Wicked Little Letters and Damsel among March’s must-see movies
Lindsay Lohan finds love on the Emerald Isle, while Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley swear up a storm in flicks on a screen near you this month. James Croot writes.
Not only does March herald the arrival of Hollywood’s big movie night in the form of the Academy Awards ceremony, it’s also a fabulous month packed full of new titles for film lovers.
Those keen for an in-theatre experience can choose from the blockbuster delights of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (March 28), the horrors of Imaginary (March 7) and Immaculate (March 21), Spanish comedy Let The Dance Begin, family-friendly fun via Combat Wombat 2 (both March 7) and drama in the form of a biopic of 19th-century Catholic missionary Francesca Cabrini (Cabrini) and the Baftawinning, New Zealand International Film Festival Guy Pearce
returnee How To Have Sex headlines the
(both March 7). New Zealandshot
Meanwhile, on streaming and set
services, Netflix’s lineperiod drama
up includes a biopic of The Convert.
the America’s first Black congresswoman (March 22’s
Shirley) and a remake of the 1953 French classic The Wages Of Fear (March 29), Disney+ debuts an extended version of hit concert movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (March 15), Prime Video boasts rom-com sequel Beautiful Wedding (March 8) and new rental titles include motor-racing drama Race For Glory: Audi vs Lancia (March 20), country music romance Just Jake (March 13) and TV series spin-off Mr Monk’s Last Case (March 8).
However, after looking through the schedules, Stuff To Watch has come up with 13 titles we’re most excited about that are coming to a screen near you over the next few weeks.
The Beautiful Game (March 29, Netflix)
Bill Nighy (Living) plays the manager of England’s homeless football team in this sports drama penned by Frank Cottrell Boyce (24 Hour Party People, Goodbye Christopher Robin).
Aiming to take home the top prize at the Homeless World Cup’s latest edition in Rome, he makes a last-minute decision to include talented striker Vinny (Empire Of Light’s Micheal Ward) in the squad, but is the young man ready to let go of his past and become part of the team?
The Convert (March 14, cinemas)
Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors) directs this 1830s New Zealand-set drama about a lay preacher whose violent past is drawn into question – and his faith put to the test – when he finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Māori tribes.
The cast includes Guy Pearce, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne (Whina, Cousins), Lawrence Makoare and Dean O’Gorman.
Damsel (March 8, Netflix)
Millie Bobby Brown, Angela Bassett, Ray Winstone and Robin Wright team up for this fantasy-adventure directed by 28 Weeks Later’s Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.
Brown plays the eponymous maiden, a young woman who agrees to marry a handsome prince, only to discover the royal family has recruited her as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt. Thrown into a cave with a fire-breathing dragon, she must rely on her wits and will to survive.
Frida (March 14, Prime Video)
Just when you thought you knew all there was to know about the Mexican artist, along comes this vibrant and vital portrait from Emmy-nominated editor-turned-director Carla Gutierrez (RBG).
Using Frida Kahlo’s own words, taken from letters, diaries, essays and interviews, as well as archival footage and animation inspired by her iconic painting style, Gutierrez details her triumphs and tragedies in sometimes raw and intimate detail.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (March 21, cinemas)
When the discovery of an ancient artefact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new (Paul Rudd, Mckenna Grace) and old (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd) must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age.
Released 40 years after the original movie, this brings back William Atherton’s unctuous Environmental Protection Agency official Walter Peck.
The Great Escaper (March 7, cinemas)
Michael Caine plays octogenarian Bernard Jordan in this true-life tale about a military veteran who, in 2014, liberated himself from his care home in order to attend the 70th anniversary commemorations of the D-Day landings in France.
Directed by Swimming with Men and Funny Woman’s Oliver Parker, the drama also features Glenda Jackson (Mothering Sunday, Elizabeth is Missing) in her final film role. “There’s a real emotional heft to the storytelling and Caine, at 90, is a knockout,” wrote The Observer’s Wendy Ide.
Io Capitano (March 28, cinemas)
Acclaimed Italian writer-director Matteo Garrone’s (Gomorrah, Dogman) latest drama tells the adventurous journey of young boys Seydou and Moussa, as they leave their home in Dakar – sights set on a new life in Europe.
“Garrone invites you into a story and demands your attention with visual clarity and narrative urgency,” wrote The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis, “yet his great strength here is the tenderness of his touch.”
Irish Wish (March 15, Netflix)
Lindsay Lohan returns to the spotlight with this Emerald Isle-set romantic-comedy. She plays Maddie, a woman who attempts to put her own feelings aside and be bridesmaid for her best friend, even though she is marrying the love of Maddie’s life. Look out for Jane Seymour (Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman) as Maddie’s mom Rosemary.
The Mountain (March 28, cinemas)
Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Thor: Ragnarok scene-stealer and Heartbreak High revival star Rachel House steps behind the camera for this Taranaki-set comingof-age dramedy about three children on a mission to find healing by climbing their local maunga.
Sam (Elizabeth Atkinson), Mallory (Reuben Francis) and Bronco (Terrence Daniel) together discover the true spirit of adventure and the magic of friendship.
Ricky Stanicky (March 7, Prime Video)
John Cena teams up with Zac Efron for this very adult comedy about three childhood best friends whose decades-long way of getting out of trouble – their imaginary pal Ricky Stanicky – has finally caught up with them.
With their spouses and partners demanding they finally meet the elusive “Ricky Stanicky”, the trio decide their only option is to hire celebrity impersonator “Rock Hard” Rod Rimestead.
However, when the alcoholic actor takes the role of his lifetime too far, they start to wonder if they’ve made a terrible choice.
Road House (March 21, Prime Video)
Jake Gyllenhaal headlines this “reimagining” of the Patrick Swayze-starring 1989 actiondrama. He plays an ex-UFC fighter trying to escape his dark past and a penchant for violence.
A change of scene – and fortunes – comes from an opportunity to be a bouncer at an establishment in the Florida Keys. However, a violent gang and a vicious crime boss mean “Dalton” ends up facing far bigger dangers than anything he encountered in the Octagon.
The cast also includes Irish pugilist Conor McGregor and The White Lotus’ Lukas Gage.
Spaceman (March 1, Netflix)
Adam Sandler takes a rare foray into more serious territory with this sci-fi drama about an astronaut, six months into his solo mission, whose concerns about the state of his life back on Earth are eased by an ancient creature (voiced by Paul Dano) that he discovers in the bowels of his ship.
Carey Mulligan, Isabella Rossellini and Lena Olin also feature.
“Offers up deep truths, terrific performances and an alien gob that truly transfixes,” wrote Total Film’s Leila Latif.
Wicked Little Letters (March 21, cinemas)
Jessie Buckley stars opposite Olivia Colman in this based-on-fact dramedy about the residents of the English seaside town of Littlehampton, a village that became the focal point for a wave of scandalous and obscene notes in the 1920s.
‘‘There wasn’t a lot of social benevolence involved. It was just a get-rich-quick scheme that probably involved murder.’’ Hugh Bonneville
One is an actor best known for playing Paddington’s dad and the seventh Earl of Grantham on perhaps the most beloved UK drama of the past 15 years. The other is an anarchic comedian with a penchant for eye-catching clothing and providing witty commentary on the last seven seasons of The Great British Bake Off.
But, while Hugh Bonneville and Noel Fielding may seem like an unlikely pairing, they’ve combined to bring to life a very different take on an English icon whose popularity arguably rivals Michael Bond’s Peruvian bear or Mary Berry – legendary 18th century highwayman Dick Turpin.
Debuting on Apple TV+ today, March 1, The Completely Made-Up Adventures Of Dick Turpin is a six-part actioncomedy that feels like a cross between Horrible Histories and Blackadder.
Fielding plays the eponymous coach robber, while Bonneville is his archnemesis (at least initially) – thief-taker general Jonathan Wilde. However, unlike the real-life poacher, burglar, horse thief and killer, Fielding’s sonof-a-butcher is an avowed pacifist and vegan more known for his flair for fashion and sewing skills than ability with a sword or gun.
Talking to the pair via Zoom in the first hour of Valentine’s Day in New Zealand (“Did you get my card?”, Bonneville inquires), after reminding the 60-year-old that we once sat beside each other at a dinner for Downton in September 2012 (“I think you had the fish,” I joke), I ask him if he thinks Turpin has historically got a raw deal, compared with the more globally admired Robin Hood. (After all, while there have been countless movie and television adaptations of the man from Sherwood Forest, including Disney reimagining him as a fox, Turpin has only been the subject of silent flicks, a Carry On film and one 1970s series starring that era’s sitcom king Richard O’Sullivan).
“I just think he [Turpin] didn’t have a very good PR team. Although, Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Dick Turpin just stole from the rich – and kept it for himself. There wasn’t a lot of social benevolence involved. It was just a get-rich-quick scheme that probably involved murder as well.”
Despite that, Bonneville does understand Turpin’s enduring appeal. “I think we do like a character that sort of kicks against authority. You know David and Goliath – with pistols.”
Fielding agrees: “We love a rogue
– I think. The real Turpin was quite a sinister character really. He was hanged and he rode a horse to York, robbed stagecoaches and probably murdered people. So, while we sort of love the story, we thought we’d reinvent him – make him a bit more modern. Make him a more inclusive character. He’s just quite kind and easy-going.”
Asking if New Zealand has an equivalent to Turpin, or Australia’s Ned Kelly (caught off-guard, I confuse the respective fictional and real protagonists of Kiwi cinematic classics Sleeping Dogs and Bad Blood, before somewhat sheepishly offering up the rogue merino wether Shrek), Fielding then admits to being a fan of Kiwi comedy.
“I love Flight Of The Conchords, Rhys [Darby] obviously did Our Flag Means Death and I love What We Do In The Shadows. That kind of comedy is my favourite kind of comedy and I feel that kind of comedy does appeal to slightly younger people.”
He says that’s the kind of audience he and the others behind this Turpin are trying to capture. “The aim was always that you could watch it with your slightly older kids.”
Confessing that he’d been hankering to come back to scripted comedy for some time, but always struggled with the idea of doing it without his Mighty Boosh gang (a beloved troupe that he lets slip may one day re-form), Fielding says the period setting and playing a character based on somebody from real life created “enough of a difference” for him, even if there are definitely “Booshy” moments to the comedy.
The project has also attracted plenty of familiar faces from British comedy. Greg Davies plays a vicious gang leader, Joe Wilkinson a jailer, Asim Chaudhry a wannabe warlock, Diane Morgan his cynical assessor, Jessica Hynes a witch and Tamsin Greig a Lady, who is anything but.
But what made Fielding choose Bonneville to play the villainous and officious Wilde?
“That was dream casting. We thought we’d never get him, but thought that’s who we should shoot for. When Hugh said yes, we were so surprised – and so excited. I felt, once Hugh was in place, like the show was real. To have someone like him gave it some real punch and gravitas. Also, he plays a brilliant baddie.”
For his part, the real-life deputy lieutenant of West Sussex (a title he says simply involves him “being nice to people who want to be British citizens”), is just relieved that the character has a better name than his 1970s TV equivalent – Sir John Glutton.
And when asked if Wilde could be an ancient relative of Robert Crawley, Bonneville is taken by the idea of a Blackadder-esque series of shows linking the two.
“Oh yeah, they could pop up everywhere. Basically, I give the same performance in everything I do, so it’s just a question of different frocks.”
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin begins streaming on Apple TV+ today.