The Herald - The Herald Magazine
THIS WEEK’S BEST FILMS
those that remain on to the road.
Carol (2015) (Film4, 11.15pm)
Shrinking violet Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) works in the toy section of Frankenberg’s department store. She has an adoring boyfriend, Richard (Jake Lacy), but her humdrum life lacks excitement until glamorous housewife Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) sashays into the store looking for a Christmas present. Their encounter eventually leads to a passionate affair, which prompts Carol’s estranged husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) to seek sole custody of their daughter.
WEDNESDAY
On Chesil Beach (2017) (BBC2, 9pm)
Gifted violinist Florence Ponting (Saoirse Ronan) and history graduate Edward Mayhew (Billy Howle) prepare to spend their first night together as husband and wife in a hotel located close to Chesil Beach. As afternoon bleeds into evening, a mosaic of flashbacks illuminates the couple’s radically different backgrounds. While the bride is at the mercy of strict moral codes of the era, the groom draws on his relationship with his “brain-damaged” mother Marjorie (Anne-Marie Duff) to embrace his passions. Tension builds gradually to the moment Florence and Edward must consummate their marriage.
Girls Trip (2017) (Film4, 9pm)
Tiffany Haddish blows her big-name co-stars off the screen with a virtuoso performance in director Malcolm D Lee’s raucous romp. Four friends who haven’t seen each other for five years go off to New Orleans for a promotional trip.
But once there, the quartet make up for lost time by embarking on a weekend on VIP excess, making embarrassing memories they can
penalties. Meanwhile, an abandoned rucksack on the Huddersfield to Manchester route has passengers on edge, so they raise the alarm. And we also take a look at the maintenance depot, where Carl and Steve are replacing a five-tonne bogie. None the wiser? That’s the structure that connects the wheels to the carriages. After this, you may never look at the humble train in the same way again.
The Great British Sewing Bee (BBC1, 9pm)
on-air interview. Miraculously, the regime agrees. Shortly before Dave and Aaron depart for Pyongyang, they meet CIA Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan), who wants the duo to poison Kim with ricin during the private audience. The lads agree but the covert operation gradually falls apart when Lacey discovers her inside men are buffoons.
The Nice Guys (2016) (ITV4, 11pm)
Hired heavy Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is paid by a young woman called Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Qualley) to scare off the low-rent private detective Holland March (Ryan Gosling), who has been asking
three-room haven for her family, and a young couple trying to create a luxury home on a houseboat. Elsewhere in Chile, George visits a stunning temple, before returning home to continue building work on his observatory.
THURSDAY
Remarkable Places to Eat (BBC2, 8pm)
Fred Sirieix travels to Austria’s capital Vienna in the company of food writer Rachel Khoo. The duo begin in the city’s first district, the epicentre of coffee house culture, a crucial part of the Viennese social scene. Here, Rachel takes Fred to the Cafe Demel, known for its exquisite cakes. Moving on, they learn how to make a spinach, cream and bread dumpling, before for her around town. The first meeting of these two men ends in bloodshed and broken bones, but Jackson and Holland reluctantly agree to work together when Amelia subsequently vanishes without trace. Unfortunately, a hitman called John Boy (Matt Bomer) is also on her trail.
FRIDAY
The Lady in the Van (2015) (BBC1, 10.45pm)
Playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings) moves into a house in Camden – and soon after, a cantankerous woman called Miss Shepherd (Maggie Smith) settles in the same street in her ramshackle vehicle. Alan foolishly agrees to let her take up temporary residence on his driveway. Months turn into years and the playwright despairs as he becomes Miss Shepherd’s guardian and suffers regular visits from interfering social worker
Miss Briscoe (Cecilia Noble).
Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013) (Film4, 11.05pm)
Winner of the coveted Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, Abdellatif Kechiche’s achingly beautiful love story traces the ebb and flow of emotions between two students with very different outlooks on life in the northern French city of Lille. Adele (Adele Exarchopoulos) is 17 and believes her future lies in teaching. She sleeps with classmate Samir (Salim Kechiouche) but isn’t fully satisfied. Her best friend Valentin (Sandor Funtek) takes her to a gay bar, where Adele feels a stirring when she catches the eye of a blue-haired free spirit called Emma (Lea Seydoux), who studies art at a nearby college. Emma kindles a passionate romance with Adele that turns the teenager’s life upside down, forcing her to question her sexuality.
meeting a trailblazing chef taking the city by storm. Fred in particular is wowed by his schnitzel, reworked into a haute cuisine masterpiece. Finally the duo end their evening with a visit to one of the city’s many sausage stands.
You Are What You Wear (BBC1, 8pm)
Rylan Clark-Neal hosts the fashion makeover show, with volunteers including an Essex pawnbroker who has put off his wedding three times because he has lost confidence in his looks and a biker chick from Newport Pagnell, who rocks up wanting a funked-up feminine look. The experts also get their hands on a stay-at-home mother who wants her fashion