The Choral (12A)
Directed by Nicholas Hytner
⭑⭑⭑⭑☆

BELOVED playwright Alan Bennett pays homage to British local community spirit in this funny and poignant First World War drama about a choral society who are determined their showcase recital must go on. 

Directed by Bennett’s longtime collaborator Nicholas Hytner, it is set in 1916, just months before the Battle of the Somme, in the fictional Yorkshire town of Ramsden whose local choir is losing its male singers to the war. They hire the controversial Dr Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes) as choirmaster, fresh from Germany, who decides to stage Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. They embark on a street-by-street search for young male singers which proves one of the highlights of the film. 

Fiennes leads the fine ensemble cast, which also includes Alun Armstrong, Mark Addy and Roger Allam, in this wonderfully captivating film which is reminiscent of Ealing comedies like Passport to Pimlico and Whiskey Galore! in terms of shared spirit. They are all based within ordinary British communities which Bennett depicts beautifully and without sentimentality. 

The film also explores the power of art and music to transform people’s lives and help them comprehend what is happening to them. Around this time the jingoism and patriotic propaganda began to wear thin, and people began to question the nature of the war. 

The singing is divine and you cannot help but become invested in the engaging characters who make up the choir.  

This is a surprising delight. 

MD

In cinemas November 7

Belen (15)
Directed by Dolores Fonzi
⭑⭑⭑⭑☆

THIS gripping legal drama is based on the true story of a miscarriage of justice which sparked an international movement and led to the legalisation of abortion in Argentina. 

In 2014 a young woman known as Belen (an impressive Camila Plaate) went to a hospital in Tucuman, Argentina, with severe abdominal pains. She had a miscarriage but was arrested and accused of having had an illegal abortion. She was sent to prison where, after two years awaiting trial, was sentenced to eight years in jail. 

The film, co-written and directed by Dolores Fonzi, is based on Ana Correa’s book “Somos Belen.” Fonzi also stars as Soledad Deza and is formidable as the fearless lawyer who fought for Belen’s freedom. She was confronted by a corrupt, classist and patriarchal legal system which tried to impede her at every turn. 

This is a compelling courtroom drama and a searing critique of systematic injustice which  still resonates strongly today as the fight for women’s reproductive rights continues in many parts of the world including the US. We are all Belen!

MD

In cinemas November 7

Dragonfly (15)
Directed by Paul Andrew Williams 
⭑⭑☆☆☆

WRITTEN and directed by Paul Andrew Williams this suburban horror moves at glacial pace towards the inevitable.

A masterful cast is led by Brenda Blethyn as injured pensioner Elsie, and Andrea Riseborough as care home-parented Colleen. Next-door neighbours on a sleepy council estate, it’s midsummer eery, and the camera lingers on cramped interiors as Elsie is managed by rushed home helps.

Colleen slowly takes on the care of Elsie, using Elsie’s credit card for shopping. Colleen’s XL Bully dog bitch, “she’s soft, really,” romps through scenes, the emotional fulcrum unleashed amongst the bric-a-brac of constrained unease.

When Brenda’s son (Jason Watkins, doing nasty beautifully) arrives, what lies beneath the surface tension finally breaks through.

The film seems both too long – the slight-ish plot doesn’t warrant its torturous longueurs. And too short –  to show deep fissures in British society needed more scope (and money probably) – to fulfil its ambition. 

FO’C

In cinemas November 7

Colossal Wreck
Directed by Josh Appignanesi
⭑⭑⭑☆☆

DIRECTOR Josh Appignanesi takes us on an idiosyncratic odyssey to the 2023 Cop28 climate conference in Dubai, questioning its validity. Are such enormous gatherings of the great and good all about false promises that hinder change? They probably are.

With his innocuous selfie-stick, he takes us on a tour through Dubai’s seductive slickness to reveal the talks, meetings and elite backroom parties behind the strange mixture of a global cry for help and political posturing.

Appignanesi’s documentary is more a reflective, eloquent lecture on climate change, illustrated with home-movie-like footage from his journey and the Dubai Cop conference itself. He is reflective, but rather self-indulgent. The film’s heart is in the right place, but I remain sceptical of it winning large audiences or making a significant impact on the desperate need for climate action. And the film’s sub-titles are automatically generated and often wrong, which hardly helps audience understanding.

JG

In cinemas November 7