Pick of the week
Poor Things
A risk-taking performance from Emma Stone is at the heart of the latest, deeply weird yarn from Yorgos “The Favourite” Lanthimos. She plays Bella, a young woman who died but was revived with the brain of her unborn baby by the Frankenstein-esque Godwin (Willem Dafoe). As she learns to walk and talk, she yearns to discover more about life. Lothario Duncan Wedderburn (a hilariously louche Mark Ruffalo) has designs on being her svengali – but Bella has a mind of her own and a unique way of seeing the world. Adapted from Alasdair Gray’s novel and set in a stunning, not-quite-realistic Victorian era, it’s a delightful, disconcerting comedy.
Out now, Disney+
***
Femme
Sam H Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s debut feature is a deft, complex exploration of queer desire and fear by way of a revenge thriller. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett is Jules, a drag performance artist who endures a homophobic attack from the thuggish Preston (George MacKay) and his mates. Then he spots Preston in a gay sauna and decides to seduce him … The power dynamic between the two shifts constantly as Preston struggles with his true self and Jules begins to soften towards his assailant in a thought-provoking, sensitively acted drama.
Out now, Netflix
***
The Souvenir: Part II
The death of her manipulative boyfriend in Part I weighs heavily on upper-class student Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) in the 2019 conclusion of Joanna Hogg’s two-part drama. She’s ostensibly getting on with her film school graduation piece but her grief at Anthony’s unexpected demise – and the gaps in her knowledge of his life and personality – lead her down a different path creatively and personally. With more intensity than the first film, this develops into an absorbing story of emotional survival.
Sunday 10 March, 10pm, BBC Two
***
20 Days in Mariupol
“War is like an X-ray: all human insides become visible.” So says an embattled doctor in this Bafta-winning documentary, which brings home in devastating fashion the terror of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. TV journalist Mstyslav Chernov was in the south-eastern city when it was besieged by Putin’s troops, but stayed to document the increasingly desperate situation faced by its residents. The terrible human cost is shown in distressing hospital scenes and interviews with people in fear of their lives and those of their children. A difficult but necessary watch. SW
Monday 11 March, 10.30pm, Channel 4
***
The Card Counter
Oscar Isaac stars as another of writer-director Paul Schrader’s self-contained, self-sufficient loners in this 2021 morality tale. William Tell is an expert card player who travels around the casinos of the US, winning just enough to make a living but not so much that he draws undue attention. When he meets Tye Sheridan’s rootless youngster Cirk, who has a link to William’s dark past in the military, a chink of fellow feeling appears. Tiffany Haddish, as an agent for top poker players, adds another entanglement as he belatedly tries to do some good in his life. SW
Wednesday 13 March, 9pm, Film4
***
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
With possibly accidental echoes of Michael J Fox’s 1991 comedy Doc Hollywood, this lovely drama out of Bhutan follows trainee teacher Ugyen (Sherab Dorji), who is ordered to take a position at a school in a remote Himalayan village. He’s a city boy with plans to emigrate to Australia, so some gentle clashing of cultures ensues. But – as you may expect but still welcome – he warms to the cute kids, unadorned rural lifestyle and, not least, Kelden Lhamo Gurung’s young singer. SW
Thursday 14 March, 10.50pm, BBC Four
***
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)
On its theatrical release last year, this quickly became the bestselling concert film of all time (knocking Bieber into second place), and gave a much-needed boost to cinemas. But in a career as phenomenally successful as Swift’s, that’s par for the course. This streaming release adds five bonus songs from her 2023 concerts in California, and captures all the sparkle and splendour of the show – from intimate closeup to widescreen pizzazz – with multiple costume changes, a wealth of visual effects, slick choreography and, of course, plenty of the engaging Tay Tay. SW
Friday 15 March, Disney+
• This article was amended on 8 March 2024 because, after publication, the time that the film 20 Days in Mariupol will be shown on Channel 4 moved from Thursday 14 March at 11.20pm, to Monday 11 March at 10.30pm.
