‘Mayflies’

A two part adaptation of Andrew O’Hagan’s novel of the same name, Mayflies is a tale of longstanding friendship, nostalgia and death.

Glaswegians Tully and Jimmy have been best friends for more than 30 years – even distance with married, successful writer Jimmy (Martin Compston) living in London doing little to diminish that bond. But an unexpected phone call will see Jimmy’s life change. It’s Tully (Tony Curran) – a man who has defined him since those teenage years. They have remained close – but the request from his best mate will challenge that friendship.

Interweaving the present day with the weekend in Manchester and the legendary Festival of the Tenth Summer five 17 year-old Glaswegians attended, Mayflies deftly tells its tale. Not only has Tully terminal cancer but he refuses chemotherapy. Even long-term girlfriend Anna (Ashley Jensen) cannot change his determination. With limited time, friendship and love are pitched against each other as Anna feels excluded from decisions being made by the two men.

It’s heartfelt in its telling as Jimmy finds himself between a rock and hard place – supporting his best mate yet doing things he does not agree with, the result of which distances him from Anna. Wife Iona (Tracy Ifeachor) provides much needed stability.

Based on a true story and O’Hagan’s own personal experience, Mayflies is unassuming and compassionate, nuanced and tender – even if somewhat cliched and lacking a more fleshed-out backstory.

Rating: 64%

‘Ghosted’

Gender reversal all action, gun blazing rom com as Cole discovers the woman of his (first date) dreams is a CIA operative.

Having moved back home to help his dad on the farm, the romantic Cole (Chris Evans – Captain America: the First Avenger, Knives Out) is looking for love. A sparky contact at the farmers market with Sadie (Ana de Armas – Blonde, Knives Out) results in what seems the perfect first date. But over the next few days, there’s no response from Cole’s 30+ texts. Discovering she is in London, what could be more romantic than surprising Sadie at her hotel? Wrong!

Packed with Marvel cameos, an excess of everything follows as every cliché in the book is packed into Ghosted by director Dexter Fletcher (Rocketman, Sunshine on Leith). The result is a tedious hotchpotch of OTT, predominantly Pakistan-set action (dead bodies galore) as the intrepid two look to prevent Leveque (Adrien Brody – The Pianist, The Jacket) selling a WMD to the highest bidder.

Rating: 30%

‘M3GAN’

Horror, social commentary and satire all rolled into an unexpectedly thoughtful and entertaining feature.

The death of both parents in a freak accident leaves 9 year-old Cady (Violet McGraw – Doctor Sleep, A Christmas Mystery) living with a virtually unknown aunt – a workaholic robotics engineer at a toy company. But enlisting the M3GAN doll prototype she’s developing to help with Cady provides Emma (Allison Williams – Get Out, The Perfection) with totally unexpected results and challenging consequences.

Splendidly creepy as M3GAN – Model 3 Generative Android – is a next-level robot that looks like a real girl for the most part and is responsive to its user. Something of a lonely outsider dealing with grief, Cady is a target for bullying. But science fiction writer Isaac Asimov’s first law is that a robot shall not harm a human, or by inaction allow a human to come to harm…

With AI under the spotlight, the creepy doll trope is expertly explored in M3GAN as directed by Gerard Johnstone (Housebound). It’s not the scariest of horror films, but its full of suspense and uncertainty and a toy story like no other!

Rating: 70%

‘The Leftovers’ (Seasons 1-3)

When 2% of the world’s population inexplicably disappear, one small town in the State of New York attempts to continue as normal as possible.

14 October 2014 – the day of the Sudden Departure. A crying baby in a car, a mother pushing a shopping trolley, a driver of a car wending its way through town – gone. Accidents worldwide, families torn apart. No explanation. Mapleton, New York is no different.

Three years later, attempted normality is a stop/start affair. But its an unstable world lacking understanding or acceptance of events linked to the Sudden Departure. Religious/spiritual cults and groups have risen – including The Guilty Remnant where its members have given up talking, taken up smoking and are ambivalent about life and survival. The Mapleton sect is led by Patti Levin (Ann Dowd, pre-The Handmaid’s Tale).

Over the next three seasons, Mapleton Police Chief Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) and Nora Durst (Carrie Coon), a woman who lost her husband and two children, grapple with understanding and finding answers. Their journey takes them beyond small town upstate New York to Texas (season two) and, finally, Melbourne and the Australian outback.

Character-driven, The Leftovers is at its best when it explores the emotional scars of the Sudden Departure: Garvey struggles not only with the loss of his wife Laurie (Amy Brenneman) to The Guilty Remnant but also an angry teenage daughter Jill (Margaret Qualley) and absent son, Tom (Chris Zylka). Durst is constantly looking for answers, expecting her brother Reverend Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston) to provide.

It’s an intriguing if at times infuriating series that, as the narrative progresses, becomes increasingly obscure. From the rise of spiritual groups and cults to the Texan town of Jarden (now a place of pilgrimage that has resulted in access being seriously controlled) that remained unaffected by the Sudden Departure, The Leftovers flirts with religion and spirituality. But its ultimately a human interest story as characters come and go over the three seasons – with the Australian narrative drawing closer to the truth and the possibilities of finding and perhaps understanding what happened several years earlier. It’s undoubtedly weird as we experience the physical, emotional and spiritual responses of the Sudden Departure and its long-term ramifications but as a cerebral experience, The Leftovers over its 28 episodes has few competitors. But whether its ultimately satisfying is a different question.

Rating: 69%

‘The Walk-In’

As far right and neo-fascist activity in the UK increases due to political unrest amidst the Brexit referendum, the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox shocks the nation. The action of an individual, the fascist group National Action seizes the moment to promote further racial unrest.

With violence and strife an everyday occurence, activist Matthew Collins (Stephen Graham) of Hope not Hate, himself a former member of the British National Party, looks to ways of infiltrating the group. Seen as a grass and turncoat, Collins and his family are targets by former colleagues and are constantly forced to move home. But Collins is determined to expose the membership, made the more difficult when the British government outlaw National Action as a terrorist organisation. Unexpectedly, Hope not Hate is contacted by a new member of NA – Robbie Mullen (Andrew Ellis). Revealing plans to murder a second Labour MP, time is short as HNH fight to protect their source as the police demand his identity.

Based on true events, this five part miniseries is a hard watch, highlighting the ease in which the far-right prey on and convince bigotry and hate. Opinions and language can be difficult to stomach. Yet The Walk-In is patchy, with its (too) slow unravelling building towards the courtroom tension. Crowd scenes are unconvincing and at times the dialogue slips into agit prop tropes. But the saving grace is a cast where Graham is excellent (as always) as is Leanne Best as his supportive but pushed-to-the-edge wife, Alison, whilst Ellis captures the vulnerability and fear of Mullen.

Rating: 62%

‘Tripping With Nils Frahm’

Mesmerising ambient and neo-classical sound from one of the greatest contemporary musicians around, Tripping With Nils Frahm is a wholly immersive concert experience filmed in the legendary Funkhaus Berlin.

Intimate in performance, soaring in sound, director Benoit Toulemonde (TV’s Une soirée de poche) perfectly captures the close-up of fingers caressing piano keys through to emotive, trance-like reverence of audience members. The music may not be to everyone’s taste, but sound and image are beautifully complemented in a sublime hypnosis of a 90 minute concert film.

Rating: 78%

‘The Guns of Navarone’

A derring-do blockbuster from 1961 with its all-star cast, the adaptation of Alistair MacLean’s best selling novel is a war time adventure as the Allies look to destroy a seemingly impregnable German fortress on the (fictional) Greek island of Navarone.

With the guns threatening Allied naval ships in the Aegean Sea, a plan to send in a crack team is developed, headed by Major Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle – Lawrence of Arabia, Anne of a Thousand Days). But an early casualty on the island sees German-speaking Captain Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck – Spellbound, Roman Holiday) take command. Aided by Greek resistance members, the saboteurs need to overcome an extensive security network of German troops.

Inevitably for its time, emphasis was placed on the thrills and melodrama of the adventure rather than on character (or even credibility), but the frisson between Mallory and Greek general Andrea Stavros (Anthony Quinn – Zorba the Greek, Lust For Life) adds a level of personal tension to the narrative as the team fight to avoid capture and complete their mission.

As directed by J. Lee Thompson (Taras Bulba, Northwest Frontier), The Guns of Navarone became the second highest grossing film of 1961.

Nominated for 7 Oscars in 1962 including best film, director, adapted screenplay – won 1 for visual effects.

Rating: 61%

‘See How They Run’

Derivative and old-fashioned it may be, but there’s something immensely entertaining in this 1950s whodunnit set in London’s West End and the production of Agatha Christie’s The Mouse Trap.

As chances of a Hollywood film are discussed, so a murder following the 100th performance of the play puts such plans in jeopardy. But whodunnit? With a minimal number of suspects – cast members and production team – that’s up to cynical old-hand Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell – Moon, Seven Psychopaths) and naive new recruit, WPC Stalker (Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn, Atonement) to solve.

With more than a nod towards Wes Anderson (including a starry cast), See How They Run is a fun, camp romp as the likes of gay playwright David Cocker-Norris (David Oyelowo – Selma, The Midnight Sky) and Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson – Where the Crawdads Sing, Beach Rats) all come under suspicion.

Rating: 63%

‘The Night Agent’ (Season 1)

A solid entertainment it may be with a gripping plotline but what seriously undermines this 10-part season (season two having just been announced) is the cliché-ridden and poorly written script delivered by some seriously miscast actors (Kari Matchett would struggle to be elected to a local primary school PTA never mind US president).

Foiling the bombing of a Washington subway train, low-level FBI agent Peter Sutherland’s (the hunky Gabriel Rosso) reward is the manning of a phone in the basement of the White House that never rings. But one night it does – a terrified Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan) has just witnessed the murder of her aunt and uncle and is being stalked by the assassin. So begins what initially appears to be a thrilling conspiracy theory adventure tale with ramifications all the way to the Oval House and Camp David.

Sadly, by late episode two/early episode three, the early promise is not lived up to. There’s little credibility to story or characterisation as Sutherland and Rose find themselves on the run not certain who to trust. Turns out the uncle and aunt were retired CIA agents asked specifically by the president to follow through a new operation that very few knew about. And it got them killed, with Rose the only witness.

No spoilers but as the narrative flits between our two unlikely heroes persued by assassins Dale and Ellen (the oddly likeable Phoenix Raei and Eve Harlow) and the security unit protecting the VP’s daughter, Maddie (Sarah Desjardins), headed by Agent Harrington (Fola Evans-Akingbola), at art school, so the believability of it all quickly unspools. But what is clear, in spite of wooden acting and clichéd dialogue, is that the intention behind the subway bombing has not gone away.

At times infuriating, at times unintentionally funny, at all times beyond episode one lacking in suspense, The Night Agent is an example of the templated espionage/conspiracy tale going wrong but which retains its interest in spite of it. But season two will have no appeal whatsoever.

Rating: 54%

‘Oslo, 31st August’

A gentle, sensitive unfolding of a recovering drug addict given a day’s leave from his rehab centre for a work interview.

Leaving the centre determined to make a go of it, over the course of the day and night, Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie – The Worst Person in the World, Bergman Island) attempts to reconnect with family and friends. Welcomed by some, but for others memories of his heroin addiction and lives destroyed are too fresh.

Directed by Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World, Reprise), Oslo 31st August is surprisingly empathic towards the educated but self-centred addict. With more than a hint of existential angst as Anders struggles with purpose, Trier looks to a lucid, inner cry of pain as the everyday of normalcy crowds around him.

Rating: 74%