This week's television offers a diverse range of films, from a historical musical about the Shaker sect to a punk-inspired Frankenstein remix. Here are the seven best films to watch.
Pick of the Week: The Testament of Ann Lee
Mona Fastvold's astonishing drama about the founder of the Shakers Christian sect in the 18th century defies simple classification. At its heart, it is a historical biopic: Manchester cotton worker Ann Lee, played with great intensity by Amanda Seyfried, joins the Quakers, then forms her own group founded on celibacy, and eventually migrates to America seeking religious freedom. The film is also a highly choreographed folk musical, centered on the Shakers' ecstatic singing and dancing. It is a fascinating tale of female empowerment in an age when obstacles to self-determination were vast. Now streaming on Disney+.
The Teachers' Lounge
Ilker Catak's German drama brilliantly uses the school as a microcosm of wider society. Leonie Benesch plays new teacher Carla, who investigates thefts from the staff room. Issues of racism, surveillance, trust, and the delicate power balance between educators, pupils, and parents arise as her discoveries throw the entire institution into turmoil. Benesch exudes empathy as Carla strives to do the right thing while events overwhelm her. Airs Saturday, 16 May, at 9pm on BBC Four.
God's Creatures
How much can a mother's love forgive? That is the life-changing question facing Emily Watson's Aileen after her prodigal son, Brian (Paul Mescal), returns home from Australia to their Irish fishing village. When Sarah (Aisling Franciosi), a young colleague at the seafood processing factory, is raped and accuses Brian, Aileen quickly gives him a false alibi. Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer's claustrophobic drama shows how a tight-knit community's first instinct when challenged is denial and exclusion, and how women invariably lose out. Airs Sunday, 17 May, at 10:40pm on BBC Three.
Brother
Tragedy is baked into Clement Virgo's heartfelt sibling drama about the long reach of trauma. We first meet Lamar Johnson's young Jamaican-Canadian Michael as he ekes out an existence with his grief-numbed single mother, Ruth (Marsha Stephanie Blake), on their urban estate. In a parallel timeline, the teenage Michael is guided to adulthood by his older brother, Francis (Aaron Pierre), a charismatic would-be hip-hop musician who struggles to rise above police racism, gang violence, and homophobia. Airs Sunday, 17 May, at 10:50pm on BBC Two.
Destroyer
It is ironic that Nicole Kidman hiding her face behind layers of bad-skin makeup led to some of her most convincing film work in years. Karyn Kusama's gripping 2018 crime thriller follows Erin Bell, an alcoholic cop and bad mother, as she is forced to revisit a 17-year-old undercover FBI operation into bank robbers that went wrong. The plot teases with cause and effect as the persistent Bell pursues escaped lead criminal Silas (Toby Kebbell) with little regard for procedure or personal safety. Airs Monday, 18 May, at 11:45pm on BBC Two.
Glory
The film that bagged Denzel Washington his first Oscar brings necessary spotlight on the history of the 54th Massachusetts infantry regiment, one of the first Black Union army units of the civil war. It is unfortunate that Edward Zwick's drama is told through the eyes and letters home of its white commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick). But valuable time is given to the African American enlisted men, with Washington as the prickly recruit Trip and Morgan Freeman as his wiser sergeant major Rawlins, the highlights in a bloody tale of bigotry, heroism, and freedom. Airs Thursday, 21 May, at 11:40pm on Film4.
The Bride!
An unholy splicing of Bonnie and Clyde and Baz Luhrmann, with a knowing wink to Mel Brooks, Maggie Gyllenhaal's 1930s-set gothic horror is a riot from start to finish. Chicago gangster's cohort Ida, played by a stupendously energetic Jessie Buckley, is possessed by the spirit of Mary Shelley, then dies and is resurrected at the behest of Frankenstein's monster, Frank (Christian Bale), as a punky rebel. Frank's love of film musicals ties together a wild fantasy of girl power rage and outsider romance. Airs Friday, 22 May, at 9:50am and 8pm on Sky Cinema Premiere.
