle’s best in decades and says it may be a masterpiece. He praises Boyle’s electrifying direction, which turns the newspaper drama into an anthemic, fearsome experience. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-ink-is-danny-boyles-best-film-in-decades.html)
- **Variety**, Guy Lodge (85/100, inferred): Lodge finds the film riveting and morally unsettling, with its critique of tabloid journalism complicated by its own flashy style. He especially praises Jack O’Connell’s charismatic performance as Larry Lamb. [Read](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/ink-review-1236849047/)
- **IndieWire**, Ryan Lattanzio (B): Lattanzio finds the film vividly directed and strongly acted, but ultimately overcooked in its political messaging. He especially praises Claire Foy’s performance and the film’s lively period details. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/ink-movie-review-danny-boyle-rupert-murdoch-1235213549/)
- **Screen Daily**, Tim Grierson (75/100, inferred): The review presents the film as a seductive, high-energy portrait of ambition and media disruption. It singles out Jack O’Connell’s magnetic performance as Larry Lamb. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/festivals/ink-review-jack-oconnell-is-magnetic-as-the-sun-tabloid-editor-larry-lamb-in-danny-boyles-feverish-venice-opener/5219901.article)
- **Radio Times**, James Mottram (70/100, inferred): The available description presents the film as an energetic, unapologetic success. It singles out Boyle’s fizz, compared with that of Trainspotting, for praise. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/ink-review-danny-boyle-jack-oconnell/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (70/100, inferred): Rooney finds the film vigorously entertaining, though its moral perspective remains elusive. He praises Boyle’s kinetic direction and the ensemble, especially the performances of Guy Pearce and Claire Foy. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/ink-review-jack-oconnell-guy-pearce-danny-boyle-murdoch-1236686614/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (55/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the film lurid and confident, but uneven in how it handles its central tragedy. He praises Jack O’Connell’s tough, assured performance while faulting the film’s detached treatment of the kidnapping. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/02/ink-review-danny-boyle-jack-oconnell)
- **Time Out**, John Bleasdale (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film toothless and bland. He faults it for offering no clear point about the tabloid’s origins. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ink-2026-review)
- **Little White Lies**, Rafa Sales Ross (20/100, inferred): Ross finds Boyle’s film all style and little substance, and says it never delivers its promised takedown of Murdoch. She particularly faults its flashy gimmicks and overwritten dialogue for undermining its critique of media power. [Read](https://lwlies.com/venice-film-festival/ink-first-look-review)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (85/100, inferred): Hammond finds the film thrilling, lively, and chilling in its portrayal of the origins of Murdoch’s media empire. He especially praises the visual energy of Boyle’s direction and the performances of Jack O’Connell and Guy Pearce. [Read](https://deadline.com/2026/09/ink-review-danny-boyle-rupert-murdoch-the-sun-1237062989/)
- **NME** (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film thrilling, funny and thought-provoking, praising its writing and direction. Jack O’Connell’s charismatic performance as Larry Lamb is singled out as a highlight. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/ink-review-jack-oconnell-danny-boyle-the-sun-rupert-murdoch-3966797)
- **The Playlist**, Marshall Shaffer (B+): Shaffer finds the film entertaining and kinetically made, but overstuffed with style and too rushed to develop its characters. He praises Boyle’s punk-rock visual energy, while noting that the relentless camera flourishes become exhausting. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/ink-review-danny-boyle-jack-oconnell-guy-pearce-20260902/)
- **The Wrap** (45/100, inferred): The critic finds the film exhilarating but ultimately weighed down by repetitive, relentless escalation. Boyle’s frenetic visual style is praised for capturing the tabloid’s sensational cadence, though the critic says it cannot overcome the story’s repetition. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/ink-review-rupert-murdoch-movie-guy-pearce-jack-oconnell/)

## Details

- **Director:** Danny Boyle
- **Director:** Danny Boyle
- **Screenplay:** James Graham
- **Cinematography:** Alwin H. Küchler
- **Editor:** Fin Oates
- **Music:** Daniel Pemberton
- **Production design:** Gareth Pugh, Carson McColl
- **Costume design:** Gareth Pugh, Carson McColl
- **Producer:** Danny Boyle, Tessa Ross, Michael Ellenberg
- **Cast:** Jack O'Connell as Larry Lamb; Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch; Claire Foy as Jules Davies; Blake Harrison as Ray Mills; Patrick Kennedy as Bernard Shrimsley; Angus Imrie as Beverley Goodway; Brian Gleeson as Brian McConnell; Bertie Carvel as Hugh Cudlipp
- **Runtime:** 1h 56m
- **First release (Italy):** 2 September 2026
- **Genres:** Drama, History
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LE1L4Huyys

## Where to watch in the Netherlands

Not streaming, renting or buying in the Netherlands at the last check.

## If you liked this

- *Sweet Smell of Success* (1957): Columnists and press agents in Manhattan; the nastiest newspaper film ever made, and the best written
- *Network* (1976), Fi1m 86: Television giving people what they want, and Lumet knowing exactly what he thinks about it — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/network.md)
- *Il Divo* (2008): Sorrentino’s portrait of Andreotti: style as loud as Boyle’s, with a point of view
- *Steve Jobs* (2015), Fi1m 80: Boyle and a talky script about a difficult man; here the words are allowed to win — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/steve-jobs.md)
- *Defence of the Realm* (1985): Fleet Street in the Thatcher years, paranoid and grey, with Gabriel Byrne asking questions

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/ink