The Herald - The Herald Magazine
PICK OF TV MOVIES
SATURDAY
The Personal History of David Copperfield (2020) (C4, 9.20pm)
Writer-director Armando Iannucci realises great expectations with his madcap take on Charles
Dickens’ indomitable literary hero. The Personal History of David Copperfield breathlessly abridges the mid-19th century serial and novel to focus on the quixotic and colourful characters. A galaxy of stars in the British acting firmament sparkle in small yet perfectly formed roles including a delightfully bonkers Tilda Swinton as Betsey Trotwood and Peter Capaldi as lovable rapscallion Mr Micawber. The setting may be pungently Victorian but the tone is unmistakably modern from the hero’s knowing narration to nudge-nudge wink-wink flashes of directorial brio that bookmark each chapter. Dev Patel plays the likeable comic foil in the midst of madness, who is slowly educated in the whims of his fellow man.
Deepwater Horizon (2016) (C4, 11.40pm)
Engineer Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) boards a helicopter to the drilling platform Deepwater Horizon, located approximately 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Other passengers include installation manager Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) and third mate Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez). Once they land, Jimmy becomes concerned that the officials, including well site leader Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich), have not carried out sufficient checks to ensure the drill is operating safely. Soon after, a massive blowout tears through the 121-metre-long rig and crew members race against time to lower lifeboats into the water before flames engulf the entire structure. Deepwater Horizon is an actionpacked thriller, which recreates a harrowing real-life disaster with testosterone-fuelled swagger.
SUNDAY
Romancing the Stone (1984) (C5, 3.45pm)
Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) is a successful romance novelist but her own life is surprisingly lonely and routine. However, she’s unexpectedly thrust into an adventure of her own when her sister is kidnapped in South America. Joan sets off to save her and meets roguish adventurer Jack Colton (Michael Douglas), who is willing to help her – for a price. The leads have sizzling chemistry in this entertaining action adventure, which also boasts a scene-stealing supporting turn from Danny DeVito. No wonder the trio teamed up again for a disappointing sequel, The Jewel of the Nile, and the unrelated but deliciously dark comedy The War of the Roses.
The Hurt Locker (2008) (BBC2, 10pm)
Those of a nervous disposition should opt out of a tour of duty with Kathryn Bigelow’s thrilling, Oscarwinning war drama. The Hurt Locker is a master class in sustained tension as a three-strong bomb disposal squad attached to the US Army risks life and severed limb to defuse roadside IEDs (improvised explosive devices). Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) is the new boy of Bravo Company, taking charge of sergeant JT Sanborn and specialist Owen Eldridge on the streets of Baghdad, but his gung-ho, fatalistic approach to his job creates friction with his subordinates. Mackie and Geraghty are compelling as the voices of experience and exuberance, and there are pivotal roles for Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes as men caught in the crossfire.
MONDAY
Anastasia (1956) (Film4, 11am)
This Oscar-winning drama was inspired by the story of Anna Anderson, a woman who claimed to be Anastasia Romanov, daughter of the ill-fated Russian Tsar. After rumours spread that the then-teenage princess was the only member of the family to survive their massacre in 1917, an opportunistic Russian businessman in 1920s Paris sees a chance to make some money by passing off a mysterious amnesiac (Ingrid Bergman) as the royal. But is there a chance he has somehow stumbled upon the genuine article? Anastasia marked the Hollywood comeback of Ingrid Bergman after her scandalous affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini and it is obvious why she won an Oscar for the role. The impressive supporting cast includes Yul Brynner and Helen Hayes.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) (Film4, 11.05pm)
Jamal (Dev Patel), a teenager from the Mumbai slums, is only one question away from winning the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? However, the authorities refuse to believe that a youngster from such a humble background could succeed without cheating, and subject him to brutal treatment in their search for an explanation. As they interrogate the young man, he reveals his traumatic childhood and
the events that led to him appearing on the show. Danny Boyle, the director who brought us Trainspotting, 28
Days Later and the London Olympics opening ceremony, adds another feather to his cap with this astounding Oscar-winning drama.
TUESDAY
The Post (2017) (Film4, 6.45pm)
Steven Spielberg’s drama is a handsome dramatisation of the high-profile 1971 legal showdown between President Richard Nixon and the free press, which feels uncomfortably relevant in a modern era of fake news. In 1966 Vietnam, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) reports back his grave concerns to Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara. Fearful that the administration is whitewashing the truth, Ellsberg leaks pages of the classified reports to The New York
Times. Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) encourages reporter Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk) to chase down a copy of the report so The Washington Post can bloody its nose too. Publisher Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), who is a good friend of McNamara, faces an impossible decision over whether to pursue the truth at the expense of a personal relationship.
The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015) (BBC2, 11.15pm)
Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel) is a 25-year-old shipping clerk in 1914 Madras, who dreams about formulae, which he scribbles in chalk on temple floors. With the blessing of his employer Sir Francis Spring (Stephen Fry), Ramanujan bids a tearful farewell to his new wife and travels to Trinity College, Cambridge, to nurture his gift under revered academic GH Hardy (Jeremy Irons). Adapted from Robert
Kanigel’s 1991 biography, The Man Who Knew Infinity is a handsome dramatisation of the real-life Indian mathematician who came to England to share his passion for numbers. Patel and Irons are a pleasing double act – youthful exuberance colliding with stuffy stiff-upper-lipped restraint.
WEDNESDAY
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) (Film4, 1.50pm)
Newly qualified lawyer Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) attempts to bring order to the Western town of Shinbone, but gunslinger Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) isn’t about to be won over by his fancy, book-learned ways. Rancher Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) tells Stoddard more brutal methods are needed if he wants to bring the criminal to justice and win the respect of the locals. Director
John Ford and Wayne made some of the greatest Westerns of all time, and this relatively late entry in their filmography is one of the best. As well as being gripping, it has a real elegiac feel. It also gave us one of the genre’s most quoted lines: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
THURSDAY
Bringing Up Baby (1938) (BBC4, 9pm) Palaeontologist Dr David Huxley’s (Cary Grant) ordered life is thrown into confusion when he meets madcap heiress Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn) and her pet leopard, Baby. Before he knows what’s happening, David finds himself escorting the dangerous duo to the country home of Susan’s wealthy aunt, which is a bit inconvenient, as he’s supposed to be getting married to his severe assistant – and impressing a museum donor. Despite flopping at the box office on release (what were the audiences of 1938 thinking?)
FRIDAY
Run All Night (2015) (STV, 11.15pm)
For more than 30 years, hit man
Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson) has outfoxed tenacious Detective John Harding (Vincent D’Onofrio) and slayed targets at the behest of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris). Alcohol is Jimmy’s solace from his transgressions, which have cast him adrift from his son Mike, who works as a limousine driver. One fateful night, Mike witnesses Shawn’s reckless son Danny killing an Albanian thug. Inevitably, Jimmy becomes embroiled in this deadly game of cat and mouse and he tries to protect Mike from the thugs out to silence him. Run All Night is a sleek action thriller set on the rainlashed streets of New York