TV
If you only watch one, make it …
The Death of Bunny Munro
Now & Sky
Summed up in a sentence A bleakly tender adaptation of Nick Cave’s novel about a hugely troubling father-and-son road trip, featuring a brilliant turn from Matt Smith.
What our reviewer said “As a study in masculinity, in men handing on misery to men, deepening like a south coastal shelf as Bunny and son drive towards doom, it is as timely – for all, alas, that the book was written over a decade ago – as it is illuminating.” Lucy Mangan
Further reading ‘Matt Smith is so hot it’s problematic’: inside the TV version of Nick Cave’s disturbing, sex-filled novel
***
Pick of the rest
The Black Swan
BBC iPlayer
Summed up in a sentence The documentary exposé that rocked Denmark – a mob lawyer turns whistleblower and reveals a devastating trail of corruption.
What our reviewer said “It would be an understatement to say that The Black Swan made an impact on Danish viewers. Half of all Danes watched it when it aired in 2024, and it sparked a string of police investigations, as well as a tightening of laws around money laundering and gang activity.” Hannah J Davies
Further reading The real Scandi noir: how a film-maker and a crooked lawyer shattered Denmark’s self-image
Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks
BBC iPlayer
Summed up in a sentence A profile of the 37,000 little-known sketches left behind by JMW Turner, featuring some surprisingly high-profile talking heads.
What our reviewer said “Will a previously uninitiated viewer now be more likely to attend a Turner exhibition? Yes. Can existing Turner experts finesse their knowledge? Yes. Job done.” Jack Seale
Further reading Why JMW Turner is still Britain’s best artist, 250 years on
Daddy Issues
BBC iPlayer
Summed up in a sentence Aimee Lou Wood and David Morrissey’s Stockport-set father-daughter sitcom hits its stride with a second series that is stuffed with hilarity and joy.
What our reviewer said “Not only has it found its feet, it has Deep Heated its knees and – if we can toss another tortured idiom into the ball pit – hit the ground sprinting.” Sarah Dempster
Men of the Manosphere
BBC iPlayer
Summed up in a sentence A terrifying, heartbreaking look at the lives of the young men who have fallen victim to the hateful messaging of misogynist influencers.
What our reviewer said “A thoughtful, tender, terrifying hour.” Lucy Mangan
Further reading Why the Manosphere clicked for young men: a visual deep dive
***
Film
If you only watch one, make it …
The Ice Tower
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Marion Cotillard plays a movie actor starring in a production of The Snow Queen in Lucile Hadžihalilović’s unwholesome death-wish fairytale.
What our reviewer said “It is a mesmeric melodrama, mixing sensuality with a teetering anxiety, balancing on a cliff-edge of disaster.” Peter Bradshaw
Further reading Marion Cotillard at 50: the actor’s 20 best films – ranked!
***
Pick of the rest
Wicked: For Good
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Second chunk of Oz prequel with Cynthia Erivo leading a fine cast in a zingily scored conclusion to the hit musical origin story.
What our reviewer said “The superstar among equals is Cynthia Erivo, bringing her black-belt screen presence to the role of Elphaba, and revealing a new vulnerability and maturity.” Peter Bradshaw
Further reading Jon M Chu on Wicked: For Good, Ariana Grande – and living the American dream
Fiume o Morte!
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Darkly comic reconstruction of vainglorious Italian protofascist Gabriele D’Annunzio’s ragtag takeover of the Croatian port city once called Fuime.
What our reviewer said “This intriguing documentary from Croatian film-maker Igor Bezinović is partly a comic opera and partly a chilling message from the past … it is in effect a protofascist Passport to Pimlico.” Peter Bradshaw
Testimony
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Devastating exposé of the Irish church’s brutal Magdalene laundries in which a young human rights lawyer joins survivors and campaigners in a fight for truth and accountability.
What our reviewer said “The film ends on a triumphant high, a lunch in Dublin for survivors, honoured like celebrities by crowds outside cheering, waving banners, celebrating their courage; it left me in floods of tears.” Cath Clarke
***
Now streaming
The Saragossa Manuscript
Streaming on Klassiki from 20 Nov
Summed up in a sentence Cult Polish period-costume comedy from Wojciech Has, set in 18th-century Spain, as an officer careens through farcical encounters and erotic episodes.
What our reviewer said “The thing to be savoured about The Saragossa Manuscript is its lack of irony and self-awareness; there is a kind of innocence and even refinement in the drama, even as it outrageously swerves off the beaten track of conventional storytelling.” Peter Bradshaw
***
Books
If you only read one, make it …
John Updike: A Life in Letters
Reviewed by John Banville
Summed up in a sentence An intimate insight into a giant of American literature.
What our reviewer said “There are abiding enmities – Gore Vidal is a thorn Updike never managed to extract from his side – but his fondnesses far outnumber his dislikes.”
***
Pick of the rest
The Once and Future Riot by Joe Sacco
Reviewed by Adam Rutherford
Summed up in a sentence Brilliant visual reportage from the author of Palestine.
What our reviewer said “Vox pops punctuate the narrative, a reminder of the subjective experience of people on the street, in the midst of the action.”
Jeeves Again by various authors
Reviewed by Rahul Raina
Summed up in a sentence New stories about inimitable duo Jeeves and Bertie Wooster from celebrity fans including Roddy Doyle and Frank Skinner.
What our reviewer said “The stories clearly come from a place of love and respect, plus, on the 50th anniversary of Wodehouse’s death, the keen-eyed appreciation of a commercial opportunity. Jeeves (and Wooster) would approve.”
The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken
Reviewed by Aida Edemariam
Summed up in a sentence An intensely poetic tale of witch trials in 17th-century Denmark from the author of The Employees.
What our reviewer said “At its best The Wax Child is richly evocative, beautiful, creepy and visceral.”
***
You may have missed …
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
Reviewed by Kevin Power
Summed up in a sentence In Belfast, a young Catholic woman and a married older Protestant fall in love during the Troubles in this brilliant debut, which has now been adapted into an acclaimed TV series.
What our reviewer said “Trespasses is a novel distinguished by a quality rare in fiction at any time: a sense of utter conviction. It is a story told with such compulsive attention to the textures of its world that every page feels like a moral and intellectual event.”
Further reading Trespasses TV series review – an intoxicating, rousing and heartbreaking love story
***
Albums
If you only listen to one, make it …
Víkingur Ólafsson: Opus 109
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The Icelandic pianist’s account of Beethoven’s Op 109 is one of the most beautiful on record.
What our reviewer said “Traditionalists may wince, but for those prepared to go along with him, Ólafsson opens up a transcendent vista on to a brave new world.” Clive Paget
***
Pick of the rest
Oneohtrix Point Never: Tranquilizer
Out now
Summed up in a sentence Kaleidoscopic new album from electronic artist Daniel Lopatin, made using a cache of Y2K sample CDs salvaged from the internet’s fringes.
What our reviewer said “Despite its title, Tranquilizer never feels particularly recumbent. Rather, it lulls the listener into a false sense of security with the familiarity of its sounds, then throws you for a loop.” Alexis Petridis
De La Soul: Cabin in the Sky
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The first release since the death of the rap group’s founding member dwells on the afterlife, yet doesn’t forsake their perpetually sunny sound.
What our reviewer said “Cabin in the Sky feels warm and rich in vitamin D, a tonic for chillier months.” Shaad D’Souza
Further reading De La Soul on grief, Gorillaz and never giving up
Debit: Desaceleradas
Out now
Summed up in a sentence The producer’s second album forces the listener to focus on the strangeness of every moment in her ambient soundworld.
What our reviewer said “On Desaceleradas Beatriz performs a remarkable feat, showing how slowness and subtlety can contain just as much dread and discomfort as the chaos of noise.” Ammar Kalia
***
Now touring …
Lorde
RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin, 22 November, then touring
Summed up in a sentence The New Zealand alt-pop diva, confirmed as a headliner of next year’s All Points East festival in London, delivers a show with shades of Stop Making Sense and moments of crowd-leasing intimacy.
What our reviewer said “Everything about the current Ultrasound tour is viscerally kinetic, as if someone pressed fast-forward on an early-2000s DVD.” Amelia Fearon
Further reading From awol to A-lister: how pop stars found the fun in fame again
