It is time for a round up of new films that I have seen on Netflix this month.

Shirley
Regina King stars in this biopic as Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to the US Congress. It covers her attempt to obtain the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 1972. Anyone with even a little knowledge of American politics will know it was unsuccessful, and, truthfully, she did not come close.

However, for us election nerds, it is a fascinating insight into the very flawed US system, thanks to an insightful screenplay by John Ridley, who also directs. King is excellent, as is Lance Reddick, in his final role, as Shirley’s adviser.
Rating: 8 out of 10

The Beautiful Game
The wonderful Bill Nighy stars as Mal, the coach of the England homeless football team who takes his squad to compete in the World Cup in Rome. His players include a mercurial striker, Vinny, played by Micheal Ward, a last minute selection who does not gel with his team mates. The tournament is a real thing but the story is fictional.

You can tell that because England, who have a terrible record in it, turn out to be genuine contenders! It makes a few mis-steps, such as having women playing against men, but it is mostly well staged. Wicked Little Letters director Thea Sharrock does a similarly efficient job, helped by an often moving screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce.

The playing scenes are more convincing than they usually are in football films and Ward, who is good throughout, looks like a player. Aside from Nighy, the other most notable performance is by Cristina Rodlo as a free scoring American player. Heart warming stuff.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Scoop
Philip Martin’ film tells the story of how Newsnight and its presenter Emily Maitlis secured the notorious interview with Prince Andrew in 2019. Gillian Anderson stars as Maitlis with Rufus Sewell as the disgraced Duke of York. This proved to be more interesting than the set up suggested, with a fascinating look behind the scenes of how interviews like the one portrayed are obtained.

Anderson’s impersonation is uncannily accurate at times, with the right voice cadences and body language. Keeley Hawes is exceptional as Andrew’s aide, and whilst Billie Piper is also good as the booker, too much time is spent on her personal life, which is to be expected as the story is based on her book.
Rating: 7 out of 10

Wages of Fear
This is the third go round for this story about transporting truckloads of nitro-glycerine across hazardous terrain, following the brilliant version from Henri-Georges Clouzot in 1953 and William Friedkin’s almost as good The Sorceror in 1977. I thought it was impossible to make a non suspenseful film on this subject but i was wrong.

None of the characters are interesting and, as they are driving across the desert, with the danger being hidden mines or rogue soldiers, the explosives they are carrying are almost an irrelevance.
Rating: 4 out of 10

Stolen
Elin Oskal stars as a young indigenous woman in Sweden who tries to track down the person who is killing the reindeer that her community depend on financially. In her screen debut, Oskal is tremendously natural and confident. I have not seen Sámi people depicted before so that added a layer of interest. The thriller element is a slow burn but it works well.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Heart of the Hunter
The IMDB description for this film reads ‘A retired assassin is pulled back into action when his friend uncovers a dangerous conspiracy at the heart of the South African government’. That may sound like a very generic precis and you would be right. There is not one spark of originality and none of the performances feel authentic.
Rating: 3 out of 10