Top films to watch on TV this week
WEDNESDAY
Belle (2013) Film4, 9p.m.
Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) brings his illegitimate, mixedrace daughter Dido (Lauren Julien-Box) to England and entrusts the child to his aristocratic uncle, Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson). He permits Dido to stay, allowing his great-niece to become a companion to her cousin, Elizabeth (Cara Jenkins).
As Dido (now played by Gugu MbathaRaw) reaches adulthood, she is afforded certain privileges by her lineage but must remain behind closed doors at important social gatherings. However, her head is turned by idealistic lawyer John Davinier (Sam Reid), who is involved in a high-profile case involving a slave ship.
Belle is the enchanting dramatisation of a true story of fortitude across racial and class divides. The ensemble cast delivers excellent performances, particularly Mbatha-Raw.
THURSDAY
Hidden Figures (2016) Film4, 9p.m. Katherine Johnson (Taraji P Henson) and fellow mathematicians Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) work in the segregated West Computing Group in Hampton, Virginia. They are part of Nasa’s concerted effort to put a man into space before the Soviets.
Al Harrison (Kevin Costner), director of the Space Task Group, desperately needs a mathematician in his team to check computations. Supervisor Vivian Mitchell (Kirsten Dunst) selects Katherine, who is the first African-American to work with Al’s crack squad.
Based on an inspirational true story, Hidden Figures is a crowd-pleasing drama, emboldened by sparkling performances from Henson, Monae and Spencer. Sterling support from Costner and Dunst, and a dramatic role for Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons, add to the golden lustre.
FRIDAY
Get On Up (2014) Channel 4,
11.30p.m.
The late, great Chadwick Boseman may be best known as Marvel superhero Black Panther, but he first made an impression on filmgoers in this biopic of R’n’B and soul legend James Brown, which charts the singer’s rise against a backdrop of civil unrest.
Taken to church as a child by his aunt, young James develops his passion for music in the choir, going on to form a
rhythm and blues vocal group called The Famous Flames, releasing their first single in 1956. But when they get a manager, he pushes the flamboyant showman to the fore at the expense of the other members of the group.
Boseman nails the raspy voice and cool cat swagger required to replicate Brown’s fleet-footed shuffles on stage, with the concert sequences, in particular, proving electrifying. Octavia Spencer, Lennie James, Viola Davis and Dan Aykroyd co-star.
SATURDAY
Moonlight (2016) Channel 4,
11.20p.m.
Twelve-year-old Chiron (Alex Hibbert) is one of the smallest boys in his year and an obvious target for bullies. Any beatings pale next to the pain inflicted by his mother Paula (Naomie Harris), who is a slave to her drug habit.
Her neglect drives Chiron into the arms of Paula’s dealer, Juan (Mahershala Ali), and his girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monae), who try to provide a stable home environment as the lad contends with growing pains. Chiron grows into an awkward 16-year-old (now played by Ashton Sanders) and recognises his attraction to best friend Kevin (Jharrel Jerome). Many years later, Chiron (now played by
Trevante Rhodes) and Kevin (now played by Andre Holland) are reunited.
Writer-director Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning drama is an extraordinary film of naked emotion, broken dreams and deep longing.
SUNDAY
Loving (2016) BBC2, 10p.m.
Loving is a handsomely crafted drama telling the true story of two mild-mannered, yet courageous souls from 1950s Virginia, who followed their hearts in strict defiance of The Racial Integrity Act, which criminalised interracial marriages in the state.
Construction worker Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) falls giddily in love with family friend Mildred Jeter (Ruth Negga). When she falls pregnant, the couple decide to marry. Forbidden from consummating their relationship in Virginia, Richard and Mildred drive to Washington DC and return home with a marriage licence, only to be arrested. However, their case eventually attracts the interest of American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Bernie Cohen (Nick Kroll).
Oscar-nominee Negga is radiant as the emotional rock in the eye of a legal storm.
MONDAY
A Quiet Place (2018) Film4, 9p.m. Eighty-nine days after first contact with sightless otherworldly creatures, which hunt by sound, resourceful father Lee Abbott (John Krasinski, who also directs), his wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), eldest son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and four-year-old Beau (Cade Woodward) have adapted to the omnipresent threat.
The family communicates via sign language and silently scours for provisions in abandoned stores. Alas, the electronic beeps from a space shuttle toy lead to one family member’s downfall. Then Evelyn becomes pregnant – and babies aren’t known for their silence…
A Quiet Place is a nerve-shredding horror thriller, which delivers a masterclass in old-fashioned scares and suspense, including a horrific scene with a nail protruding from a wooden basement staircase.