people, and also that so attracted people, and also made such great television adaptations that we all enjoyed so much. most namely, the people, you know, who weren't around when people came on the television... james, i'm just going to give you a very brief last word, because i believe you're quite a fan. i'm a huge fan ofjohn le carre. i've read nearly all of his books. the great thing about john le carre is he takes you into that world, you are so fully immersed into that dark... it's a bit desperate, it's a bit sleazy, but you are fully immersed in it. and the other thing about it, he did it for so long, you know, some of them and that sort of field to maintain output and stay relevant, because after the cold war went down, he mentioned the night manager which was a great bbc adaptation. there was also the constant gardener which is about the chemical

industry, and you know, he did for so industry, and you know, he did for so long, it's mightily —— a mightily impressive achievement. it certainly is. thank you very much for your impressive achievements this morning. also it's a pleasure to have you both with us. inc. you very much for watching. the national news and international news is coming up at iipm. but before the weather, we have the film review for all of us —— from all of us, goodbye. hello, and welcome to the film review with me, mark kermode — rounding up the best movies available to view in cinemas and in the home. back in 2016, denzel washington

produced, directed, and starred in a screen adaptation of august wilson's stage play fences, earning a supporting actress oscar for violet davis, alongside nods for best actor, best picture, and a posthumous screenwriting nomination for wilson. davis looks like an awards contender once again for her dynamite role as mother of the blues in ma rainey‘s black bottom — the latest screen adaptation of wilson's work on which washington again serves as producer. a—one, a—two, a—you know what to do. this'd be an empty world without the blues. i try to take that emptiness and fill it up with something. in 1920s chicago, the already humid atmosphere of a recording studio is made hotter by the broiling tensions between musicians, producers, and an increasingly recalcitrant star in a session to cut the titular song.

most of the musicians are resigned to their lot, living modestly from gig to gig. but a young trumpet player — brilliantly played by chadwick boseman in his final screen role — has bigger plans. i ain't like you — i got talent. me and this horn, we is tight. if my daddy had know—ed i would turn out like this, he'd have named me gabriel. not only does he have designs on ma's trademark bluesy anthem, he also dreams of leading his own band and recording his own songs. i'm going to get me a band and make me some records. i done gave him some of my songs i wrote, and he say he'll let me record them when i get my band together. ijust gotta finish the last part of the song. like fences, ma rainey‘s black bottom showcases some tour de force acting. davis does a fabulous job of portraying both the vulnerability and the unstoppability of her character — a sturdy figure with fire in her eyes who's learned to stand her ground. we'll be ready to go in 15 minutes.

we'll be ready when i says i'm ready to go — and that's the way it goes around here. by contrast, boseman — who got james brown's moves down pat in the underrated get on up — plays his character as a fleet—footed hustler bristling with pride over his fancy new shoes, hiding ancient hurt behind nervy smiles. yet, also like its predecessor, the theatrical origins of ma rainey‘s black bottom weigh heavy on director george c wolfe's rather stage—y cinematic production. despite the best efforts of screenwriter ruben sa ntiago—hudson, this still feels like a collection of theatrical set pieces — whether it's a soulfully delivered soliloquy reliving brutal childhood trauma, or a third act tragedy that reportedly produced gasps on stage, but feels oddly contrived on screen. sterling music, production design, and costume work from bra nford marsalis, mark ricker, and ann roth respectively add to the classy package, but it's the performances that win the day. it's available in cinemas now

and on netflix from 18 december. there is another great performance, albeit in a completely different register, at the centre of falling — the directorial debut from viggo mortensen. lance hendriksen is in career—best form as willis, a character who could most generously be described as irascible, and who is increasingly showing signs of dementia. mortensen himself plays willis's son, john, who, along with his sister sarah, played by laura linney, has suggested that their dad move from his rural home to california for his own safety. but willis is a ball of rage, deriding his son for being gay, lashing out at anyone who tries to help him, and goading everyone into rows and arguments

with whichjohn staunchly refuses to engage. you said you wanted to come live near me and sarah. "as long as it has a garden," you said. why isn't your sister here? is she out wasting money on women's crap with your mother again? it's a school night, for christ's sake. sarah lives in ventura with her family. she's coming for dinner on sunday. intercutting between two time periods, falling makes clear that willis's anger issues predate his current health problems — even as a younger man, when he's played by sverrir gudnason, he's character who it's very hard to like. so now, i can't relax and have a smoke in my own home. but henriksen, a veteran of genre favourites like near dark and aliens, breathes real life into a character who makes bruce dern in nebraska seem warm and cuddly, delivering his most fearsomely uninhibited and bravely unsympathetic performance. there is a sly cameo by canadian

film—maker david cronenberg, who directed mortensen in eastern promises, and solid support from the ensemble cast. but this is henriksen‘s film, and it's every bit as convincing, enraging, and sometimes hard to stick with as the character he plays. you can find falling in cinemas and on virtual screenings online. surely you know who i am. at the very least, i would like a room next to the spa. there is no spa. angie, what is this place? we're all going to get stabbed and stuffed, you know that, right? orbitz gave it three stars. do you have any cabins? for something altogether more fluffy and upbeat, why not try the prom — a campus christmas musical comedy that's now on netflix? directed by ryan murphy from the stage show of the same name, it features meryl streep and james corden as actors whose new broadway show has opened to a career—killing reviews.

desperate to save their public images by supporting a worthy cause, they hop on a bus to edgewater, indiana, where a highschooler is trending after refusing to be allowed to take her girlfriend to the prom. alsojumping on the bandwagon are nicole kidman‘s embittered chorus girl, angie, and actor—cum—barman trent, played by andrew reynolds who does such great work in the new film the boys in the band. from a spotlight—stealing meryl streep performing a big production number ironically entitled "it's not about me" to nicole kidman delivering home—school lessons about the zazz, this likeable film has a showy oomph to spare. let's get this party started! # it's time to build a prom for everyone. # show them all it can be done. # if music blares and no one cares... admittedly it's hardly ground—breaking fare, and you're pretty much required

to check your cynicism and at the door as the film proceeds to tick off every cliche in the book — albeit in pastiche fashion. but i enjoyed the idea of a group of self—proclaimed broadway liberals descending upon a small town where not even two tony awards will get you a suite in the local hotel, but the high school principal, played by keegan michael key, just happens to be a huge fan. oh, and for the record, james corden‘s pretty funny, too, and not annoying — really. from the frothy to the frankly bizarre with cold meridian — a seven—minute oddity from peter strickland, the maverick genius behind berberian sounds sudio and in fabric. commissioned by the london short film festival where it premiered back in january,

this indefinable weirdy explores the strange world of autonomous sensory meridian response — or asmr, as it's popularly known, a physical response to certain tactile sounds. the film, which satirises the voyeurism of the internet, futures two dancers preparing a routine while being watched in an almost dreamlike state from lonely computer screens — all played out to the sounds of page turning, hair washing, and pencil scratching. having become obsessed with asmr while making in fabric, strickland, whose work is never less than fascinating, here provides a rather wry parody of the fetishistic phenomenon — all neatly packaged in a film that's only marginally longer than this review. seriously, in the time it's taken me to describe it to you, you could've watched cold meridian for yourself. check it out on mubi. you good, maya ? we can go as fast or slow as you're comfortable out here. goes for you too, sully.

no rush, understood? oh, my god. no view quite like it. let's finish with something more out of this world — the midnight sky. adapted from lily brooks—dalton‘s novel good morning, midnight, and directed by george clooney — who also costars — it's a haunting tale set in 2049 in the wake of a global catastrophe that has effectively rendered planet earth uninhabitable. from the frozen arctic, clooney‘s scientist, augustine, struggles to make contact with aether, a spaceship returning home after a mission to seek out strange new worlds. on board is felicityjones's sully, who, along with her crewmates, has no idea why earth has fallen so silent. it's clear that there's some

fundamental connection between augustine and sully — although the film teases out its twists and turns an elegant style as it slips between their two narratives — between the ground and the sky. like alfonso cuaron‘s gravity, in which clooney costarred, the midnight sky combines introspection with a degree of action — particularly in a spacewalk sequence that takes a genuinely alarming turn. but for the most part, this is impressively low—key fare, sharing some of the existential angst of the swedish—danish sci—fi film aniara, or even of steven soderbergh‘s remake of solaris — which, again, featured clooney, who is clearly a sci—fi fan. how much of you picked up about the conditions out there? we've received nothing. strong support from david oyelowo and very impressive production design from jim bussell — whose impressive credits include spielberg's et — add to the film's eerily melancholy

spell. you can find it in cinemas now and on netflix from 23 december. that's it for this week. thanks for watching the film review. next week, it'll be my round up of the year. until then, stay safe. i ain't started blues the way you're saying. blues always been there. but if they want to call me the mother of blues, that's all right with me, don't hurt none. hello there. the more persistent rain that we had on sunday has been chased away by showers that are streaming in from the atlantic. it means it's a mild start to monday. temperatures have been rising in scotla nd temperatures have been rising in scotland and the northeast of england. those numbers may not change an awful lot of them actually, through the day. we start with a lot of showers in scotland, prep some longer spells of rain. lots of showers speak feeding into the western side of the uk. some will get blown in land, but there will get blown in land, but there will be sunny spells too, probably not many showers for northern ireland come in the showers easing in scotland. we will have a blustery

self— south—westerly wind. that's, of course, is a mild wind, and it will be a mild day on monday. temperatures higher in scotland and parts of northern england and they wear on sunday. the highest temperature across the southeast of england and east anglia at 13 degrees, but there could be some heavy showers here later on in the day. fewer showers, more heavy showers here later on in the day. fewershowers, more sunshine and lighter winds, i think, tuesday, but then it gets windy again, especially in the west on wednesday, and there is more rain on the way.

this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm ben bland. talks about a post—brexit trade deal are extended, with the uk and eu promising to "go the extra mile" to reach an agreement. one of the best—selling authors in popularfiction — the spy novelist, john le carre — dies aged 89. more than 300 nigerian school children are thought to be still missing after gunmen abducted them on friday. the first pfizer's covid vaccine is being shipped around the us. the first mass immunisation starts on monday.