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| Brendan Gleeson in The Guard |
Cold In July, 11.45pm, Great Movies, Monday, January 16
Jim Mickle's psychological thriller keeps you guessing as a family man's life starts to unravel after he kills a home intruder in the night. Michael C Hall - gamely taking on both the role and an Eighties mullet - is perfectly cast as a dad who suddenly finds himself in deep, with acting grace notes provided by Sam Shepard and Don Johnson as the two men he has to team up with after they stumble on a horrific conspiracy. Mickle has moved into TV of late, creating Sweet Tooth, about a boy who is half human and half deer, which can be viewed on Netflix.
Love & Mercy, 11.15pm, BBC2, Tuesday, January 17
Unfolding over two time periods, Bill Pohland's impressively balanced biopic of Beach Boy Brian Wilson, considers the moment in his youth when, played by Paul Dano, he was taking the pop world by storm with Good Vibrations and Pet Sounds alongside a later snapshot of his life, incarnated by John Cusack, as an overmedicated shadow of his former self who offers a written cry for help to a car saleswoman (Elizabeth Banks). The young and old versions of Brian are joined by creativity and though the film doesn't shy away from the darker side of his life it also celebrates the joy that came to him via music. Giamatti, uncharacteristically, overdoes things a bit as a bad guy doc but for the most part this is a restrained and well-acted study of a man working his way back to some sort of happiness.
Animal Kingdom, 11.45pm, Film4, Tuesday, October 4
This gritty, psychologically-driven crime drama put David Michôd firmly on the map. His film tells the story of J (James Frecheville in a breakout role), who after the death of his mother to a heroin overdose, finds himself thrust into his mother's estranged family - Smurf Cody (Jacqui Weaver) and her brood of boys (Ben Mendelsohn, Sullivan Stapleton and Luke Ford), whose violence runs very close to the surface. Weaver, who had been working in Australia for years, made an international name for herself and snagged a supporting actress nomination for her fluffy but foul portrayal of the family matriarch (she lost out to The Fighter's Melissa Leo). Mendelsohn also saw his international career soar after his intense portrayal of Smurf's top-dog son. "There's no doubt that David has that quasi-Shakespearean gift of being able to step into the psychology of any of his characters and take a peek at what the world might feel like for them," Mendelsohn told us at the time.
Croupier, 11.20pm, Film4, Wednesday, January 18
This might not be Mike Hodges' best known film but it is well worth a look. His intelligent thriller - which became a sleeper hit in the US before returning to a second release back in the UK - sees struggling novelist Jack (Clive Owen, putting in one of the best performances of his career) take a job at a casino in a bid to get fresh inspiration and pay off his debts. The job proves to have an addictive quality for Jack as he cheats on his girlfriend (Gina McKee) and starts to dabble in the dark side. There's a noirish feel to the action, while Jack proves an enjoyably unreliable narrator. The film is also notable for its sterling supporting work from McKee and Alex Kingston as a punter with a dangerous plan.
Shoplifters, 2.20am, Channel 4, Friday, January 19
Consigned rather unfairly to the small hours, Hirokazu Kore-eda's Palme d'Or winning tale is well worth recording if you can't stay up for it. His drama charts what happens when a family of crooks take in - or, perhaps more accurately, steal - a young girl they find on the street. Kore-eda's regular themes concerning family and connection are all in evidence here as he gradually lets the emotional eddies build from the humourous eccentricity of this clan. He has always been an enjoyably unhurried director and he takes his time to explore the lives of the members of the family before moving the film into unexpected territory that, as always with Kore-eda, packs a hefty emotional punch.
The Company Of Wolves, 9.05pm, Talking Pictures TV, Friday January 20
For many children in the UK and beyond, their first encounter with a wolf will be through the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, trying to stay safe as she delivers food to her grandma. This adaptation of Angela Carter's book - co-scripted by Carter herself alongside Neil Jordan - is most definitely not for children as it immerses us in the imagined gothic dreamscape of its young heroine Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) after a cautionary tale from her gran (Angela Lansbury) about men whose eyebrows meet in the middle. Things in this world don't operate by the rules, and the action is fuelled by the subversive sexual undercurrent experienced by Rosaleen as the wolf inspires fear and attraction in equal measure. Although the structure is on the loose side, it's never less than visually arresting and features some down right disturbing transformation sequences.
The Guard, 11.05pm, Film4, Friday, January 20
If you enjoyed Brendan Gleeson's recent turn in Banshees Of Inisherin, on Netflix, then this film directed by Martin McDonagh's brother John Michael is likely to be up your street. This debut is fuelled by a similar black comedy to the other McDonagh's work, although perhaps a fraction less bleak. Gleeson plays Sergeant Gerry Boyle, a small town cop whose relaxed attitude is at odds with newly arrived partner Aidan McBride (Rory Keenan). When McBride goes missing, Boyle finds himself on the case with FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle). A neatly worked tale that dances on the edge of absurdity, but also subverts a fair number of clichés.
This week's short selection is All That Glisters, which you can see on Vimeo
