Pick of the week
Wuthering Heights
Emerald Fennell has done a grand job dialling up the scandal over her new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s windswept novel. But aside from the casting of a white actor (Jacob Elordi) as the arguably non-white Heathcliff – and an unexpected S&M subplot – this is the bodice-ripping historical romance most fans would wish for. Margot Robbie plays Cathy as a frustrated social climber torn between a life of luxury with Shazad Latif’s Edgar and the earthy lust offered by the uncouth Heathcliff. For its look, Fennell goes full gothic, a la Guillermo del Toro, with stormy skies, unbridled sex on the moors, ludicrous costumes and often bizarre interior design, as the love story comes to a boil.
Friday 1 May, 8.25am, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
Apex
It’s not the greatest climbing film of all time (that would be Cliffhanger, obviously), but Baltasar Kormákur’s thriller does provide a wealth of sweaty-palmed vertical tension. Five months after an expedition in Norway with her partner goes fatally wrong, Charlize Theron’s Sasha finds herself in the Australian outback. But her solo white-water kayaking adventure becomes much more perilous when a local man (a gleefully unhinged Taron Egerton) shows an interest in her. Theron is perfect for the role – physical but not superhuman, with the smarts to avoid being just a victim.
Out now, Netflix
Eddington
It’s 2020, and Pedro Pascal’s mayor Ted has imposed a lockdown due to the virus but is also up for re-election. Joaquin Phoenix plays the sheriff, Joe, who decides to stand against Ted over freedom of choice. After the shaggy dog tale that was Beau Is Afraid, writer-director Ari Aster tightens things up with a modern western satire that encompasses Covid and conspiracy theories, Black Lives Matter, small-town politics and social media. An increasingly manic comedy in which bad choices lead to worse outcomes.
Saturday 25 April, 8.45am, 10.25pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
Living
As a British adaptation of the 1952 Akira Kurosawa classic Ikiru, Oliver Hermanus’s drama has its work cut out to emulate the original. That it succeeds is largely down to Bill Nighy’s finely graded performance. His 1950s civil servant, Mr Williams, finds a glimmer of redemption and joy in an empty, staid life when he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. As he abandons his nine-to-five to deal with the news, Williams is brought out of his moroseness by a young colleague (Aimee Lou Wood) and a writer (Tom Burke). A touching tale about the ways we give meaning to our existence.
Saturday 25 April, 9pm, Channel 4
Gold Run
War can bring out the best in people, and this stirring fact-based drama is about an ordinary man who did an extraordinary thing. In 1940, Germany is about to invade Norway so its government must spirit its gold reserves out of the country asap. The call goes out to mild-mannered Labour party functionary Fredrik Haslund (Jon Øigarden) to organise the transport, aided by a few soldiers, a bank clerk, a famous poet and his own sister. Amid dramatic scenery, it’s a picture-postcard thriller.
Saturday 25 April, 11pm, BBC Four
Holy Cow
Rural French 18-year-old Totone (Clément Faveau) is enjoying his life of teenage kicks when his cheese-making father dies in a car crash. Forced to go to work and look after his kid sister, he tries his hand at making the locally prized comté cheese – but his inexperience and eye for a shortcut prove obstacles to success. Louise Courvoisier’s highly enjoyable comedy of errors explores the restricted options available to young people in the countryside, while delivering convincing performances from mostly first-time actors – Luna Garret as Totone’s supportive sibling Claire is particularly engaging.
Monday 27 April, 11.40pm, Film4
Small Things Like These
Adapted by Enda Walsh from Claire Keegan’s novel, Tim Mielants’s heart-rending drama comes at Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries scandal from a more domestic angle to other campaigning films, but is no less devastating. Cillian Murphy uses that haunted visage of his to great effect as 1980s coal merchant Bill Furlong, the son of an unmarried mother and the father of five daughters. The brutal treatment of girls at a convent where he makes deliveries ignites his compassion, but he butts up against the community’s omertà in the face of the church’s power.
Tuesday 28 April, Netflix