16 hours ago
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TV
If you only watch one, make it …
Industry
BBC iPlayer from Monday
Summed up in a sentence The banking drama returns with its best series ever – which is notably darker and more debauched.
What our reviewer said “Truly top-tier television that’s surely destined for end-of-year lists, a serious feat when we’re barely a week into January.” Hannah J Davies
Pick of the rest
Girl Taken
Paramount+
Summed up in a sentence A deeply engaging, psychologically complex thriller about a kidnapped teen, starring Alfie Allen as a monstrous predator.
What our reviewer said “A much more deeply engaging and psychologically complex thriller than we customarily expect from such a setup, and – in asking what it really means to survive an act of profound violence – harrowing in a more valuable way.” Lucy Mangan
You may have missed …
Trespasses
Channel 4
Summed up in a sentence A deceptively skilful adaptation of Louise Kennedy’s masterly novel, set in 70s Belfast, featuring a Catholic teacher drawn into a dangerous affair with a Protestant barrister.
What our reviewer said “The tragedy of sweethearts caught up in conflict, their love overcome by others’ hate, is an old and powerful story. Trespasses, written by Ailbhe Keogan, hits that nerve.” Jack Seale
Further reading Trespasses: Gillian Anderson steals every scene in this miraculous TV heartbreaker
Film
If you only watch one, make it …
Hamnet
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley star in a masterly Shakespearean tragedy adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s novel that reimagines the agonising loss of a child as the source of Hamlet’s grand stage drama.
What our reviewer said “There is such terrific daring in Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell’s stretch: a thrilling act of creative audacity, reaching back through the centuries to embrace Shakespeare and Agnes as human beings.” Peter Bradshaw
Further reading One awards battle after another: A-listers face off at this year’s Golden Globes
Pick of the rest
Becoming Victoria Wood
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Portrait of the trailblazing comic featuring Wood herself plus famous sidekicks such as Julie Waters and Celia Imrie and other female standups.
What our reviewer said “In 1985, when season one of Wood’s sketch show As Seen on TV aired on BBC Two, there were sniffs of doubt that a woman could front a comedy programme, let alone a northern woman. How wrong they were. Clips from the show are a hoot: high on a tipsy energy, the performers are all on the edge of collapsing into giggles.” Cath Clarke
Further reading Lake District theatre to be renamed after Victoria Wood and unveil new musical of her songs
Blue Velvet
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence David Lynch’s macabre, intensely 80s drama coolly retains a sense of the dread hiding in plain sight of picket-fence America.
What our reviewer said “The film releases a toxic narcosis of fear. The standing-up dead man in the yellow suit – kept upright by some kind of rigor mortis or final act of will – is an invention of pure horror.” Peter Bradshaw
Further reading The strangest David Lynch facts – ranked!
Labyrinth
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Jennifer Connelly plays a teenager having whimsical Alice in Wonderland-ish adventures in Jim Henson’s charmingly eccentric 80s classic.
What our reviewer said “This is a very analogue-era movie with analogue-type storytelling and dialogue: it is not driven with the same hyperactive focused energy that modern Pixar/Disney films have. The action often ambles and dawdles and the dialogue, written by Terry Jones, has a casually constructed but often very funny humour.” Peter Bradshaw
Further reading Ten years after his death, is David Bowie’s musical legacy at risk of fading from view?
Books
If you only read one, make it …
The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers
Reviewed by Dina Nayeri
Summed up in a sentence Buzzy black comedy about midlife adultery for an anxious generation.
What our reviewer said “I loved this razor-sharp, hilarious, finely observed novel, written with such withering exactitude.”
Pick of the rest
Made in America: The Dark History That Led to Donald Trump by Edward Stourton
Reviewed by Charlie English
Summed up in a sentence Why Trump is less of an anomaly than you might think.
What our reviewer said “There are precedents here for almost all of Trump’s actions in US history, from summary arrests and deportations to attacks on the ‘fake news’ media.”
This, My Second Life by Patrick Charnley
Reviewed by Christobel Kent
Summed up in a sentence Acclaimed debut about a near-death experience, inspired by the author’s life.
What our reviewer said “The prose is spare and beautiful, the narrative simple but sound – it is as finely wrought as poetry, luminous with Jago’s sheer delight in the world, electric with his fear that it might still at any moment be snatched away.”
The Score: How to Stop Playing Someone Else’s Game by C Thi Nguyen
Reviewed by Tim Clare
Summed up in a sentence How to resist the gamification of everyday life.
What our reviewer said “He argues that mistaking points for the point is a pervasive error that leads us to build our lives and societies around things we don’t want.”
You may have missed …
The Pretender by Jo Harkin
Reviewed by Imogen Hermes Gowar
Summed up in a sentence In 15th-century Oxfordshire, a farmer’s son discovers he has a claim to the throne of England.
What our reviewer said “Over the course of this fantastically accomplished novel, the many-named boy will travel from Oxford to Burgundy then Ireland, and at last into the paranoid and double-crossing heart of Henry VII’s court.”
Albums
If you only listen to one, make it …
The Cribs: Selling a Vibe
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The Jarman brothers’ ninth album adds a little 80s pop sheen to their distorted guitars and confident indie songwriting.
What our reviewer said Time and again, they hit a perfect balance: nothing here feels slick or overworked, but the melodies soar, the choruses hit, everything clicks faultlessly. Alexis Petridis
Pick of the rest
Toni Geitani: Wahj
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The Beirut-born producer’s masterly second album revels in dark tension to cinematic effect, finding beauty in ruinous sound.
What our reviewer said “Geitani keeps a deft handle on his world-building, ensuring that threads of unease keep listeners guessing.” Ammar Kalia
Jenny on Holiday: Quicksand Heart
Out now
Summed up in a sentence In the Let’s Eat Grandma member’s first solo venture, her singular songwriting powers shine in swooping vocals and transcendent pop melodies.
What our reviewer said “The moment Hollingworth lands on an irresistible melody – see: Every Ounce of Me, whose bittersweet bounce bridges the gap between Olivia Rodrigo and the Waterboys – the effect is transcendent.” Rachel Aroesti
Eric Lu: Schubert Impromptus
Out now
Summed up in a sentence In this recording of some of Schubert’s most profound music, the pianist cements his place as a serious talent.
What our reviewer said “Lu is very much attuned to the way in which Schubert creates overarching structures, conjuring a mesmerising feeling of stasis with music that’s alive with detail under the surface.” Erica Jeal
Bray/Vann/Grainger/Schofield: In Search of Youkali
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The easy fluency of mezzo-soprano Katie Bray and pianist William Vann guides us through familiar and less well known Kurt Weill songs.
What our reviewer said “From the deliciously acerbic Barbarasong to the bleakly controlled emotion in Je ne t’aime pas, Bray’s singing is a demonstration of how an elevated, ‘trained’ voice can sound wonderfully communicative and natural in this music.” Erica Jeal
