TV FILMS of the week
1 DETROIT Tonight, BBC2, 11.15pm
Kathryn Bigelow’s slow-burning fact-based thriller picks at the fresh wounds of divided race relations in
America by reliving one tragic night in a fractured city that resulted in the deaths of three black teenagers at the Algiers Motel. Detroit skilfully weaves together multiple character arcs, building to a protracted sequence of gut-wrenching terror that draws uncomfortable parallels with the present day. Hand-held camerawork stokes tension and sweat-drenched performances from a fine ensemble cast, headed by John Boyega, are horribly believable.
2 THE ROCK Tomorrow, Channel 5, 10.25pm
A US General (Ed Harris) takes tourists hostage at Alcatraz prison, demanding the government pay compensation to families of Marines killed during covert operations. After he threatens to release chemical weapons, an FBI chemist (Nicolas Cage) recruits John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery, left), the only man to ever escape Alcatraz, to help.
3 THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Monday, Film4, 6.45pm
Anne Hathaway shines as Andy Sachs who lands a plum job as second assistant to fearsome fashion editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep, left with Hathaway). Andy is unprepared for the challenges catering to her tyrannical boss’s every whim. Watch out for a star-making turn from Emily Blunt (pictured right), too.
4 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Tuesday, ITV4, 10.30pm
Jonathan Demme’s terrifying treatment of the Thomas Harris novel sees Jodie Foster, left, play FBI trainee Clarice Starling, who is eager to please her superior, Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn). He implores Clarice to earn the trust of cannibal murderer Dr Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in order to track down serial killer Buffalo Bill.
5 WHIPLASH Wednesday, BBC2, 11.15pm
Drummer Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller, left) is determined to excel at his Manhattan music conservatory, and catches the eye of the school’s most revered teacher, Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons). Andrew transfers to Fletcher’s class, but the game of one-upmanship between teacher and pupil spirals out of control in this drama.
6 LONE SURVIVOR Thursday, ITV4, 11.20pm
Mark Wahlberg, left, plays one of four Navy SEALs on a top-secret mission to find a high-ranking Taliban member. When three shepherds stumble upon the SEALs’ hiding place, the soldiers must decide whether to shoot the locals or let them go, potentially compromising their safety, in this rousing tribute, based on a true story.
7 A MONSTER CALLS Friday, BBC1, 11.25pm
Fantasy drama. Schoolboy Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall, left) is in denial about his mother’s terminal illness and seeks refuge in his drawings. As darkness falls, a nearby yew tree morphs into a gnarled creature (voiced by Liam Neeson) which promises to share three parables, demanding one thing in return: “Tell me your nightmare.”