‘Ink’ review: Jack O’Connell makes headlines in thrilling The Sun origin story

Director Danny Boyle returns to the screen with Ink, a fast-paced drama-slash-biopic about the rebirth of The Sun, Britain’s divisive and biggest-selling tabloid newspaper. Based on the acclaimed play of the same name by James Graham, it stars Jack O’Connell as editor Larry Lamb and Guy Pearce as publisher Rupert Murdoch. READ MORE: The best films of 2026… so far! The film opens in 1969, not long before the Moon landing, with Murdoch recruiting Lamb and tasking him with creating a tabloid newspaper that will rival the sales of bitter rival The Mirror, which just so happens to be controlled by Lamb’s former mentor Hugh Cudlipp (Bertie Carvel). Lamb duly recruits a crack team of journalists that includes his lover Jules Hopkirk (Claire Foy), photographer Beverley Goodway (Angus Imrie) and crime reporter Brian McConnell (Brian Gleeson). Regardless of your feelings towards Murdoch and his controversial media empire, there’s an undeniable thrill in watching the paper take shape and the various pieces click into place, from the creation of the italicised logo (“At an angle, like Gene Kelly in Singin’ In The Rain”) to the deliberate sourcing of scandalous material including the serialisat...