Best Films to Watch in London This Week
All the movies worth catching in the capital, from a monochrome fishing film to a horse-based prison drama...
Out and about this week? Fancy a film but can’t make your mind up what to see? Look no further: we’ve assembled the best of what’s on in London and gathered them here to make choosing a great movie as easy as possible. Whether it’s an in-depth documentary about the making of the best sci-fi horror film ever made or a haunting portrait of romance that gets under your skin and properly stays there, WeLoveCinema has you well and truly covered…
Bait
Director Mark Jenkin has given cinema lovers something truly unique with his latest, a film that cleverly explores present-day issues by way of a gloriously-rendered past. There’s no getting around Bait‘s stunning retro look, of course: Jenkin filmed his Cornwall-set drama on 16mm monochrome stock and then processed it using coffee grounds. The result is a black-and-white delight that feels like it’s been dug up on a beach somewhere, and yet Bait – with its story of fishermen being driven out by tourism – also feels about as contemporary as they come. There was a chance this could have ended up feeling like an extended gimmick, and yet the opposite’s true: as a brilliant tale of divided Britain, it casts an 89 minute-long spell.
Get Bait showtimes in London.
The Souvenir
Joanna Hogg’s films have always been prized by a small amount of dedicated fans, but The Souvenir is so good she won’t remain a secret for much longer. Set in the 1980s and based on Hogg’s own time as a film school student in London, this is a deep and fascinating treasure box whose appeal cannot be explained in a single paragraph – still, we’ll try. Starring Honor Swinton Byrne (daughter of Tilda, also here) and an arrogant, charismatic Tom Burke, the story – minimalist, melancholy, dreamy, and not at all for the impatient viewer – centres on a young woman’s romance with a mysterious and troubled older man. As always the case with Hogg, she refuses to paint in black and white; you get back whatever it is you put in.
Get The Souvenir showtimes in London or read our full review here.
Pain and Glory
Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film is his most personal yet, a vivid, imitate, semi-autobiographical portrait of a Madrid-based filmmaker named Salvador Mallo who, crippled with pain, is experiencing something akin to a mid-life crisis. As played by Antonio Banderas in a career-best performance, Pain and Glory exists as a series of episodes that draw heavily upon the director’s own experiences; as Mallo reflects on the choices that lead him to his current state, including a battle with drugs, the film unfolds with a truly naked quality. Visually stunning, beautifully acted (it also stars Almodóvar regular Penelope Cruz as Mallo’s mother), and packed with details to appease long-time fans and newcomers alike, it’s Almodóvar’s best in years.
Get Pain and Glory showtimes in London or read our full review here.
The Mustang
Matthias Schoenaerts – muscular, with a shaved head – finds himself tasked with taming a wild horse in this lyrical and occasionally formulaic prison drama, directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre in her feature film debut. Schoenaerts, of course, has always been an actor primed to play stoic, silent types, capable as he is of conveying years of pain and sadness with his eyes alone. Here he gives one of his best performances to date as a convict named Roman Coleman, who undertakes a horse-based rehab program in the Nevada desert, overseen by a grouchy Bruce Dern. Even as the film threatens to buckle under the weight of its own mawkishness, Schoenaerts – a certified pro – keeps us well and truly invested in the tale.
Get The Mustang showtimes in London.
Hail Satan?
Hail Satan?, a new documentary from filmmaker Penny Lane, sets its sights on the Satanic Temple with a brilliant and affable casualness, as implied by that curious question mark in its title. The name of the group – originally founded in 2013 – might seem somewhat at odds with the folk highlighted here, though: despite their tendency towards wearing black, they’re a pretty liberal-minded bunch. We watch as the members – led by founder Lucien Greaves – attend meetings and rally for (yep) equal rights, often resulting in some fascinating run-ins with the public. Short and sweet, it’s a doc designed to upend preconceived notions and highlight a group whose hellish name has given them a far scarier reputation than deserved.
Get Hail Satan? showtimes in London or read our full review here.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, based on the now classic children’s book series, comes over like a mash-up between Goosebumps and Stranger Things, albeit with a lot more zit-popping. Straddling the line between PG-13 horror and something a little edgier, this Guillermo del Toro-produced yarn (he also co-wrote the script) clings to an episodic structure as a group of unwitting teens unleash a slew of ghouls and monsters in small town America and must deal with the consequences. The film doesn’t exactly break boundaries in its approach to horror, but it does feel crafted with the same levels of love and care that Guillermo del Toro films so often do – even if ultimately it’s a little too reliant on repetitive jump scares.
Get Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark showtimes in London or read our full review here.
Memory: The Origins of Alien
If you’ve ever been curious as to how Ridley Scott and his team put together what is arguably the greatest sci-fi movie ever made, Memory: The Origins of Alien was designed with exactly you in mind. Following on from his in-depth, shower-based study of Hitchcock’s Psycho, 78/52, Alexandre O. Philippe turns his attention to the origins of Alien, covering everything from H.R. Giger’s now infamous and terrifying creature designs to what went down on the set during the actual filming. Philippe is clearly passionate about the film, and the enthusiasm for Alien comes through in droves. Essential viewing for fans of Scott’s classic.
Get Memory: The Origins of Alien showtimes in London or read our full review here.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino recently said that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his love letter to the end of Hollywood’s Golden Era, could be his last film. If so, it’s a hell of a picture to go out on. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a failing actor, and Brad Pitt as his faithful stuntman, the film plays out as a series of interconnected vignettes, Pulp Fiction-style, against a backdrop of fake television shows, star cameos (hello, Al Pacino), and hippie confrontations. Quasi-historical, à la Inglourious Basterds, Hollywood also features Margot Robbie as actress Sharon Tate, who was murdered by Charles Manson’s followers in 1969 (also here). Brilliantly funny, surprisingly personal and – by the end – deeply melancholy, it’s QT’s best film in close to a decade.
Get Once Upon a Time in Hollywood showtimes in London or read our full review here.
Inna De Yard
Peter Webber, best known as the director of Girl with a Pearl Earring, is behind this soulful documentary that’s about as easy to watch as reggae is to listen to. Inna De Yard hones in on a variety of musicians, including Ken Boothe, Cedric Myton, and Judy Mowatt, many of whom were once part of famous reggae acts, as they come together to play at the open-air recording sessions of the film’s title. There is something of Oscar-winner doc 20 Feet from Stardom in Webber’s approach, as he takes the time to highlight some musicians who – despite their obvious talent – never quite made it to the big leagues. You don’t need to be a reggae fan to enjoy what this film has to offer, though: just an interest in people and great music.
Get Inna De Yard showtimes in London.
Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth
This tender, heart-wrenching documentary from Jeanie Finlay focuses on Freddy McConnell, a transgender man who sets out to conceive and give birth to his own child. That brief synopsis alone is likely to inspire cries of, “Wait, what?, of course, and yet Seahorse: The Man Who Gave Birth takes its subject seriously, capturing the long, emotionally shattering journey undertaken by McConnell, a journalist, with a candid, warts-and-all approach. Given the complex nature of pretty much everything going on here, Seahorse is a documentary that leaves you asking dozens of questions about gender, ethics, and parenthood. What’s undeniable is the strength and determination on show as McConnell refuses to give up on a lifelong dream.
Get Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth showtimes in London.
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