SCREEN
SECOND
Based on a real story, Film Stars Don’t Die
In Liverpool (15A) tells of Oscar-winning actress Gloria Grahame, who found a second life and love in England after being cast out of Hollywood.
By the time Grahame arrived in London in 1979 to work in theatre, her glory days were long past. That said, she was only in her mid-50s and could flirt her way into just about any man’s affections. The young actor sharing her digs, Peter Turner (Jamie Bell), didn’t stand a chance, despite a near 30-year age gap.
Two years later, however, and with their romance apparently run, Grahame collapses in her dressing room.
She rings Peter’s home in Liverpool, desperate not just to be reunited with her former love but, somewhat bizarrely, to be cared for by his mother, Bella (Julie Walters).
The acting is wonderful, with Annette Bening outstanding as the vain, deluded and not always likeable actress, and Bell at last finding a period and part that really suit him as an adult actor.
If Jane Austen were alive today, she might well be writing screenplays such as Ingrid
Goes West (16) a tale of the dangers of our social media era. A Single White Female for a new century, it’s as creepy as it is funny.
Former Twilight star Robert Pattinson gives his best performance for a while in Good
Time (15A) He plays a bungling bank robber who will do anything to rescue his mentally challenged brother from police custody. Getting the right man would be a start.