ALSO SHOWING
BEAUTIFUL BOY (15) ★★★★★
A FATHER’S love for his drug-addicted 18-yearold pride and joy is tested to the limit of endurance in Belgian director Felix van Groeningen’s sensitively handled drama.
Based on two emotionally raw memoirs – Beautiful Boy by David Sheff and Tweak by his son Nic – the film is a sobering account of one family’s battle of attrition with addiction.
We are silent and tearful witnesses to moments of compassion, aching regret and anguished surrender that leave us in no doubt of the devastation wrought by drugs on the user and everyone in his chaotic orbit.
Beautiful Boy is anchored by commanding performances from Steve Carell as the patriarch, who staunchly refuses to admit defeat, and Timothee Chalamet as the teenager with a finger on the self-destruct button.
COLETTE (15) ★★★★★
BASED on a script by director Wash Westmoreland and his late husband Richard Glatzer, Colette lovingly details the true story of the French novelist, who challenged the supposed limitations of her gender in early 20th-century Paris.
During the film, one male writer argues that irrefutable facts should never get in the way of a good yarn.
“It is the hand that holds the pen that writes history,” the author suggests.
Westmoreland crafts his pages of feminist history and creative endeavour into a handsomely appointed battle of words between Keira Knightley’s dutiful wife turned trailblazer and Dominic West’s egotistical and domineering husband.
British composer Thomas Ades’ orchestrations underscore the hardfought battle for parity and respect.
STAN & OLLIE (PG) ★★★★★
DIRECTOR Jon S Baird’s heart-warming biopic of the English and American comedy duo, who shared the screen for almost 30 years.
Penned by Jeff Pope, Stan & Ollie is a handsomely crafted valentine to a double act, who earned legions of adoring fans.
The film focuses predominantly on the UK leg of a 1953 theatre tour, which was dominated by Hardy’s failing health.
A lean script replays some of the couple’s greatest hits.
These moments of nostalgic recreation are joyful and Baird revels in the connection between the two performers, convincingly played by Steve Coogan and John C Reilly, pictured, concealed beneath layers of latex.