BLOCKBUSTERS FROM YOUR SOFA
Brian Viner, Mail film critic
EVEN though silver screens all over the country have gone dark, our living-rooms have never had it so good. As more and more films go straight to streaming platforms, here are a few crackers to enjoy these next few weeks in the comfort of your home . . .
■ Blithe Spirit (Sky Cinema, from January 15)
NOEL COWARD’S comic play about the supernatural was turned into a marvellous 1945 film, directed by David lean and starring the magnificent Margaret rutherford, jowls all a’tremble, as eccentric medium Madame Arcati.
Today, perhaps only those great dames Maggie smith and Judi Dench could give us a comparable turn — and in edward hall’s remake it’s the latter, with Dan stevens in the old rex harrison role as a novelist who hears the voice of his dead wife during a seance.
stevens’s break-through role was Downton Abbey’s wholesome, frankly rather dull Matthew Crawley, but he was the funniest thing by far in last year’s spoof, eurovision song Contest: The story Of Fire saga, and here, again, he proves himself as a winning light comedian.
■ The Dig (Netflix, from January 29)
RALPH FIENNES and Carey Mulligan are both superb in this charming film, set in the suffolk summer of 1939, a time even more racked with uncertainty than our own.
But it’s not for that reason that simon stone’s film offers perfect lockdown escapism. it’s the compelling true story of how an Anglo- saxon ship burial, together with treasures of incalculable value not just in monetary terms but also to historians, were discov-ered by local archaeologist Basil Brown (Fiennes), after wealthy widow edith Pretty ( Mulligan) insisted that strange mounds of earth on her estate, sutton hoo, were worth investigating.
■ News Of The World (Netflix, from February 10)
NOTHING to do with the defunct newspaper, this is a western co- written and directed by Paul Greengrass, the Brit much better known for contemporary action thrillers such as the Bourne films. so it should be fun to see what he does with the Old west.
early reports are that it’s jolly good. And Tom hanks stars, which is another encouraging sign. he plays an army veteran who earns his corn reading newspapers to illiterate townsfolk, only to find himself at the heart of a major news story concerning a white girl abducted by the Kiowa tribe.
■ Promising Young Woman (likely to stream from Feb 12)
CAREY MULLI-GAN again, this time in a provoca-tive contemporary thriller. here, she plays Cassie (pic-tured left), who tries to deal with her emotional bag-gage by getting blind drunk and having dangerous one-night stands. Making her feature debut, the writer- director is emerald Fennell. As for Mulligan, the word is that she’s brilliant.
■ The Burnt Orange Heresy (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, February 22)
A COMPLEX thriller set in the art world and, while no mas-terpiece, well worth a viewing.
As the sexy American girl-friend of an urbane critic (Danish actor Claes Bang), elizabeth Debicki gives a splendid performance. it’s also a pleasure to see that old master Donald sutherland on typically fine form.