DVDs of the week

JULIET, NAKED (CERT 15) £12.99

Annie Platt (Rose Byrne) becomes curator of Sandcliff Seaside Museum following her father’s death. Her lecturer boyfriend Duncan (Chris O’Dowd) runs a website called Can You Hear Me?, which is devoted to American singer-songwriter Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke), who walked out of a gig 30 years ago at The Pit Club in Minneapolis and hasn’t been seen since. His obsession creates fractures in the relationship, which deepen after Duncan acts on his primal attraction to fellow lecturer Gina (Denise Gough). In the midst of this emotional upheaval, Annie initiates an animated email conversation with the real Tucker. Fate conspires to bring Tucker to London with his son Jackson (Azhy Robertson) and sparks of attraction lift the gloom over Annie’s predictable day-to-day existence. Based on a novel by Nick Hornby, Juliet, Naked is a sweet, reserved romantic comedy which revels in the power of music to anchor our emotions to a specific person or time. Jesse Peretz’s film is powered by an appealingly scruffy performance from Hawke. He reeks of regret in gently paced scenes of bad parenting and sparks pleasing on-screen chemistry with Byrne as the dissatisfied 30-something, who forges an unexpected bond with her boyfriend’s musical idol. It’s a preposterous set-up for a love triangle that reaches a crescendo of implausibility when Hawke performs an impromptu rendition of The Kinks’ Waterloo Sunset.

NINA (CERT 15) £19.99

High school teacher Nina (Julia Kijowska) accidentally hits the car belonging to airport security officer Magda (Eliza Rycembel) and puts the other driver in touch with her car mechanic husband, Wojtek (Andrzej Konopka). He decides that Magda, a lesbian, would be a perfect surrogate and invites her to dinner with his wife to explore the possibility of helping him and Nina raise a family. Wojtek hopes a child will be the glue to repair fissures in the marriage. Instead Magda kindles Nina’s desires and the two women embark on a tempestuous affair.

A PLACE TO CALL HOME – SERIES SIX (CERT 15) £19.99

Marta Dusseldorp reprises her role as a woman with a mysterious past in the concluding series of the popular 1950s-set Australian drama, which arrives on a two-disc DVD following its broadcast on BBC1. In these 10 instalments, Sarah Nordmann (Dusseldorp) finally married wealthy landowner George Bligh (Brett Climo) in front of family and friends. She assumes her place as the lady of Ash Park, supplanting formidable matriarch Elizabeth (Non Hazelhurst). Also, Dawn Briggs (Clodagh Clegg) prepares to give birth but the delivery is fraught with devastating complications and Dr Henry Fox (Tim Draxl) self-medicates to cope with the pressures of his personal life.