The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
FILMS OF THE WEEK
Le Mans ’66 – Saturday, Channel 4, 11.20pm
Marketing executive Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) persuades his boss, Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts), that the key to revitalising the ailing car brand is to make Ford sexy. Ford eventually orders his company’s racing division to build a car capable of humiliating Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans race. Stetson-wearing automotive designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) accepts the challenge and approaches Ken Miles (Christian Bale) to sit behind the wheel of the Ford GT40. Le Mans ’66 is a crowd-pleasing drama of triumph on four wheels. The battle royale between the two brands on the undulating asphalt of the Circuit de la Sarthe is recreated in muscular fashion by director James Mangold. He excels during breathlessly staged racing sequences in an era when the need for speed heightened the inherent dangers of the sport.
The Invisible Man – Sunday, ITV, 10.20pm
Architect Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) manages to flee the cliff-top home of her controlling beau, scientist Adrian Griffin (Oliver JacksonCohen). Soon after, Cecilia learns that Adrian has killed himself and bequeathed her $5 million in his will, to be paid in monthly instalments via his brother Tom (Michael Dorman). For the first time in years, Cecilia draws breath, but a series of strange events convinces her that the news of Adrian’s demise has been greatly exaggerated. This 2020 version of The Invisible Man is an ingeniously executed horror thriller inspired by the 1897 HG Wells novel of the same title, reset to present-day San Francisco in the shadow of Silicon Valley. An emotionally wrought central performance from Moss firmly tethers an outlandish dramatic conceit to gut-wrenching reality.
The Theory Of Everything – Thursday, BBC2, 11.35pm
Stephen Hawking (an Oscar-winning Eddie Redmayne) meets Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) at a party at mid-1960s Cambridge University. Romance blossoms despite Stephen’s social awkwardness, but then he takes a tumble in the university courtyard and is diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Stephen’s parents initially warn Jane away from their son, fearful of the emotional devastation that will be wrought if he dies within the two years predicted by doctors. But Jane raises the couple’s three children and holds their marriage together. Based on the memoir Travelling To Infinity, The Theory Of Everything is a deeply moving real-life romance that strikes a delicate balance between tear-stained drama and comedy, and is a fascinating insight into the life of the physicist.