Films of the week

STRONGER

(2017) 15 ◆

Saturday, 9pm, BBC2 ★★★★ Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this factbased drama, telling the story ofjeffbauman,asurvivorofthe Boston Marathon bombing of

April 2013. Jeff was in the crowd to cheer on his ex-girlfriend, Erin (Tatiana Maslany, above, with Gyllenhaal), hoping to win her back. Instead, he lost both his legs in the explosion. The film is a triumph-over-adversity story, but it’s told without sentimentality, and Jeff is not portrayed as a saint with lost potential. In fact, he’s a loafer whom Erin has repeatedly tired of and dumped. As he embarks on his recovery, he has bouts of anger and resentment that are not sugar-coated, and feel heartbreakingly real. Jeff comes through it all a changed man and, in some ways, a better man.

RAIN MAN

(1988) 15 ◆

Sunday, 10.30pm, BBC1 ★★★★ Since Barry Levinson’s smash-hit comedy drama was released, many films and TV dramas (such as the BBC series The A Word) have also featured characters who, like Raymond ‘Ray’ Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman), live with autism. But 32 years ago, Rain Man did a powerful job of raising awareness of a condition that is now much better understood. Tom Cruise (above, with Hoffman) is Charlie, a selfish yuppie who takes his brother, Ray, from his residential home, hoping to get his hands on his inheritance. But the brothers’ road trip becomes a baptism of fire for Charlie as he struggles to cope with Ray’s complex needs. Hoffman carefully researched the role and won an Oscar, but ultimately, this is a lighthearted film that is more about Charlie’s growth than Ray’s autism.

CLASSIC FILM CHOICE

THE BIG MOVIE