Top films to watch on TV this week
WEDNESDAY
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Film4, 11.20p.m.
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. At times funny and heart-warming, at others tragic and brutal, the film touches on many themes, but is at heart an examination of poverty and love.
THURSDAY
All the President’s Men (1976) BBC4, 9p.m.
Made only two years after the events which it depicts took place, All the President’s Men won four Oscars, including Best Screenplay for William Goldman, the man who also wrote Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Marathon Man.
The stars of the two aforementioned movies, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, take the leads as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein respectively who, in 1974, were reporters on the Washington Post newspaper. The pair were assigned to investigate a break-in at the Watergate Hotel, but ended up unearthing scandal and corruption at the White House which resulted in President Richard Nixon’s infamous resignation.
The film works because rather than going for an obvious documentary feel to the production, director Alan J Pakula shot it as an edge-of-your-seat thriller.
FRIDAY
The Graduate (1967) Sony Movies Classic, 9p.m.
Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) has just graduated from college and is back at his parents’ home for the summer, with his whole life ahead of him. His parents would like him to get into the plastics industry, but Benjamin isn’t sure.
He’s more interested in getting into bed with sexy neighbour Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft), although it soon becomes clear that it’s her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross) who holds the key to his heart.
Director Mike Nichols’ comedy classic still stands the test of time. Dustin Hoffman may have been far too old to play the lead role, but he doesn’t look it; the film turned him into a star after years of struggle. The superb Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack alone is worth tuning in for.
SATURDAY
Raging Bull (1980) ITV, 10.55p.m. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you have to be a boxing fan to watch Martin Scorsese’s extraordinary biopic of fighter Jake LaMotta. Anyone who loves movies should see it, if only to find out why it regularly makes those ‘greatest films’ lists.
An Oscar-winning Robert De Niro stars as LaMotta, who rises to fame as the world middleweight champion in the 1940s. Unfortunately, he doesn’t save his aggression for the ring, and LaMotta’s temper takes its toll on his career and family.
De Niro looks convincing in the fight scenes, and famously piled on 60 pounds to play the older LaMotta, but it’s not just the weight gain that makes his performance unforgettable. There’s also strong support from Joe Pesci and a never-better Cathy Moriarty.
SUNDAY
Election (1999) BBC1, midnight Over-achieving high-school student Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) announces she’s running for class president – an idea that fills teacher Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) with dread. In a bid to halt her rise to victory, he convinces dim-but-popular Paul (Chris Klein) to stand against her.
However, when Paul’s rebellious sister (Jessica Campbell) throws her hat into the ring as well, Jim’s plot spirals out of control. Director Alexander Payne pulls off a sharp, dark comedy that takes a satirical look at more than just highschool politics.
Viewers of a certain age will find the sight of Broderick (aka quintessential cocky Eighties teen Ferris Bueller) as a crumpled teacher especially poignant, but it’s Witherspoon who runs away with the movie – she makes Tracy terrifying and vulnerable at the same time.
MONDAY
All The Money in the World (2017) Film4, 9p.m.
Based on one version of events surrounding the 1973 kidnapping of 16-yearold John Paul Getty III (the BBC drama Trust offered another), Ridley Scott’s propulsive thriller sustains dramatic tension with aplomb as David Scarpa’s script ricochets between the gang holding the boy hostage and the dysfunctional Getty family.
Michelle Williams teases out the steely resolve of the young Getty’s mother, who married into wealth and has to rely on the benevolence of others to save her son (Charlie Plummer).
Oil tycoon J Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer, who replaced Kevin Spacey) refuses to plunder a single cent from his billion-dollar empire, coldly arguing that if he paid a ransom for one grandchild he would set a precedent. Instead, he hires security consultant Fletcher Chace (Mark Wahlberg) to rescue the boy.
TUESDAY
American Animals (2018) Film4, 9p.m.
Art student Spencer Reinhard (Barry Keoghan) believes the key to becoming a great painter is daubs of life experience, and he has none. After a tour of the special collections section of his university’s library, Spencer conceives a plan to steal several rare editions with athletics scholarship student Warren Lipka (Evan Peters).
Spencer and Warren realise they need additional manpower, and involve two friends, Erik Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson) and Chas Allen (Blake Jenner). The students’ best-laid preparations falter and fraternal bonds buckle under the strain of a high-profile police investigation.
Based on a true story, American Animals is a lean, propulsive thriller, which elegantly melds documentary and dramatisation to sift through contradictory testimonies of the perpetrators.