FILM PICKS
MONDAY
Gloria Bell (2018) (BBC2, 11.15pm)
In 2013, Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Lelio directed the Oscar-nominated drama Gloria about a 58-year-old divorcee embracing life after her family has flown the nest. He helms this English language remake co-written by Alice Johnson Boher, which transplants the soul-searching to the bright lights of Los Angeles. Now her son Peter (Michael Cera) and daughter Anne (Caren Pistorius) are grown up, and her ex-husband Dustin (Brad Garrett) has a new wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Gloria Bell (Julianne Moore) decides to actively search for romantic diversions. During one of these dalliances, she meets paintball instructor Arnold (John Turturro) and they begin to date. Gloria introduces Arnold to her friends and loved ones but her close relationship with Dustin is a cause for concern to Arnold.
WEDNESDAY
The Firm (1993) (Film4, 9pm)
High-achieving Harvard law graduate Mitch (Tom Cruise) takes a lucrative job at a small but very profitable firm, despite his wife’s misgivings (Jeanne Tripplehorn) that it all seems a little too good to be true. She also notices that her husband’s new bosses are a bit too interested in their employees’ family lives. It turns out she was right to be suspicious as Mitch discovers the high-class company is controlled by the Mafia, putting his own life in danger. The Firm is based on a John Grisham legal thriller, but the plot loses something in the move from page to screen. Luckily, the movie manages to compensate with great performance from a stacked cast, including Gene Hackman, Wilford Brimley, Ed Harris and an Oscar-nominated Holly Hunter.
THURSDAY
The King’s Speech (2010) (BBC4, 9pm)
Bertie (Colin Firth), the younger son of King George V, suffers from a stammer that makes public speaking an ordeal. His wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) enlists eccentric Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) to help, but their sessions take on a new urgency when Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) abdicates and Bertie, now known as King George VI, faces the prospect of addressing a country on the brink of war. There’s a reason this film picked up four Oscars – including a welldeserved Best Actor statuette for Firth – and was nominated for eight more. It’s a fascinating tale, expertly and movingly told, while the flashes of humour and some unexpectedly colourful language mean it never feels too staid.
Brief Encounter (1945) (BBC4, 10.50pm)
Housewife Laura Jesson (Celia Johnson) gets a nasty piece of grit in her eye at a railway station and consequently meets a handsome doctor, Alec Harvey (Trevor Howard). Her sight restored and her heart racing, Laura kindles a smouldering attraction to the dashing medic and deliberates cheating on her husband. The strangers agree to meet again and spin a thin web of lies to friends in order to conceal their true feelings.