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| 1917 |
It may not have really been shot in a single take but Sam Mendes First World War trench drama - shot with precision by Roger Deakens - certainly feels that way in terms of tension as two young soldiers (George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) try to stay alive as they cross no-man's land with a vital letter. Built as much on character as incident, MacKay and Chapman strike the perfect balance of vulnerability and pluck. They're aided by a string of stars who crop up in smaller roles, including Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Madden.
Reservoir Dogs, ITVX, streaming now
If you fancy getting your teeth into Quentin Tarantino's back catalogue, there's a whole bunch on offer from ITV's free streaming site. Why not start with the Sundance breakout hit that propelled him to stardom? This lean, mean crime thriller takes place in the wake of a heist gone bad. As the crooks hole up, they become convinced one is a rat. Everything is carefully executed - from violence to script - and with a cast that includes Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and Steve Buscemi, it's hard to fault. You might never be able to listen to Stuck In The Middle With You in quite the same way, mind you. Other Tarantinos on there include both Kill Bill instalments and Jackie Brown.
Blue Bag Life, 10pm, BBC4, Tuesday, May 9
Despite the presence of three directors - Lisa Selby, Rebecca Hirsch Lloyd-Evans, Alex Fry - this is an intensely personal documentary in which Selby considers the impact addiction has had on her life. This might sound a grim subject but it is explored here with considerable poetry as Selby reflects on the difficult relationship she had with her deceased mum Helen, her incarcerated boyfriend Eliot and how that plays into her own view of potential motherhood. The film unspools in fragments but is no less cohesive for that and it bristles with emotion, from loneliness to hope.
Whip It, Freevee, available now
Drew Barrymore's directorial debut is a blast from start to finish as she takes a tried and tested formula and fills it with energy. Elliot Page stars as Bliss, a bored teenager who discovers her tribe after stumbling upon a roller derby team and joins them as their Hurl Scouts take on rivals the Holy Rollers. The film is packed with great performances, not just from Page but also from supporting stars including Barrymore, Kristen Wiig and Alia Shawkat as writer Shauna Cross takes time to flesh out the relationships on and off the rink.
The Blue Caftan, BFI player
If it's not on at your local cinema - and if it is please do catch it on the big screen it deserves - then you can also stream this finely nuanced drama courtesy of the BFI Player. Halim (Saleh Bakri) and Mina (Lubna Azabal, with a physically as well as emotionally committed performance) run a family tailors and find the fabric of their own life shifting when they take on an apprentice (Ayoub Missioui). Maryam Touzami's story celebrates the tradition of caftan tailoring, while also exploring what it means to break with cultural expectations. As Touzani told us: "I do believe there are certain traditions that need to be questioned, that need to be changed, that need to be shaken up." In her carefully wrought film they are not so much shaken as gently stirred to strong effect.
Monsters And Men, 1.55am, Film4, Friday, May 12
The killing of an unarmed Black man unfolds in triplicate in this debut from Reinaldo Marcus Green. His film focuses on the aftermath as three men face tricky choices. Manny (Anthony Ramos) has to decide what to do with footage he shot of the incident, Dennis (John David Washington) finds his loyalty to his police badge strained by institutional racism and promising baseball player Zee (Kelvin Harrison Jr), who is becoming increasingly politicised by the police stop-and-search tactics. Green highlights the pressures the men are under in a system that is loaded towards the police, while never losing sight of the complexity of his characters or their lives. The sort of film that leaves you mulling over its philosophical questions afterwards.
The Mauritanian, 10pm, BBC2, Sunday, May 14
The US military's behaviour in Guantanamo Bay is viewed through the prism of a single inmate's experience in Kevin Macdonald's latest film, which is adapted from Mohamedou Ould Slahi's memoir. He was held at the prison for 14 years without trial under suspicion of having helped the 9/11 terrorists and the film charts what happened to Slahi (Tahar Rahim) as lawyer Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and her assistant (Shaylene Woodley) took on his case. In a separate, though connected story, we follow conservative military lawyer Stuart Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch, doing a surprisingly good job with a southern American accent) who has been tasked with prosecuting Slahi - and who shows that integrity is not solely the province of those on the left of politics. This is a film that is about procedure but it becomes gripping thanks largely to Rahim, who brings every ounce of stoic humanity to the central role. Like Adam Driver-starrer The Report, the US Detention and Interrogation programme (for which read, torture) is held up to the light - although the direct violence shown is used sparingly. But The Mauritanian proves more memorable by keeping its focus on the single case at its heart, it's a slow build but once it begins to grip it doesn't let go. Read our interview with Macdonald.
Our short selection this week is Dollface, which you can watch on director Louis Paxton's own website. Paxton has since moved into telly, directing episodes of Shetland and Wreck in the past year.
