Downton Abbey (2019), directed by Michael Engler

It is 1927 and the King and Queen are to visit Downton Abbey as part of their Yorkshire tour. The household is naturally all of a tizzy, but the servants are most miffed to find the Royal household staff will supplant them. This is the last golden age of the great house and the film perfectly captures that sense of an end of an era and the dawn of change. The period details are sumptuous, from the ball gowns to the trolley cars and almost all the old familiar faces from the TV series are present. The rather lightweight plot is inconsequential as the important thing is to check in with favourite characters and be sure all is well. Everyone gets a happy ending, even footman turned-butler Thomas, to the point where it is laid on a little too thick. Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess gets all the best lines and her barbed exchanges with Penelope Wilton’s Lady Merton create laugh-out-loud moments. Everyone looks like they’re having a lot of fun putting the Downton saga to bed in a most suitable fashion.

The Yield, by Tara June Winch

August returns to the country town where she grew up, Massacre Creek, for the funeral of her grandfather. We are told right from the start that August’s childhood was haunted, first by the delinquency of her parents and soon after by the disappearance of her sister. It is implied that negligence meant her sister’s disappearance was never properly investigated because she was Aboriginal and August has never got over it. August’s present, compelling narrative is punctuated by excerpts from her grandfather’s dictionary and also by excerpts from a letter from an early missionary to the region, dated 1915. Prior knowledge of the book made the jump between narrators more explicable, but this should not be necessary. It reads somewhat disjointedly until deep into the story, when the three strands come together in a way that finally makes sense. August’s reluctant return from overseas to the miserable town she had escaped is gradually turned around to a welcome home as she painfully comes to terms with her own tragic past, her family’s past and her people’s past. By the end the novel becomes an astonishingly clear and poignant expression of the plight of Australia’s indigenous people and how many feel about it. It should probably be added to the national curriculum and should definitely be required reading for politicians, policy makers and all those who just don’t get what all the fuss is about.

A United Kingdom (2016), directed by Amma Assante

Based on a true story of a romance between a middle class English girl and an African chief, A United Kingdom shines a light on the politics of post-colonial Britain. Ruth Williams met Oxford law graduate Seretse Khama in 1947 and fell hard for him, only to find he was the king of Bechuanaland – a UK protectorate in the shadow of apartheid South Africa. The couple met opposition to their marriage at every turn, from their families, from British authorities and in Seretse’s tribal homeland. They faced separation and years of exile, with Seretse forced to give up his royal heritage to retain his wife and family. Rosamund Pyke and David Oyelowu have the chemistry to make Ruth and Seretse’s relationship totally convincing and the film is beautifully shot. The couple overcame all obstacles to help Botswana to independence and prosperity and Assante does a good job of highlighting a little-known African success story.

Russian Doll (Netflix)

Nadia is celebrating her 36th birthday at her friend’s New York loft apartment. Leaving the party to search for her missing cat she is hit by a taxi and killed, only to find herself back at the party, living the same night over again. This keeps happening; only the timing and mode of her death are subject to change. As she starts to realise what is happening to her Nadia moves from denial to investigation, trying to figure out why and how she might stop it. Along the way she gets to know her friends better, meets some new ones – but will she ever find her cat? Meeting uptight Alan, who seems to be in the same predicament, changes the game as together they search for answers to ending the time loop they are caught in. With obvious parallels to Groundhog Day, Russian Doll is also analogous to an old school, platform video game – no surprise as Nadia is a game developer. Blackly funny, sometimes moving, Russian Doll is a tribute to friendship as much as anything. Natasha Lyonne teeters on the edge of over-the-top as Nadia, held back from the brink by a solid supporting cast and a mostly tight script.

The Flipside (2018), directed by Marion Pilawski

With her business in trouble and her mum at risk of eviction from her care home, Adelaide chef Ronnie is drowning in debt but she can’t seem to tell her very nice boyfriend about her woes. Former lover Henry, an egotistical actor, drops in on her life and seems to offer an escape from all that’s gone wrong, but Ronnie has been down that road before and he broke her heart. This is Emily Taheny’s film and her frazzled Ronnie carries it over a sometimes-limp script and unsubtle comedy. She has chemistry with an effectively low key Eddie Izzard as horrible Henry, which helps another wise unlikely pairing. Vanessa Guide and Luke McKenzie only just avoid tired stereotypes as their respective partners – French Sophie and terminal nice guy Jeff. Tina Bursill puts in a delightful small turn as Ronnie’s demented mum. This film has all the elements for success but its ultra lightweight treatment lets it down. It works best as a charming homage to Adelaide and surrounds, with suitably appealing shots of its many attractions.