Lesley Manville

We used to have more films like “Midwinter Break,” in which the combination of a couple of great actors, a gifted writer and the unfussy shepherding of a thorny, intimate scenario gave discerning moviegoers their recommended weekly allowance of adult drama about the human condition.

That’s no longer the case, so you would be forgiven for attaching more importance to the small-scale appeal of this adaptation of Irish author Bernard MacLaverty’s 2017 novel. Without gimmicks or pomp (save a picturesque setting) and through the supreme talents of Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds, it offers up an affecting two-hander about a couple on the brink who’ve never really acknowledged said precipice. As directed with low-key confidence by Polly Findlay, the movie is both good and, in a certain way, good enough.

Should a marriage be merely good enough? Because hiding in the 40-year togetherness of retired teacher Stella (Manville) and ex-architect Gerry (Hinds) is an unmistakable chasm. It’s a divide with roots in the turbulent Belfast of their youth, which necessitated starting their family in Glasgow. It manifests now in a brittleness that tints their everyday exchanges as ossifying empty nesters.

Stella’s restless energy in wanting to fix things spurs her to arrange an impromptu trip for them to Amsterdam. Initially they rekindle a genial intimacy over art, meals and the city’s beauty. She eases off her intolerance for his drinking by tagging along to bars, while he accompanies his faith-driven wife to the Begijnhof, a historical religious site of dwellings initially intended to house a sisterhood of single Catholic women. We gather her keen interest isn’t entirely touristy but also, because Hinds is so good, that his wisecracks about religion — which she bristles at — have a basis in something personal, too.

We eventually learn what it is that has kept Stella and Gerry in a state of deepening apartness. But these expected revelations aren’t as cathartic as one might hope, probably because what “Midwinter Break” had going for it was a gathering totality of unhurried observance, as if we, too, were stumbling in the dark along with these nervous dancers, who once knew each other so well yet had lost the ability to turn knowing into understanding.

Still, the chance to see Manville and Hinds give heart, soul and edge to a cracked marriage is a display of nuanced skill that no screenwriting choice (even if true to the source material) can fully hamper. Manville, one of our greatest actors, is achingly real, giving Stella the protective bearing of a wounded soldier. Hinds, meanwhile, masterfully shows an affable partner’s emotional immobility.

Findlay knows to stay out of the way when her actors are deep inside what’s lived-in about their situation, or when grace notes — especially the story’s real ties to the Troubles — needn’t be overstruck. Modest to a fault, “Midwinter Break” seems to float like something cautious and wishful, hoping along with the audience that this union’s individual strains will fall into harmony once more.

This coming of age film set in 1950s Mexico City and Ecuador starring a famous Hollywood star has had fans praising it as ‘fascinating’ and ‘leaving a lasting impression’

A period drama set in the 1950s and starring a Hollywood actor was ‘robbed of an Oscar’ fans have declared – and it’s being shown on BBC2 tonight.

Queer is set in 1950s Mexico City and Ecuador and the film follows an outcast American expatriate (played by James Bond star Daniel Craig) who becomes infatuated with a much younger man called Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), leading them on a surreal, trippy journey to South America.

The movie premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in 2024, and is based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs.

The film might have almost been overshadowed by Craig’s more prominent roles as James Bond, but fans have had nothing but praise for the star in this film.

Reviews have praised the drama as one person posted on ratings website Rotten Tomatoes, where it has a decent score of 77 percent: “Daniel Craig was robbed a nomination for this role. He’s outstanding in this. A surprisingly funny movie too. Very sad ending that will sit with me for a while.”

Another person shared: “Stars Daniel Craig and Lesley Manville in an A24 Production. Atmospheric period 50s and well-wrought of production design. The lighting and set decoration are a joy to behold, and score is beautiful, moody and modern.

“Perhaps the daring subject keeps it in the media periphery, but I thought this was a well-intentioned, well-crafted period picture about the bold life of a bold man.

“Craig’s performance is as pained as it is exacting, revealing a depth of the actor that i hadn’t seen in his formulaic action pictures.”

“Daniel Craig delivers a performance that’s both sharp and searching, proof that his craft is never on autopilot. Paired with a taut, enigmatic narrative, this film refuses to sit quietly in the corner of cinema—it’s something stranger, bolder, and far more magnetic,” said a third.

A fourth posted: “Really likes this film great acting and directing, I read the book like years ago and it fascinated me as a young fella, putting on screen was well done by the director.”

Another shared: “Very realistic yet conceptual. It was interesting to see how each chapter was narrated in their own way, slowly turning conceptual and almost abstract.”

A fifth wrote: “It leaves a lasting impression. It’s strange, not so much because of the relationship between the two protagonists — which is actually quite common, with one refusing to acknowledge his homosexuality and ending up torturing the other to exhaustion, remaining cold and emotionally indifferent — but because of certain scenes that strongly recall the world of David Lynch.

“Knowing what William S. Burroughs’ life was like, it’s clear that the film is very much inspired by his own life experience. Daniel Craig is impeccable. And the music is magnificent.”

Queer airs on Tuesday 10 February on BBC2 at 11pm.