Television Highlights: From Troubling Road Trips to Documentary Exposés
This week's television offerings present a compelling mix of drama and real-world investigation, with Matt Smith delivering what critics are calling a career-defining performance in Sky's adaptation of Nick Cave's novel The Death of Bunny Munro. The series follows a deeply troubling father-and-son road trip that explores toxic masculinity and inherited trauma.
Lucy Mangan's review highlights the show's timeliness, noting it serves as "a study in masculinity, in men handing on misery to men" that remains profoundly relevant despite the source material being over a decade old. The adaptation has generated significant buzz, particularly around Smith's compelling portrayal of the flawed protagonist.
Documentary That Rocked a Nation
Meanwhile, BBC iPlayer hosts The Black Swan, a documentary that made seismic waves in Denmark. The film features a mob lawyer turning whistleblower to reveal devastating corruption trails that prompted police investigations and legislative changes. Remarkably, half of all Danish viewers watched the documentary when it aired in 2024.
Other notable television includes Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks, which profiles the 37,000 little-known sketches left by JMW Turner, and the second series of Stockport-set sitcom Daddy Issues starring Aimee Lou Wood and David Morrissey, which critics say has found its stride with hilarious and joyful storytelling.
Cinema: Musical Finales and Dark Fairytales
The film world offers both blockbuster entertainment and arthouse intrigue this week. Wicked: For Good brings the Oz prequel musical to its conclusion with Cynthia Erivo leading what Peter Bradshaw describes as a "fine cast" in this zingily scored production. Bradshaw particularly praises Erivo's "black-belt screen presence" and the new vulnerability she brings to Elphaba.
For those seeking more unconventional fare, The Ice Tower features Marion Cotillard as a movie actor starring in a production of The Snow Queen. Lucile Hadžihalilović's film is described as "a mesmeric melodrama, mixing sensuality with a teetering anxiety" that balances on disaster's edge.
Powerful Exposés and Historical Dramas
Testimony delivers a devastating look at Ireland's brutal Magdalene laundries, following a young human rights lawyer joining survivors in their fight for accountability. The film's triumphant conclusion reportedly left reviewer Cath Clarke in "floods of tears" during a powerful scene celebrating survivors' courage.
Meanwhile, Fiume o Morte! offers a darkly comic reconstruction of Italian protofascist Gabriele D'Annunzio's ragtag takeover of a Croatian port city, described as part comic opera and part chilling message from the past.
Books and Music: Literary Giants and Musical Triumphs
The literary world highlights John Updike: A Life in Letters, providing intimate insights into the American literary giant. The collection reveals Updike's abiding enmities, including his persistent issues with Gore Vidal, though his fondnesses reportedly far outnumber his dislikes.
In music, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson's interpretation of Beethoven's Op 109 is being hailed as one of the most beautiful recordings of the piece. While traditionalists might question some interpretive choices, Clive Paget suggests Ólafsson "opens up a transcendent vista on to a brave new world" for receptive listeners.
The week also sees new releases from electronic artist Oneohtrix Point Never and the first De La Soul release since the death of founding member Trugoy the Dove. Cabin in the Sky dwells on afterlife themes while maintaining the group's characteristically sunny sound.
Live Performance Spotlight
Lorde's current Ultrasound tour receives glowing reviews, with the New Zealand alt-pop star delivering a show described as "viscerally kinetic" with shades of Stop Making Sense and moments of crowd-leasing intimacy. The performance confirms her status as a headliner for next year's All Points East festival in London.
From television drama to musical finales and literary discoveries, this week's cultural landscape offers rich pickings for audiences seeking both entertainment and substance across multiple mediums.
