Michael O'Sullivan

Washington, D.C.

Film critic and editor of local art and theater

Education: Haverford College, BA in English literature

Michael O'Sullivan is a staff writer and editor for The Washington Post. He has worked at the newspaper since 1993, contributing reviews and features on film, fine art, theater and other entertainment.
Latest from Michael O'Sullivan

Movie musicals — yes, including the ‘Joker’ sequel — you could fall for

Other anticipated highlights this autumn are “Wicked,” “Mufasa” and a new “Moana.”

September 6, 2024

One warning about in-law thriller ‘The Front Room’: It’s best to stay out

Kathryn Hunter and Brandy Norwood, playing a mother and daughter-in-law, butt heads in this un-scary and dubiously funny psychological horror-comedy.

September 5, 2024
From left, Andrew Burnap, Brandy Norwood and Kathryn Hunter star in “The Front Room.”

‘Hollywoodgate’ is a gripping glimpse of Afghanistan after we left

What happened to all the military hardware the U.S. abandoned after the Taliban returned to power? This documentarian found out.

August 30, 2024
A scene from the film “Hollywoodgate.”

‘War Game’ is January 6 all over again

Docu-thriller uses the simulation of a future insurrection as a teaching tool. But are the people who need the lesson paying attention?

August 29, 2024
Ralph Brown plays a Michal Flynn-like demagogue in “War Game.”

Let the prison documentary ‘Daughters’ make you a puddle of tears

Angela Patton and Natalie Rae’s sensitive, deeply moving film looks at a program that unites incarcerated men with their daughters for an unforgettable dance.

August 8, 2024
Participants of the Date With Dad program practice tying ties in preparation for the big dance.

‘Sorry/Not Sorry’ takes on Louis C.K. but not the toughest questions

Documentary gives voice to the women affected by Louis C.K.’s misconduct without offering satisfying answers.

July 11, 2024
Louis C.K. is the subject of “Sorry/Not Sorry.”

D.C.’s ‘ugliest’ brutalist buildings — and how architects would fix them

In Washington, brutalism is widespread — and widely despised. In a new exhibition at the National Building Museum, architects reimagine the city’s concrete giants.

July 10, 2024
“Weaver Building,” Ty Cole.

‘Despicable Me 4’: A wildly imaginative yet overly plotty adventure

Steve Carell’s supervillain gone soft returns for an overstuffed, hallucinatory Despicable Me sequel.

July 3, 2024
“Despicable Me 4" finds former supervillain Gru (Steve Carell) living a sleepy suburban life with his wife, Lucy (Kristen Wiig), and family.

‘Flipside’ documentary is a poetic meditation on life’s vicissitudes

An ode to a New Jersey record store is only the pretext for the wise and moving “Flipside.”

June 21, 2024
“Flipside” documents filmmaker Chris Wilcha’s return to a New Jersey record store, Flipside Records, where he worked as a teenager.

‘Firebrand’: Revisionist feminist take on the last wife of Henry VIII

Alicia Vikander and Jude Law star in the counterfactual Tudor drama “Firebrand.”

June 14, 2024
Jude Law plays Henry VIII and Alicia Vikander plays his sixth and final wife, Katherine Parr, in “Firebrand.”