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| Die, My Love Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival |
If there is one name noticeably missing from the Oscar nominations list this year, it is surely Jennifer Lawrence, whose performance here rivals the off-the-handle one she put in for Mother! She plays a mother here, in fact, whose mental state is in all sorts of trouble after the birth of her child. Robert Pattinson is Jackson, the other half of this turbulent relationship. Lynne Ramsay is in familiar psychological as past and present come together in a heady mix. Sissy Spacek is also terrific as Jackson’s mum.
Chevalier, 10.55pm, Film4, Monday, February 2
It might be lacking the flamboyance of the likes of Amadeus, but this biopic of Black composer Joseph Bologne (Kevin Harrison Jr) is still a well-appointed and engaging costume drama. He rose from humble beginnings as the illegitimate son of a plantation owner and an enslaved mother to prominence in 18th century France. Stephen Williams’ film dives into a life that featured plenty of clashes, as Bologne was also nimble with a sword, and is driven by his affair with opera singer Marie-Josephine (Samara Weaving) and his ambition of becoming the head of the Paris Opera.
Bones And All, 12.45am, BBC3, Wednesday, February 4
Jennie Kermode writes: Camille DeAngelis' cult novel is brought to life in meandering, heavily romanticised yet still intermittently grotesque form by Luca Guadagnino. Its success hinges on the raw force of the young Taylor Russell as Maren, a sweet girl whose sinister cravings for her to head out on her own at a vulnerable age, trying to learn the truth about her origins whilst evading the attention of a creepy older man who can literally sniff her out. It's a horror story mixed with a coming-of-age tale, and enjoyed box office success partly due to the presence of Timothée Chalamet as Maren's love interest - at times also her moral foil, but often just present as a decoration. You will need a strong stomach to watch it, but there is more going on than just gore as the two young protagonists wrestle with what it means to go on living when that inevitably means doing harm. Guadagnino treats the offbeat subject as seriously as anything else he's worked on, and this is actually one of his stronger films.
Carnival Of Souls, 2.25am, Talking Pictures TV (Freeview Channel 81), Wednesday, February 4
Jennie Kermode writes: One of those seminal pieces of cinema which nobody with a serious interest in the medium can afford to go without, Carnival Of Souls feels familiar today in part because of the vast amount of other work that has been drawn from it. Originally released in 1962, it stars Candace Hilligoss as a young woman whose life begins to go askew after she’s involved in a car crash (shown in a visceral pre-credits sequence unlike anything filmed before). As she tries to build a new life as a church organist in a small Utah town, fending off the advances of the local men, she starts to see people who look dead. Viewers share her disorientation by way of skewed camera angles and a soundtrack which breaks all the established rules. Nothing is quite right here, and as the film spirals down towards its awful conclusion it becomes ever more visually inventive.
Benedetta, 11.45pm, Film4, Friday, February 6
Jennie Kermode writes: In recent years, Paul Verhoeven’s impressive outsider work has finally begun to garner mainstream acclaim, and this vividly crafted historical drama has already enjoyed considerable success on the festival circuit. Whilst much of the curiosity around it centres on it being a lesbian nun film, there’s a lot more to it than that, as it dramatises the story of a woman who may have been a con artist and may have been a saint – or both – but certainly understood power, and proved to be better at wielding it than almost anyone around her, defending a city from the plague and even taking on the might of the Inquisition. Verhoeven blurs reality with the fantasy world of his heroine’s imagination and the vivid erotic imagery of Medieval conventional writing.
The Woman King, 9.30pm, Saturday, Channel 4
Viola Williams is magnificent at the heart of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s kick-ass historical epic. Davis plays Nanisca, the leader of an army of women, known as the Agojie, who are tasked with protecting the Kingdom of Dahomey by the king (John Boyega). Experts in hand-to-hand combat, it’s no easy job given that their enemies have guns. The action scenes are beautifully choreographed and the subplotting is also surprisingly good for this sort of film, involving new recruit Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), who has joined the Agojie after refusing an arranged marriage. The ensemble cast is excellent, with Lashana Lynch particularly notable as Nawi’s mentor.
Penguins Of Madagascar, ITVX, streaming now
They may have started out as bit-part players, but everyone knows the Cheezy Dibble-loving penguins were the stars of the original film. Here they get their own adventure, taking on the evil Dr Octavius Brine (John Malkovich having even more fun than you would expect on vocals), who has a plan to turn the penguins into mutants. Along for the ride is super-spy style wolf North Wind (Benedict Cumberbatch, laying the Bond lines on thick) as the action starts at a pace and doesn't let up in its Looney Tunes-style quickfire humour.
The feature length version of Nuisance Bear just won the US Documentary Grand Jury Prize in Sundance. While you’re waiting for that to make its way to a screen near you, here’s Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman’s excellent short film of the same name from which it is elegantly expanded.
