Top films to watch on TV this week
WEDNESDAY
Wonder (2017) Film4, 6.45 p.m. Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay) is a 10-year-old boy with a rare genetic syndrome, which has necessitated 27 agonising operations to painstakingly rebuild his face. He has been home-schooled since birth by his mother Isabel (Julia Roberts) but she feels the time has come for her boy to venture into the classroom.
‘It’s like leading a lamb to the slaughter,’ argues Auggie’s concerned father Nate (Owen Wilson), who fears the reaction of other children to Auggie’s disfigurement.
Lovingly adapted from RJ Palacio’s award-winning novel, Wonder is an exquisitely calibrated drama, which eschews mawkish sentimentality but still has us weeping uncontrollably by the end credits. Tremblay might be concealed behind Oscar-nominated prosthetics, but he conveys every flicker of Auggie’s raw emotions.
FRIDAY
Get Out (2017) Film4, 9 p.m.
Gifted African-American photographer Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is nervous about a road trip to meet the parents of his white girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams). When he arrives at her parents’ pristine community, he is warmly welcomed by Dean Armitage (Bradley Whitford) and his psychiatrist wife, Missy (Catherine Keener).
But something about the neighbourhood feels out of kilter and Chris is unnerved by the passive behaviour of the Armitages’ black groundkeeper Walter (Marcus Henderson) and maid Georgina (Betty Gabriel).
Get Out is a razor-sharp satire, which draws inspiration from the creeping dread of the Stepford Wives to take a scalpel to simmering racial tensions in present day America. Jordan Peele’s slickly engineered horror prescribes shocking violence and laughter in equal meas.ures.
SATURDAY
The Departed (2006) ITV, 10.30 p.m. Police officer Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) agrees to infiltrate the inner circle of feared Boston gangster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). What he doesn’t know is that the mob boss has his own mole - high-flying detective Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon). When the cops and the criminals both realise they have a rat in the ranks, Billy and Colin are given the task of rooting them out.
Martin Scorsese’s gripping remake of Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs finally won him the Best Director Oscar after he was passed over for the likes of Raging Bull and GoodFellas. Damon and DiCaprio are first-rate, but the real revelation is Mark Wahlberg, who steals scenes from his more feted co-stars as a foul-mouthed cop.
SUNDAY
The Elephant Man (1980) BBC1, 10.30p.m.
John Merrick is a hideously disfigured man working as a fairground freak until ambitious surgeon Frederick Treves spots him. The medic initially believes the unfortunate fellow is an idiot and wants to use him to further his own career - until he realises that beneath the ugly exterior is a beautiful, intelligent and sympathetic person.
Quite simply, it’s one of the best films ever. It’s also one of the few coherent movies David Lynch has ever made, and marked his debut as a mainstream film-maker following his cult success with Eraserhead.
John Hurt is superb as the title character, but it’s Anthony Hopkins who provides the movie’s heart as Treves, the man changed for ever by his meeting with Merrick. Freddie Jones deserves a mention too for his suitably creepy turn as the villain of the piece.
MONDAY
Rocky III (1982) ITV4, 10 p.m. Sylvester Stallone wrote, directed and starred in this second sequel. The world heavyweight boxing champion settles down to a life of luxury - but a cloud appears on the horizon in the shape of brutal contender Clubber Lang (Mr T), who demands a shot at the title. However, while Rocky is eager to take on the new fighter, his trainer Micky doesn’t want him entering the ring against such a brute.
Entertaining drama, with Talia Shire, Burt Young and Carl Weathers, and featuring the final appearance of Burgess Meredith (if you discount a bizarre flashback sequence in Rocky V) as hard-bitten trainer Mickey, as well as a cameo from wrestling legend Hulk Hogan.