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| Anatomy Of A Fall Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival |
Anatomy Of A Fall, streaming on Netflix from Tuesday, April 29
Justine Triet's slowburn courtroom drama - written with her partner - Arthur Harari won the Cannes Palme d'Or before heading on a statuette-winning spree around the awards circuit, culminating in an Oscar for Best Screenplay. Sandra Hüller could also easily have won for her performance as writer Sandra Voyter, who stands accused of the murder of her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) at their remote mountain chalet. Their partially-sighted son Daniel (Milo Graner) finds his dad's body and the scene is set for an exploration of whether it was death by misadventure or planning which remains ambiguous to the last. Among several films from 2023 that scrutinised the way that someone presents themselves can be put on trial as much as their actual deeds, Triet leaves it up to us - and those around Sandra - to arrive at a verdict. Look out for Hüller in cinemas in the upcoming Two To One, which is out on May 2.
The Scouting Book For Boys, 1.50am, Film4, Tuesday, April 29
Tom Harper will be bringing Peaky Blinders spin-off The Immortal Man to screens later this year, with Stephen Graham and Cillian Murphy. This early film (his first feature not made for TV) from Harper’s CV shows he's always had a knack for working with excellent talent. It stars Thomas Turgoose and Holliday Granger as David and Emily, teenage friends-to-the-end at a caravan park, whose decision to try to prevent Emily being moved away has dark, unforeseen consequences. Writer Jack Thorne has recently made waves with Netflix’s Adolescence and he shows the same awareness of what makes teenagers tick in a less technological setting. Class is added to the entire enterprise by some lovely magic hour lensing from the now much in demand Robbie Ryan as he broke into features with this and the likes of Fish Tank.
A Town Like Alice , 4.45pm, Talking Pictures TV (Freeview Channel 82), Wednesday, April 30
The most successful British film of 1956, Jack Lee's adaptation of Neville Shute's novel captures the heroism of British women during the Japanese occupation of Malaya in the Second World War. Although there's some stereotyping here, the central performance of Virginia McKenna is powerful and the depiction of the realities of war are strong for the time. Look out for a young Jean Anderson who would go on to star in TV classic Tenko about prisoners of war following the Japanese invasion of Singapore.
Batman Begins, 9pm, ITV2, Saturday, May 3
The Caped Crusader got a serious reboot from Christopher Nolan in every sense of the word. This gritty instalment goes back to basics with Christian Bale taking on the role of Bruce Wayne. A film built on Wayne’s trauma, there’s a non-nonsense but realistic attitude at work as the Gotham City rich kid transforms himself into a nemesis of bad guys, proving pretty damn scary once he’s suited up. The general air of realism helps the action pieces land even more satisfactorily than normal, while the psychological inner battle of Wayne brings an impressive emotional dimension. The great supporting cast includes Tom Wilkinson, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine and Liam Neeson, all bringing their A-game.
The Fits, 2.35am, Film4, Sunday, May 4
Anna Rose Holmer's lean and engaging debut is a poised character study of Toni (Royalty Hightower) an adolescent who is exploring what she wants from her own identity. She finds herself torn between the boxing world she has become immersed in via her brother and the very sort of different camaraderie that is offered by the all-girls drill team – a type of group dance that is popular in the US. Holmer explores the way that people adopt an identity or an attitude according to their chosen tribe, showing how Toni's different 'look' keeps her on the fringes while, as the film progresses, exploring the psychological pressures at play as first one girl and then more begin to experience to "the fits" of the title. Beautifully choreographed with the help of movement consultant Celia Rowlson-Hall, the action is fluid with the emphasis is on the physicality of what is happening, reinforced by a strong clapping beat in the score from Dani Bensi and Saunder Juriaans as Toni decides to what degree she wants to fit in. Read our interviews with the composers and director, plus our full review.
Madagascar, 4.55pm, ITV2, Sunday, May 4
If you’re looking for something to sit down and watch with the family this weekend, this is a solid choice, not just because of its excellent voice cast, including Chris Rock and Ben Stiller, but because of the high joke ratio. Most of the animals are happy with their cushy life in Central Park Zoo, but not Marty the zebra (Rock). He’s bored and when he here’s a posse of penguins are planning a break-out he decides it's time to go back to his roots. He gets more than he bargains for after his pals – a hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), lion (Stiller) and giraffe (David Schwimmer) – try to get him back and fall foul of the zoo chiefs who decide to ship the lot of them off. The trip to Kenya, however, is anything but smooth…
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, 10pm, 4Seven, Sunday
Emma Thompson is on top form as Nancy, a retired schoolteacher, who decides to finally take control of her sex life by hiring young sex worker Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack). While you might – and I have – argue that this film paints a particularly glowing portrait of sex work and makes light of an age difference that would be considerably more problematic if it was an older man hiring a young woman, there’s no arguing with Thompson’s central performance. She brings a nervous energy to Nancy in early scenes and we feel the internal battle going on about her body confidence as the film progresses and she slowly begins to relax into a new idea of herself. Talky but engrossing, McCormack also brings a subtlety to his role that allows for nuance around the ‘performance’ of his role as a sex worker.
We’re returning to teenagers, Tom Harper and the cinematography of Robbie Ryan for our short film selection this week, which is Cubs a BAFTA-winning early work from both of them. And don't forget you can now see if a film is available to stream via JustWatch links at the end of our reviews.
