The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Hollywood glamour takes a gamble on Downton
Barber (Hugh Dancy) seeks Lord Grantham’s approval to use Downton Abbey as a location for his new picture, The Gambler, starring glamorous leading lady Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock) and dashingly handsome Guy Dexter (Dominic West).
Downstairs staff including lady’s maid Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt) and assistant cook Daisy Parker (Sophie McShera) cluck excitedly at the prospect of “a moving picture” at the house.
Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) agrees to stay behind at Downton to oversee the film.
From the first tinkle of composer John Lunn’s signature melody, Downton Abbey: A New Era pays service to the show’s loyal fanbase with misty-eyed nods to the past (Lady Mary reminiscing about the perfection of first husband
Matthew) and a smattering of injokes.
Haddock and West gamely flesh out their silent movie stars, who fear the rise in popularity of the talkies.
The Crawleys certainly don’t withhold their words but they dutifully pause for breath so director Simon Curtis can luxuriate at leisure over the impeccable production and costume designs.
7/10
THE VELVET QUEEN (12A)
Thanks to Sir David Attenborough and film-makers around the world, Mother Nature holds few secrets from us. As a result of environmental destruction and poaching, snow leopards are among the rarest of the big cats, with fewer than 10,000 adult animals estimated to roam free in the wild.
Appearances on camera of these endangered creatures are rare.
Renowned wildlife photographer Vincent Munier invites novelist Sylvain Tesson to join him on an expedition lasting several weeks to the Tibetan plateau to capture Panthera uncia on film.
Munier and co-director Marie Amiguet film the trek over perilous terrain in search of a majestic prey, encountering the region’s locals along the way. While the snow leopard proves elusive in the wilderness, patience rewards Munier and Tesson with glimpses of other native species including the Tibetan antelope and fox. Original music composed by Warren Ellis and sung by Nick Cave provides a moving soundtrack to this epic odyssey.
7/10
WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR (15)
A teenage girl comes of age as she plays a disturbing online game in first-time director Jane Schoenbrun’s psychological horror.
Casey (Anna Cobb) is alienated from her parents and the world.
Trapped in a small town without obvious diversions, Casey indulges her love of ghoulish lore including an immersive online game.
Casey submits herself to the game’s control, a player called JLB (Michael J Rogers) shows concern for Casey’s welfare as she loosens her grasp on reality but he is just an avatar and might not have honourable intentions. Trapped in a waking nightmare, Casey films herself asleep so JLB can supposedly watch over her in the dead of night.