Pick of the week
The Worst Person in the World
Julie is a student in her late 20s in Oslo, drifting between courses and boyfriends, unsure of where her life is going. Then she falls for fortysomething comic-book artist Aksel and is forced to make bigger life choices than she’d anticipated. Norwegian director Joachim Trier weaves her slow coming of maturity into a romantic drama that is clear-eyed about the compromises of relationships and how we run from responsibility. But he also has a playful, surreal side – at one point time literally stops around Julie when she reaches a turning point in her love life. Renate Reinsve is outstanding as the exasperating, appealing Julie, in a film that wears its heart on its sleeve.
Thursday 1 June, 10.50pm, Film4
***
Chicago
From fishnets to fish, Rob Marshall has done most things in the world of movie musicals. With his latest The Little Mermaid currently targeting the tween market, the grownups may prefer his 2002 version of the Bob Fosse/Kander and Ebb stage satire. Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones – not the obvious casting choices – nail the roles of the two showgirls jailed for murder, with Richard Gere another surprising hit as their venal lawyer. Fosse’s distinctive choreography is given full rein in a flashy, archly funny film.
Saturday 27 May, 6.45am, 5.35am, Sky Cinema Greats
***
Casablanca
You must remember this … But if you’ve never seen one of the big screen’s greatest romances, here’s a chance to rectify that. There’s real pathos in Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal of Rick, an American nightclub owner in 1941 Morocco drawn into Europe’s war by the appearance of lost love Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman). Director Michael Curtiz balances the wartime thrills of Nazis, collaborators and rebels with the aching tenderness of Rick and Ilsa’s connection, in a film packed with quotable dialogue and a top-drawer supporting cast.
Saturday 27 May, 2pm, BBC Two
***
Love to Love You, Donna Summer
Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano’s documentary makes a convincing case for the “queen of disco” (and Sudano’s mother) as one of the great performers of the late 20th century. With early groundbreaking singles Love to Love You Baby and I Feel Love, her career saw many highs but the film uses a wealth of home-movie footage to form an intimate picture of a woman who privately faced abusive relationships, depression and attempted suicide. Moving and, despite Sudano’s involvement, far from hagiographic.
Saturday 27 May, 9pm, Sky Documentaries
***
Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight
A superbly comic yet melancholic take on one of Shakespeare’s finest characters, Orson Welles’s 1966 drama slices and dices five of the plays to put Sir John Falstaff (“that huge bombard of sack”) centre stage. Played by Welles, he’s an incorrigible old liar and coward, but for Prince Hal (Keith Baxter) he’s a necessary stepping stone to becoming a good king. A film that’s light on its feet and perpetually in motion while never far from tragedy.
Saturday 27 May, 9.30pm, Talking Pictures TV
***
Bros
This delightful, razor-sharp comedy stars co-writer Billy Eichner as Bobby, a New York podcaster and director of a soon-to-open National Museum of LGBTQ+ History. He’s 40 and has never been in love, possibly due to his outspoken manner and fear of vulnerability. Luke Macfarlane’s Aaron doesn’t seem like his type – a reserved, muscle-bound lawyer whose favourite singer is Garth Brooks. But somehow, they click. Nicholas Stoller’s extremely funny film takes no prisoners in its dissection of queer identity and representation but has plenty of heart.
Thursday 1 June, 6.05am, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
***
The Crucible
Arthur Miller’s play about the 1690s Salem witch trials – and allegory of the McCarthy “witch-hunts” of the 1950s – gets a gritty treatment in Nicholas Hytner’s 1996 film. Daniel Day-Lewis brings implacable moral weight to John Proctor, a farmer dragged into a scare about devil-worshipping confected by Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder). She lashes out after he rejects her and becomes intoxicated by the power she accrues. The escalation from accusation to execution is horrifyingly swift in a devastating cautionary tragedy. SW
Friday 2 June, 9.05pm, Talking Pictures TV
