2 hours ago
7
TV
If you only watch one, make it …
The Beast in Me
Netflix
Summed up in a sentence Claire Danes stars as a rage- and grief-filled author whose life is ignited by the arrival of a multimillionaire – played brilliantly by Matthew Rhys – suspected of murdering his wife.
What our reviewer said “Danes and Rhys spark off each other through beautifully written scenes designed to immerse you in the world of two people discovering what it means to find someone who truly sees you and accepts you in your entirety – even when that entirety drives others away.” Lucy Mangan
Further reading Claire Danes on sex, spy camp and teen stardom
Pick of the rest
The Eubanks: Like Father, Like Son
BBC iPlayer
Summed up in a sentence A surprisingly moving documentary following the reunion between Chris Eubank Jr and his father, ahead of the former’s fight with Conor Benn – the son of his dad’s great rival
What our reviewer said “It really is enough to make you weep, as the camera unobtrusively captures these men so loved by each other trying to connect, to understand and make each other understand, watching them reach out and pass each other, missing only by inches.” Lucy Mangan
Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth
Disney+
Summed up in a sentence A thorough, forensic two-part documentary following the TV presenter’s mother as she demands answers about her daughter’s death.
What our reviewer said “Neither exploitative nor cheap … an antidote to the true-crime gravy train that usually steams through cases like this one.” Hannah J Davies
Further reading Caroline Flack’s mother on the tragic, preventable death of her daughter
Malice
Prime Video
Summed up in a sentence David Duchovny is at his charismatic best as a ruthless multimillionaire in this glossy thriller – where he hires Jack Whitehall as a sinister nanny.
What our reviewer said “Moreish, bingeable stuff to take you happily through to Christmas.” Lucy Mangan
Further reading David Duchovny on poems, podcasts – and his TV comeback
You may have missed …
Disclosure: Care Home Undercover
BBC iPlayer
Summed up in a sentence A journalist goes undercover in an Inverness care home, Castlehill – and uncovers a horrifying situation for residents.
What our reviewer said “By the time you finish Catriona MacPhee’s hour-long film, you will have little doubt that the image Castlehill presents to the outside world – complete with champagne and fine dining – couldn’t be further from the appalling reality.” Hannah J Davies
Film
If you only watch one, make it …
Left-Handed Girl
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Striking Taiwanese family drama from Sean Baker collaborator Shih-Ching Tsou about a kid who is admonished for using her left hand.
What our reviewer said “Tsou pairs the kaleidoscopic fragments of the city with the splinters of imperfect people – poignantly and tenderly showing what it means to be a family in Taiwan, and delivering a triumph of a film.” Tammy Tarng
Pick of the rest
The Running Man
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Glen Powell stars in a fun update of Stephen King future-shock sci-fi satire as director Edgar Wright goes back to King’s original 1982 novel.
What our reviewer said “Wright accelerates to a sprint for some full-tilt chase sequences; there’s a nice punk aesthetic with protest ’zines being produced by underground rebels; and Wright always delivers those sugar-rush pop slams on the soundtrack, including, of course, the Spencer Davis Group’s Keep on Running.” Peter Bradshaw
Further reading ‘I don’t know how anyone takes themselves seriously in this job’: Hollywood hotshot Glen Powell talks to Marina Hyde
Predators
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Disturbing film by documentary-maker David Osit about the televised shaming served up by hit reality paedophile-hunting show To Catch a Predator.
What our reviewer said “How does the punitive, ritualised humiliation of To Catch a Predator, or any of the many gonzo made-for-YouTube knockoffs, like the one we see being filmed here, help stop child abuse or change anyone’s life for the better? No one wants to think about how to break these cycles of abuse; instead we’re all trapped in a veritable hall of mirrored cruelties.” Leslie Felperin
Further reading ‘Abject horror’: the troubling history of paedophile-hunting TV shows
Night of the Juggler
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence James Brolin stars in a full-throttle 1980s pulp shocker crammed with nonstop gonzo mayhem, a wild ride of fender-mangling car chases and nutso action.
What our reviewer said “It’s a gritty New York sleazesploitation crime thriller with some gobsmackingly over-the-top punch-ups and shootouts; some of the attitudes to ethnicity and sexual politics can only be described as of their time. Those who prefer 21st-century standards of good taste had better look away now.” Peter Bradshaw
Now streaming
Come See Me in the Good Light
Apple TV+
Summed up in a sentence Moving documentary from director Ryan White, chronicling poet Andrea Gibson’s terminal cancer diagnosis and treatment, which won the audience award at Sundance.
What our reviewer said “Its primary feat is one of direct, unvarnished honesty, addressing ironies that would feel too neat if they weren’t so poignant and true.” Adrian Horton
Books
If you only read one, make it …
Vaim by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls
Reviewed by Sukhdev Sandhu
Summed up in a sentence The Norwegian author’s first new work since winning the literature Nobel in 2023.
What our reviewer said “How can prose that is so simple pulse with such feeling, incarnating the light and spray and tidal tempos of these seascapes with such power? It is a strange miracle.”
Pick of the rest
Bread of Angels by Patti Smith
Reviewed by Will Hermes
Summed up in a sentence The poet of punk reflects on her early life and later career.
What our reviewer said “Her voice casts a potent spell, and you’ll learn as much about the artist from her style as from the stories themselves.”
Further reading Defiance, desire and devastation: Patti Smith’s 20 greatest songs – ranked!
We did OK, Kid by Anthony Hopkins
Reviewed by Peter Bradshaw
Summed up in a sentence The Hollywood legend from Port Talbot reflects on his life and career.
What our reviewer said “He left school a no-hoper, went into acting, and to the astonishment of his parents was on stage with Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic within 10 years. He more or less did it on his own, although in those days there were grants to go to Rada – a way up for working-class actors.”
Further reading Anthony Hopkins on alcoholism, anger and Academy Awards
One Aladdin, Two Lamps by Jeanette Winterson
Reviewed by Anthony Cummins
Summed up in a sentence Freewheeling essays from the free-thinking novelist.
What our reviewer said “As opinions on matters big and small fly past, the tone evokes by turns a party political broadcast, Radio 4’s Thought for the Day, an old friend setting the world to rights.”
You may have missed …
Flesh by David Szalay
Reviewed by Keiran Goddard
Summed up in a sentence The 2025 Booker winner is a brilliantly spare portrait of a man buffeted by forces beyond his control.
What our reviewer said “A consistently phlegmatic and passive participant in the events of his life, István has something of the existential wayfarer about him.”
Further reading ‘It’s notoriously hard to write about sex’: David Szalay on Flesh, his astounding Booker prize-winner
Albums
If you only listen to one, make it …
Celeste: Woman of Faces
Out now
Summed up in a sentence A difficult second album for the chart-topping singer, in more ways than one – but her sombre songcraft ends up being spectacular.
What our reviewer said “It says a great deal about how potent and beautiful these songs are that they never sound like genre pastiche: the pace at which they proceed works with Celeste’s voice, giving her room to display its nuances, her command of phrasing and enunciation, her ability to gradually build from something close to a whisper to full power and push her vocal to a point where it feels it might break, before pulling back.” Alexis Petridis
Further reading How Celeste rekindled her love of music after heartbreak and loss
Pick of the rest
أحمد [Ahmed]: Sama’a (Audition)
Out Friday
![أحمد [Ahmed] the band, four men seated in a line.](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7cff488a656aa3899f2eaac866ae2bfe1a08e360/0_0_3627_2541/master/3627.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Summed up in a sentence British free-jazz pianist Pat Thomas leads his quartet through a fusion of Sufi inspiration, rhythmic intensity and improvisational fire.
What our reviewer said “Since أحمد [Ahmed]’s inception, their collective heat has fused abstract improv and groove music from all over the world: Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, dub, jungle, electronics, and the 1990s free-improv of Derek Bailey, Lol Coxhill and drummer Steve Noble have all inspired Thomas.” John Fordham
JJJJJerome Ellis: Vesper Sparrow
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The New York poet and multi-instrumentalist crafts a moving meditation on listening, identity and freedom.
What our reviewer said “In JJJJJerome Ellis’s magical compositions, their stutter is a guiding light. Pauses and repetitions spark new life, new ideas, new possibilities.” Katie Hawthorne
Schubert 4 Hands: Bertrand Chamayou, Leif Ove Andsnes:
Out Thursday
Summed up in a sentence These thoughtful musicians find lyrical intimacy and finely tuned emotional balance in Schubert’s late masterpieces.
What our reviewer said “It’s immediately apparent from these affectionately searching accounts that they possess an emotional synergy.” Clive Paget
Now touring …
Richard Ashcroft
Touring from 24 March; tickets available
Summed up in a sentence The perma-sunglassed singer leads the audience in a cathartic sing-along reminiscent of a gigantic Last Night of the Proms.
What our reviewer said “Thirty years later, his arsenal of moves – raining air punches on imaginary foes and so on – would alert the emergency services in any other environment. But on stage, they are ridiculously compelling.” Dave Simpson
Further reading Richard Ashcroft: ‘Why not Sir Liam and Sir Noel?’
