Ink

Certainly some will criticize Ink as being too sympathetic to people who have arguably debased culture.  Newspapers once had an elite sense and served a kind of gatekeeping role, for better or worse.  The tearing down of this sensibility continues to this day, with Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, once a vibrant home for intellectuals and thoughtful discourse, which has now been drowned out by misogyny and racism.  Ink is very much in the style of a mafia movie, where you can find yourself rooting for a protagonist who has lost their moral compass.  Yes, it is thrilling in the moment, but the point is that you are only getting the full story if you stop to think about your own complicity.

Ink was initially a play written by James Graham, and Graham has adapted it here for the screen.  In Boyle’s hands, with rapid editing, plenty of scene changes, a great soundtrack, and a kind of visual explosiveness, it feels nothing like a play. 

Rupert Murdoch and Larry Lamb go nose to nose in a heated newsroom standoff in Ink.

“…very much in the style of a mafia movie, where you can find yourself rooting for a protagonist who has lost their moral compass.”

With Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, and more, Danny Boyle has earned his place as one of the best and most versatile filmmakers alive.  Of course, like anyone who has been working for 30+ years, he’s had his share of misses too, but I’d argue that some of these lesser-appreciated films like Millions, The Beach, Sunshine, and A Life Less Ordinary still have a kind of swinging-for-the-fences magic, even if they didn’t come together perfectly or catch the zeitgeist.  Ink is Danny Boyle at his best — it feels like early Danny Boyle, propulsive, captivating, brash, profound, and controversial.  Ink certainly fits in the upper tier of his repertoire, meaning it is a truly all-time great film that some will love and others will hate.  I love it.  

Ink screened at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.