TO OLIVIA (PG)
OVER the course of a distinguished literary career, Roald Dahl dedicated books to each of his five children. The name of his eldest daughter, Olivia, appears at the beginning of James And The Giant Peach when she was still alive and posthumously in The BFG, after she passed away from encephalitis following a measles infection. When the seven-year-old died on November 17, 1962, there was no measles vaccine in England. Dahl and screen star wife Patricia Neal went on to become passionate advocates for the campaign to immunise children. John Hay’s heartfelt drama, based on Stephen Michael Shearer’s biography of Neal, chronicles the impact of Olivia’s death. A stylish animated sequence over the opening credits succinctly traces the paths of Royal Air Force fighter pilot Dahl (Hugh (Bonneville) and Tony Awardwinning actress Neal (Keeley Hawes) to their home in Great Missenden via the bright lights of Hollywoodland. It’s 1961 and James And The Giant Peach has sold just over 2,600 copies. Unpaid bills are piling up and Neal is searching for a film script worthy of her talents.
While Dahl pens his next book, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, in the garden shed, Neal tends to their brood, Olivia (Darcey Ewart), Tessa (Isabella Jonsson) and Theo (Alfie and Tommy James Hardy). The sudden death of eldest child Olivia casts a dark shadow over the household. Neal becomes frustrated by her husband’s refusal to articulate his feelings and the marriage reaches crisis point when director Marty Ritt (Conleth Hill) implores her to return to LA with her children to star in Hud opposite Paul Newman (Sam Heughan).
On Sky Cinema from Friday.
BORN in Tres Coracoes in Brazil, Edson Arantes do Nascimento grew up in poverty but found salvation on the football field as Pele. Directed by David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas, this featurelength documentary enjoys unprecedented access to the player
PELE (PG) Preview
to chart a turbulent 12-year period in Brazil’s history between 1958 and 1970 when Pele graduated from promising talent to national hero and became the only man to win three World
Cup titles. The film incorporates archive footage and interviews with Pele’s former team-mates Jairzinho, Rivellino and Zagallo to dissect one man’s quest for perfection on the field and his enduring legacy.
Streaming from February 23 on Netflix.