Covid Catch-Up

During the various lockdown periods, many new releases suffered various delays and cancellations, and some went straight to streaming platforms. Here are three of the best returning to the Cinema screen where they were meant to be experienced.

Booking Ref

County Lines

Henry Blake’s assured atmospheric debut feature casts its 14-year-old protagonist into the wilds of cross-country drug trafficking. Tyler (Conrad Kahn) is disengaged from his studies and the target of bullies, so when his single mother loses her job, he feels obliged to step up and falls under the spell of Simon, (portrayed chillingly by rising star Harris Dickinson). A cycle of debt and exploitation unfolds in which Tyler’s mother Toni (Ashley Madekwe) struggles to save him from becoming collateral damage in a ruthless drugs trade. This is an astounding debut which combines a vivid, empathetic approach to the working-class characters as well as a thriller master’s ability to unsettle. “A short, sharp jab to the national conscience.” (Screen International) UK 2019 Henry Blake 90m

Booking Ref Fri 20 Aug 20:30 (Studio) Fri 27 Aug 16:00 (Studio)

Sat 21 Aug 18:30 (Studio) Thu 26 Aug 10:30 (Studio)

Les Misérables

Three French policemen preside over a delicate status quo that soon escalates to boiling point. By-the-book cop Stephane (Damien Bonnard), only just arrived from Cherbourg, joins the anti-criminality brigade of Montfermeil in a sensitive district of the Paris suburbs. Paired up with Chris (Alexis Manenti) and Gwada (Djebril Zonga) whose methods are less scrupulous, he witnesses the tensions between the various neighbourhood groups. The theft of a lion cub from a travelling circus is the catalyst for violence. Throw in a cop with a hairtrigger, and ingredients for a full-blown riot are ready to stir. Propelled by Pink Noise’s electronic score, Ladj Ly’s debut is a deft depiction of the escalation of chaos. Victor Hugo would have greatly approved, from the joyful opening to the unforgettable final fadeout. (Subtitles) France 2019 Ladj Ly 104m

Booking Ref

Booking Ref Tue 24 Aug 13:30 (Studio) Wed 25 Aug 18:15 (Studio)

Thu 26 Aug 18.45 (Studio) Fri 27 Aug 10:30 (Studio)

Booking Ref

Wed 25 Aug 13.30 (Studio) Fri 27 Aug 18:30 (Studio)

Persian Lessons

A Jewish man pretends to be Iranian to avoid being executed in a concentration camp. 1942. Gilles, (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart), a young Belgian man, is arrested by the SS and sent to a concentration camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but then Gilles is assigned a seemingly untenable mission: to teach Persian to an officer (Lars Eidinger), who dreams of opening a restaurant in Persia (Iran) once the war is over. Gilles finds himself having to invent a language he doesn’t know, word by word. As the unusual relationship between the two men begins to incite jealousy and suspicion, Gilles becomes acutely aware that one false move could expose his swindle. Culminates in a virtuoso climax. (Subtitles) Russia / Germany / Belarus 2020 Vadim Perelman 127m

Rocks

This brilliant coming-of-age film shows a young girl’s conversion from teenage innocence to adulthood and responsibility. Authentic and honest it received 5-star reviews from Empire, The Guardian and The Telegraph. Set amongst the concrete council houses of a vibrant Hackney, a young teenage girl finds herself struggling to take care of herself and her younger brother after being abandoned by their single mother. Determined not to be taken into care, the titular Rocks attempts to fend for herself. The film could easily have taken a turn for the miserable but instead director Sarah Gavron delivers a surprising portrait of resilience that avoids all the usual tropes of poverty porn. The must-see British film of 2020. ‘A wonderful, heart-breaking, life-affirming gem of a movie’ – Mark Kermode. UK 2019 Sarah Gavron 93m

Summerland

Gemma Arterton gives a knockout performance as a crotchety loner who takes in a child evacuee. Arterton is Alice, a reclusive writer living on the south coast who is regarded with suspicion by the village. One morning she finds herself burdened with a young London evacuee Frank (Lucas Bond). Her initial hostility turns to grudging affection for the boy against the background of the war and the antipathy of the village. Filmed in Kent and Sussex, ‘Summerland’ delivers nostalgia, humour and melancholy while never straying into the sentimental. Arterton and young Bond are a triumph as the odd couple while Tom Courtney, Penelope Wilton and the coastal landscape co-star. UK 2020 Jessica Swale 99m