Red Joan (2019), directed by Trevor Nunn

In the year 2000 a woman in her 80s is arrested in London and charged with passing classified information to the Russians. As Special Branch police question her, Joan Stanley flashes back to her Cambridge studies in 1938 and her experiences during and after World War II. Based on the true story of Melita Norwood, Joan is portrayed as neither a communist nor a traitor but as a scientist and an idealist who wanted peace. Judi Dench eschews all makeup and is a convincing old lady, bewildered by her arrest for, as she tells her barrister son, “I’ve done nothing wrong.” Sophie Cookson is suitably wide-eyed as the younger Joan, seduced by charismatic communists Sonia and Leo. The very good-looking supporting cast includes Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Hughes and Ben Miles in a solid film that is sometimes a little slow, but is always interesting.

Gravity is the Thing, by Jaclyn Moriarty

Thirty-something Abigail has been receiving random chapters of self-help book in the mail for the last 20 years. Her younger brother Robert has been missing for around the same amount of time. They were very close and Abi has lived almost a half-life ever since, despite a short marriage and having a child on her own. An all expenses paid retreat on a Tasmanian island offers the final truth of The Guidebook. A select few, including Abi, are given that truth and the chance to take it further in workshops back home in Sydney. This leads to friendships, possible romance and eventually to the answers Abi has been seeking about her brother. The book has an odd structure. Some chapters are very short – a few paragraphs or even a few words - for no discernible reason. The story of the missing brother and how this affected the family is poignant and well told. The present day story of flight school is absurd and it’s easy to run out of patience with Abigail’s arrested development. Many aspects do not hang together and the final chapters, which project into the future and are written in future tense, are dull and annoying. The novel leaves one pressing question - how many Moriarty sisters are there and how long will they be cashing in on Liane’s great success? The answer to both questions is seemingly endless.

The Way of All Flesh, by Ambrose Parry

There are a lot of good things about this book – a gripping murder mystery, interesting characters and an intriguing setting in the medical community in 1847 Edinburgh. But it is let down by its ponderous prose, clunky dialogue and extreme exposition. It is evident that a lot of research was done, but we really don’t need to know every detail of the development of photography or the chemical composition of ether and chloroform, especially as it does little to advance the story. At the same time there are some anachronistic notes, which slightly jar – was quite enough research done on some of the more prosaic details? If it had been, the characters would be more credible. Discovering that Ambrose Parry is actually a collaboration between a well known novelist and his scientist wife goes a long way towards explaining why this book was published, seemingly without editorial intervention to improve its many flaws.

All Is True (2019), directed by Kenneth Branagh

The story of William Shakespeare’s retirement, after his Globe Theatre burned down in London, starts off ponderously slowly. Some very dodgy camera work, with weird angles and out of focus shots, adds to the difficulty of getting in to the film. Fortunately every aspect improves as the film goes on. Ben Elton’s warm, sad and witty script helps the actors to shine, seamlessly weaving Shakespeare’s words into the tale. The beauty of the outdoor setting and the wonderful recreation of 17th century Stratford work their own magic. Kenneth Branagh does a good job of portraying Shakespeare, with little of the self-indulgence often displayed in his performances. Judi Dench is excellent as always, but she is too old for the part of Anne. The bard’s wife was older than him, but not old enough to have been his mother. Likewise Ian McKellen as the Earl of Southampton. The trouble lives of Shakespeare’s daughters, credibly played by Lydia Wilson and Kathryn Wilder, add a truly interesting note to the story of the famed bard.

Into the Woods, by Anna Krien

Published almost 10 years ago, it is instructive and depressing to realise how little has changed in the battle for Tasmania’s native forests. Krien’s style is personal documentary, in the manner of Helen Garner, with objectivity secondary to the experience. She interviews loggers, forestry officials, townsfolk, politicians, conservationists and activists, to get the picture from all sides of the debate, but she spends most time and energy embedded with the activists. Sympathies definitely lean towards the conservation side, with the revealed venality and violence of its opposition quite shocking. It is interesting that many of the leading protestors have gone on to become major figures in groups like the Wilderness Society, continuing their fight in a more mainstream manner and, one could argue, reaping some benefit from the cause. The war continues in different forms and the more things change the more they stay the same. It seems likely that an update of the book to the present day would find no improvement in any aspect of the situation.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

Isolated, socially awkward, approaching 30, Eleanor Oliphant seems initially to be a figure of derision with few redeeming features. Through her own words, thoughts and actions, she is gradually revealed to be scarred both physically and psychologically. Something truly horrific happened to Eleanor as a child, the details of which come out very deliberately as we get to know her. It stunted her emotional growth, making it almost impossible to leave the past behind, let alone think about a future. Slowly, things begin to change for Eleanor when she sets her sights on a potential soul mate and incidentally makes a friend, almost despite herself. The book covers some deep and painful issues – PTSD; childhood trauma; the appalling lack of the child welfare system to address more than the most basic physical needs; and crippling loneliness. But it is also funny, quirky and insightful, with a strong and sweet message about the prime importance of kindness. The book is not perfect. Eleanor’s relationship with her mother is a little hard to believe and the speed of her recovery through counselling is a stretch. Her almost total lack of familiarity with popular culture is amusing but not quite credible. Nevertheless it is warm and appealing and it is unsurprising that Reece Witherspoon has optioned it for a film.