Danny Boyle’s latest film, *Ink*, premiered at the Venice Film Festival as a dynamic adaptation of James Graham’s 2017 play, chronicling the early years of The Sun newspaper under Rupert Murdoch’s ownership. Set in October 1969, the film explores the tabloid’s transformation and the clashing visions of Murdoch and editor Larry Lamb as they sought to disrupt the British media establishment.
The narrative begins with a striking scene in Fleet Street, where a 38-year-old Murdoch (portrayed by Guy Pearce) and Lamb (Jack O’Connell) sense the power of the printing presses beneath their feet—a moment that symbolizes the upheaval they intend to bring. The film follows the first tumultuous year after Murdoch’s acquisition of the struggling paper, highlighting the conflicting impulses of both men. Murdoch emerges as a figure determined to challenge the entrenched British elite, which he criticizes as “class-riven bullshit,” while Lamb’s drive to boost circulation takes on a darker, more corrosive tone.
A key storyline centers on the introduction of “Page 3” topless models, a controversial editorial decision that sparks internal conflict. Murdoch’s character reacts with alarm when Lamb pushes ahead with the idea, illustrating the tension between sensationalism and control within the paper’s offices. The film also incorporates the real-life kidnapping and murder of Muriel McKay, wife of Murdoch’s deputy Alick McKay, an event that casts a shadow over the tabloid’s rise.
Performances have been widely praised, with O’Connell embodying Lamb’s driven but tortured persona and Claire Foy portraying Jules Davies, a fictionalized women’s editor caught in the era’s changing media landscape. Pearce’s Murdoch is depicted as a man of contradictions—portrayed with restraint rather than as a caricature—capturing his ambivalence toward the newspaper’s increasingly vulgar tactics. The film briefly features a CGI-rendered Margaret Thatcher in a cameo, emphasizing the political context of the period.
Critical perspectives on *Ink* diverge in tone and emphasis. Some view Boyle’s adaptation as a kinetic, adrenaline-fueled reinvention of a “talky” stage script, infusing Graham’s original material with visual flair and narrative urgency. Others find the film’s style deliberately lurid and unsubtle, with its frequent use of Dutch angles and exaggerated close-ups underscoring the sensationalism it depicts. The film has been described as both a gleeful celebration of tabloid frenzy and a somewhat bleak portrayal of a media world marked by self-loathing and opportunism.
Particularly notable is the film’s treatment of the McKay kidnapping, which some critics view as underplayed given its tragic significance and potential symbolic weight as a marker of media degradation. Boyle’s version suggests Lamb exploits the incident for sensational stories, raising ethical questions that echo into contemporary debates about media influence, misinformation, and celebrity culture.
*Ink* is set for release in cinemas later this year, offering audiences a visually arresting and thematically complex look at the birth of a British media institution and the personalities who shaped it.