FILM PICKS

MONDAY Nowhere Special (2020) (BBC2, 11.15pm)

Award-winning Italian filmmaker Uberto Pasolini draws inspiration from true events for a life-affirming portrait of enduring love and sacrifice between father and son. Thirty-five-year-old window cleaner John (James Norton) has dedicated himself to raising his four-yearold son Michael (Daniel Lamont) in the absence of a mother, who left when the boy was born. The bond between parent and child is seemingly unbreakable, founded on simple routines that reflect the beautiful simplicity of John and Michael’s relationship. Fate deals John a cruel blow and he is given just a few months to live. Without any family to turn to, he decides to conceal the harrowing truth from Michael and to spend his final weeks searching for a new family to cherish his boy when he is gone.

WEDNESDAY

Glory (1989) (Film4, 9pm)

Set during the American Civil War, this stirring period drama chronicles how Robert Gould Shaw, the son of a wealthy abolitionist, was given command of one of the first black regiments, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He would train and lead the men into battle – but not without fighting a few battles of a different kind along the way. Shaw comes up against stiff prejudice from his colleagues, who delight in denying his men the privileges afforded to white soldiers. Baby-faced Matthew Broderick plays the officer, but it’s Denzel Washington, on Oscar-winning form as Trip, and Morgan Freeman as gravedigger Rawlins who steal the show.

THURSDAY

Sweet Charity (1969) (BBC4, 9pm)

Legendary choreographer Bob Fosse made an impressive feature-film directorial debut with this fun musical comedy. Shirley MacLaine stars as Charity Hope Valentine, a dancer in a seedy nightclub, who keeps looking for love in all the wrong places. When it finally seems like she has met her Mr Right, she decides to keep her past a secret from him for fear of putting him off, but will the truth come out? The plot matters less than the terrific numbers, which include Big Spender, If My Friends Could See Me Now, and Sammy Davis Jr’s showstopping The Rhythm of Life.

FRIDAY

Dark Waters (2019) (BBC2, 11.05pm)

Mild-mannered defence lawyer Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) works at Taft Stettinius & Hollister, which represents some of America’s most powerful chemicals companies. He receives a visit from farmer Wilbur Tennant (Bill Camp), who has been persuaded to deliver a cardboard box of videotapes, detailing the decimation of his cow herd on land adjoining a DuPont chemical plant. Inspired by a New York Times magazine article, Dark Waters is a slow-burning thriller about a dogged fight for justice lasting more than 20 years. Ruffalo transforms from Avengers superhero to a hunched, harangued, jowly workaholic.