If, like me, you’re finding Emirates Team New Zealand’s quest to bring home the America’s Cup rather stressful, distract yourself with some of the fabulous entertainment on Rialto Channel this week.
Here are a few picks for the week.
If, like me, you’re finding Emirates Team New Zealand’s quest to bring home the America’s Cup rather stressful, distract yourself with some of the fabulous entertainment on Rialto Channel this week.
Here are a few picks for the week.
Starring Alfred Molina, Francesca Annis, Rory Kinnear
Directed by Aisling Walsh
Premiering Monday 23rd September, 8.30pm
This warm BBC One feature written by comedian Victoria Wood is based on the remarkable true story of failed concert pianist Joyce Hatto who near the end of her life found fame as a musician thanks to the Internet. Unlike other artists who have used the internet to release their music, it turns out that Joyce and her husband and manager Barrington Coupe weren’t quite releasing her music – rather a blend of other pianists recordings compiled together by Barry. One year after her death from cancer, articles were released in the Gramophone magazine and The New Yorker, announcing the discovery of that the work of the ‘greatest living pianist that almost no-one has ever heard of’ was actually fraudulent. This well-acted drama, especially by Alfred Molina and Francesca Annis as the elderly couple, is a touching love story and an unexpectedly engaging yarn.
Starring Adam O'Brian, Anna Ruben, Cathy Dresbach
Directed by Bart Layton
Premiering Thursday 26th September, 8.30pm
Truth is seriously stranger than fiction in this brilliantly constructed documentary. All sides involved tell the story of how Frédéric Bourdin, a Spanish 23rd old, managed to convince Spanish and American authorities that he was 16-year-old American teenager Nicholas Barclay who had gone missing three years earlier from his hometown in Texas. What’s even more amazing is how dark eyed and dark haired Bourdin managed to convince the Barclay family he was their blond, blue-eyed son. What’s really striking about this debut feature film is the way Layton has used reenactments and interviews to tell this tale. Twists and turns constantly unfold, you can’t imagine what’s coming next and when it does, it’s hard to believe. It is absolutely compelling, an emotional and psychological mindbender.
Starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogan, Luke Kirby
Directed by Sarah Polley
Premiering Saturday 28th September, 8.30pm
Like her first feature film Away From Her, Canadian actress and director Sarah Polley’s sophomore effort is an intimate dissection of a relationship in turmoil. Michelle Williams is 28-year-old Margot who is married to a sweet, kind cookbook author played by Seth Rogan. Happy and content, Margot’s life gets turned on its head when she meets Daniel (Kirby), her good-looking neighbour and artist who lives across the street. The mutual attraction between the two of them is undeniable, and without sentiment or melodrama, Polley follows Margot as she must weight up what will sustain her more; a comfortable, safe marriage, or a sensual, passionate relationship. Take this Waltz is a brilliantly acted, honest and bitter-sweet romantic drama.