Pick of the week
All of Us Strangers
Already a strong contender for best film of the year, Andrew Haigh’s latest is an emotionally complex, fable-like story of regret and redemption. Andrew Scott, never better, plays Adam, an introverted, gay screenwriter who lives alone in a tower block. In search of inspiration, he revisits his childhood home, only to come upon the ghosts of his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), who died in a car crash when he was 12. He also meets Harry (Paul Mescal), seemingly the only other person in his building, and starts a tentative romance. These two encounters draw Adam out of himself, giving him the chance to reassess his childhood, his sexuality and his present. A heart-rending but hopeful tale. Simon Wardell
Wednesday 20 March, Disney+
***
Out of Sight
There is an almost indecent chemistry between George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez in this scintillating 1998 crime caper from Steven Soderbergh. It’s taken from an Elmore Leonard novel so has a finely honed plot, in which charming bank robber Jack (Clooney) and US marshal Karen (Lopez) hit it off in a car boot after a prison break and then spend the rest of the movie agonising over whether to get together or not. Some of the best supporting actors going (Steve Zahn, Don Cheadle, Ving Rhames) add colour and depth to a funny, sexy heist drama.
Saturday 16 March, 11.35pm, BBC One
***
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan
Julien Temple’s booze-soaked 2020 documentary profile of the late Pogues singer-songwriter shows him in the raw. The “poet and piss artist” (so says his blue plaque) relates his own life story – from an early childhood in impoverished rural Tipperary to a traumatic emigration to England and finding his rebel voice in London’s punk scene, then in Irish folk. It’s often not pretty, and there is a hangover of wasted intelligence and talent, but despite his early death last year his legacy is impressive.
Saturday 16 March, 1.15am, BBC Two
***
The Ghost Goes West
A jolly piece of 1935 British whimsy, which satirises US acquisitiveness but also the British veneer of respectability that hides similar sentiments. Robert Donat doubles up as indebted clan chief Donald Glourie and his 18th-century ancestor, ladies’ man Murdoch, who died a coward and is doomed to roam their Scottish castle as a spirit until he can avenge an insult to his family. Jean Parker is the sprightly American whose rich father plans to buy the place and ship the whole thing to Florida – along with its spooky resident.
Sunday 17 March, 2.35pm, Talking Pictures TV
***
The Long Good Friday
John Mackenzie’s crime drama offers a fascinating snapshot of London circa 1980 – a city shifting painfully from post-war backwater to shiny international hub – but it’s a terrifically edgy underworld mystery, too. The regeneration of the Docklands is the spur for old-school gangster Harold (Bob Hoskins) who is hoping to go legit via a massive land deal with the US mob. That is until someone starts bombing his properties. Hoskins is bullish and belligerent as the king of all he surveys – until he isn’t.
Monday 18 March, 11.10pm, Film4
***
Road House
The cult 1989 Patrick Swayze film about a bouncer cleaning up a rough town gets an entertainingly breezy, brutal remake from Doug Leman. The amiable Jake Gyllenhaal rolls with the (many, many) punches as Dalton, a down-on-his-luck former UFC champion whose last chance saloon is a Key West bar run by Frankie (Jessica Williams). It’s a lawless place but he’s a calm and efficient operator. But then he comes up against thugs run by shady businessman Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen), not least the unhinged Knox – played with a comic swagger by actual UFC fighter Conor McGregor.
Thursday 21 March, Prime Video
***
Shirley
This biopic of the inspirational Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the US congress, focuses not on that 1968 victory but her equally groundbreaking 1972 run for the US presidency. The always impressive Regina King dominates the screen as the Brooklyn politician who hates politicking, and is single-minded bordering on obstinate even as her campaign for the Democratic nomination fails to gain traction. It’s a largely down-the-line tale but, along with the recent Rustin, is another chapter in Black history that deserves an airing.
Friday 22 March, Netflix
