Wicked Little Letters (2023), directed by Thea Sharrock

Edith Swan is a good Christian woman, dutifully living with her elderly parents in the English coastal town of Littlehampton just after WWI. She has been receiving hateful poison pen letters, filled with foul and abusive language, and the police are called in. The main suspect is the next door neighbour, widowed mother Rose Gooding, who is Irish and drinks and swears and consorts with men. It’s an open and shut case for the local plod, and Rose is headed for jail, but trailblazing Woman Police Officer Gladys Moss suspects there is more to it. She calls on the ingenuity of local women to nail the real culprit and see justice served. Based on a true story, the film gives a funny and insightful look at the restricted lives of women in a patriarchal society that is about to change, Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley are wonderful as the frenemies Edith and Rose, two women who seem to have little in common but are similarly confined by roles and expectations and respond in very different ways. Anjana Vasan makes a composed WPC and the supporting cast is stellar, featuring Timothy Spall and Gemma Jones as Edith’s parents, Eileen Atkins, Lolly Adefope and Pam Ferris as helpful local characters and Matilda’s Alisha Weir as Rose’s daughter. This is a warm and thoughtful film that depicts women in all their shades, not just black and white.

14 Days, edited by Margaret Atwood & Douglas Preston

A run down New York apartment building during the 2020 COVID lockdown to ‘flatten the curve’ is the setting for this series of short stories. A group of residents collect on the roof every evening to cheer essential workers and share some kind of community amid the fear and despair. They are the ones who could not afford to flee the city and are largely older, poorer, less white, more queer. Seemingly with little in common but their plight, they bicker and bond as they share stories of friends, lovers, families, pasts and distant homelands. Billed as a collaborative novel, this is something of a concept album, with 36 short stories from a disparate group of well-known authors, set within a framework. Readers don’t know who has written which story until an appendix lists them alphabetically and identifies their character/s and tale/s. Editor and contributor Douglas Preston has done the heavy lifting in setting the framework and fitting all the stories and characters into some kind of coherent whole. But there are so many characters, known only by nicknames, that it is easy to lose track of who is who. The quality of the stories varies from stunningly memorable to dull rubbish and a few serve as baffling interludes that don’t really fit the narrative, until a twist at the end ties everything together. This is an interesting exercise that provides a poignant reminder of what should not be forgotten from a bizarre and terrifying period of recent history that is already fading from view.

Dune – part two (2024), directed by Denis Villeneuve

Starting immediately where part one left off, Paul Atreides and his mother Lady Jessica have escaped the Harkonnen massacre and have taken refuge with the rebel Fremen. To stay alive and gain acceptance they must assimilate and prove themselves to the tribe of desert ‘rats’. While more than willing to become a Fremen fighter and leader, Paul resists his destiny as their messiah until a new and even more ruthless Harkonnen forces his hand. In the first film Villeneuve did an amazing job of adapting this very complex story; the sequel is less successful. The cinematography is spectacular and the star-studded cast does a good job with difficult material but it lacks emotional heft. A running time of 165 minutes tests the strongest bladder but still feels rushed, with so much story crammed in. While the broad themes of trade, politics and religion are well established, details are necessarily skipped over making it easy to miss salient points and leaving many unanswered questions. A focus on the fighting rather than development of relationships makes what should be a powerful ending fall flat. Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya and Rebecca Fergusson are great in the lead roles. Austin Butler has fun as the horrendous new Harkonnen, but Florence Pugh is severely underused as the Emperor’s daughter, possibly serving as an introduction to a meatier role in the next film.

The Flat Share, by Beth O’Leary

Colourful book editor Tiffy’s on-again off-again relationship is almost definitely over and she is broke and imminently homeless. Reserved shift worker Leon is in desperate need of money to deal with a family issue. This odd couple agrees to share Leon’s one-bedroom London flat, Tiffy taking residence for nights and weekends, while Leon is at work or at his girlfriend’s place. Following his girlfriend’s rules it’s never the twain shall meet, so they communicate by post-it notes and gradually get to know each other. This modern take on an epistolary novel works pretty well as we and they learn more about Tiffy and Leon’s flaws and foibles. It ends pretty much as expected, but it’s a fun ride to get there; along the way exploring the effects of emotional abuse and the British justice system.

One Day (Netflix)

Emma and Dexter meet on July 15, 1988, the day they graduate university in Edinburgh. They seemingly have little in common; she is a down to earth English student from Leeds while he is a playboy without a plan from the moneyed south. But the unlikely pair spend a day together and connect, promising to catch up after the summer. Based on a David Nicholls book, the story checks in them on the same day each year following their very different paths in life. Aspiring writer Em slogs her guts out for little reward, while golden child Dex falls on his feet in vapid TV shows, yet their connection persists. More than a decade later their fortunes have reversed, Em coming into her own while Dex has lost his way. Will the timing ever be right for them? This unconventional RomCom asks some valid questions about the nature of love and friendship. Do opposites really attract? Can men and women truly form platonic friendships? The short and sweet episodes are funny and poignant, with Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod embodying the lead roles with fantastic chemistry. The sound supporting cast includes Essie Davis makes a nice cameo as Dex’s mum. The music and the fashion provide a lot of nostalgic fun for those who were there at the time. It’s a bittersweet exploration of the promises and pitfalls of a path not taken.