Newly available to rent at your all your usual places is Love Sarah. Isabella (Shelley Conn) is planning on opening a bakery with her best friend, Sarah. On the big day, Sarah is killed in an accident and Isabella is left with mounting debts and no baker. She is ready to give up her dream when Sarah’s mother (Celia Imrie) and daughter (Shannon Terbet) step-in to help.

This is a perfect film to watch on a Sunday afternoon with a pot of tea and a hefty slab of good quality fruit cake! There are no massive surprises but its appeal lies in its gentle bigheartedness. There was danger that it could have become mawkishly sentimental but it neatly avoids that, as demonstrated by the way that Sarah’s death is handled. The performers all look comfortable in their roles, and I found that the running time passed in a flash.
Rating: 8 out of 10

Similarly low key is Hope Gap, now in cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema. After Incidental Characters and Perfect 10, this is another film set and filmed in Sussex. This time in the sleepy town of Seaford. It doesn’t have the quirkiness of the former or the grittiness of the latter but it has many good qualities. Edward and Grace have been married for 29 years. Grace thinks that the marriage is working but Edward is very unhappy, and when he meets someone else, he announces that he is going to leave her.

Nighy is absolutely superb as the reticent Edward. He seems to not be able to do anything right in Grace’s eyes, and he is able to convey that in one world weary look. Annette Bening fares less well as Grace. As well as struggling to keep her English accent in check, she is a deeply unsympathetic character, and Bening looks uncomfortable at times. The first half of the film is much better than the second when it feels like the writer/director William Nicholson is unsure where to take the story, resulting in it fizzling out a little. Worth seeing for Nighy’s performance though.
Rating: 7 out of 10

Finally for my trio of British films, Lynn + Lucy, is now available to rent from Amazon. The titular characters, played by Roxanne Scrimshaw and Nichola Burley have been best friends since school. Lynn became a mother at a young age and is delighted when Lucy also has a baby. However, a tragic event has a devastating impact on their friendship.

This was probably a bad choice to see after a crap day at work as I found it a thoroughly depressing watch. Whilst I like a lot of the British kitchen sink dramas from the 50s and 60s, I am a massive fan of Ken Loach, and this film is meant to be in a similar vein, it failed to resonate with me. It is unremittingly grim with not a shred of levity. The performances of the two leads are spot on, and it is passionately told, but it left me a little cold.
Rating: 6 out of 10

On Netflix this week are two films that are not completely unsuccessful but I was left feeling that they could have been so much better.

Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a confusing, intriguing but ultimately frustrating film. A new couple, played by Jesse Plemons and Jessie Buckley travel through a snowstorm to meet his parents. During their stay, the parents’ (David Thewlis and Toni Collette) behaviour becomes increasingly strange, and they seem to age from scene to scene before reverting back to their original ages later. The fantastic Buckley carries the film but it really outstays its welcome. Some people consider Kaufman a genius. I’m far from convinced and this 134 minute effort shows him to be in desperate need of a good editor.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10

The Devil All The Time clocks in at 138 minutes, Whereas I’m Thinking of Ending Things does not have enough content for its running time, Antonio Campos’ movie tries to squeeze too much into a similar length. Moving backwards and forwards in time, he tells the story of a disparate group of characters in the American Midwest. If you are looking forward to a sympathetic character to latch onto, you may be out of luck as the story is populated with religious nut-jobs, rapists and murderers.

Tom Holland’s Arvin Russell is the closest thing to a hero, and his part of the narrative is the best developed. A subplot involving Jason Clarke and Riley Keogh on a killing spree, for example, leaves more questions than answers. The cast is large and star studded with Mia Wasikowska in a minor role being the most effective.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10