AMAZON, NETFLIX, SKY, BRITBOX & BT

Promising Young Woman

With stories of a ‘rape culture’ at many British schools very much in the headlines, Emerald Fennell’s new film couldn’t be more timely. Its towering triumph – both for Fennell, who writes and directs and has secured Oscar nominations for both and for its similarly nominated star, Carey Mulligan – is that despite the distressing subject matter, it couldn’t be more watchable.

From brilliant opening to an ending about which nothing should be said, this is the sad, funny, disturbing tale of the #MeToo generation of women finally getting their own back; man by abusive man.

Yes, there are echoes of Tarantino’s Kill Bill films and closer ones of Killing Eve, where Fennell cut her screenwriting teeth, but this powerful picture is a must-see. Sky/NOW, from Friday

Leonardo

Leonardo da Vinci – bright lad. Dab hand with a paintbrush and widely regarded as one of the greatest polymaths ever. He was also a bit of an enigma, which gives Sherlock writer Stephen Thompson and The Man In The High Castle’s Frank Spotnitz plenty of room to explore all sorts of issues in an eight-episode drama in which Aidan Turner plays the great man, who becomes the suspect in a murder case in Italy in the late 15th Century.

Freddie Highmore plays an official investigating the artist. Amazon, from Friday

Make It Or Die Trying: The Frank Warren Story

Mention Frank Warren and one thing springs to mind – boxing. His name is synonymous with the sport in the UK, and now this documentary gets to the bottom of what makes him tick.

The film reveals how he rose to prominence from humble beginnings in North London to juggling multi-million-pound deals in Las Vegas and beyond. Among those contributing are heavyweight legends Tyson Fury, Frank Bruno and Mike Tyson. BT, from today

Agatha Christie: 100 Years Of Poirot & Miss Marple

It’s a century since Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair At Styles, written after a bet with her sister, introduced us to Hercule Poirot (played by David Suchet). This examines the Queen of Crime’s life and work through ten stories.

Who knew the ending of The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd was suggested by Lord Mountbatten? BritBox, from Thursday

Steelers: The World’s First Gay Rugby Club

This life-affirming film was made by Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, a reporter and player for Kings Cross Steelers, the world’s first gay rugby club. When injury ruled him out, he picked up a camera and filmed his teammates.

The result is less about being gay, or even rugby, than finding your tribe, the place where you fit in; it has something to say to everybody. Amazon, from Friday

The Master

Lancaster Dodd is, he claims, ‘a writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist and a theoretical philosopher’. He is also the inventor of a cult called The Cause, seemingly not a million miles away from Scientology, which draws in Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a traumatised WW2 vet.

Is Dodd making all this stuff up as he goes along? Does he really believe it? Some critics found director Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2012 film – his first after There Will Be Blood – profound, some found it pretentious.

Some just found it baffling. Netflix, from Thursday

Big Shot

You can actually feel yourself being emotionally manipulated as you watch this sports comedy drama but you’re powerless to prevent it. A college basketball coach is fired for assaulting a referee.

Marvyn Korn (John Stamos) is a great coach but he’s a ‘psycho’. The only job he can get now is at a posh private high school for girls. But coaching privileged teenage girls is a whole different ball game to coaching men.

‘We don’t love whistles – they can be triggering,’ one of his young players tells him. Can he help them become a better team as they help him become a better person? It’s a slam dunk. Disney+, from Friday

BEST DRAMAS

1 Tehran

Thrilling spy story from one of the writers of the brilliant Fauda, about a female Mossad agent (part James Bond, part Le Carre’s Smiley) on a mission in the Iranian capital.

2 For All Mankind

What if the Russians had won the space race? This alternative history sees female astronauts at the forefront of the battle for the Moon.

3 Defending Jacob

Chris Pine plays a lawyer who has to defend his own son from a murder charge as the locals turn against his family in this tense thriller.

4 The Morning Show

The behind-the-scenes tensions on a morning TV show make for a highstakes drama starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.

BEST FILMS

5 Greyhound

Tom Hanks (above) stars as the commander of an escort defending merchant ships from German U-boats in this battle of the Atlantic action film.

6 Ammonite

Romance among the rocks when Dorset fossil-hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) falls for a younger woman, Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan), in this atmospheric love story.

BEST COMEDIES

7 Central Park

Charming cartoon musical with great tunes about a family living in New York’s Central Park and protecting it from evil land developers.

8 Ted Lasso

Heartwarming comedy about an American football coach with no knowledge of soccer who becomes manager of a big English team.

9 Dickinson

This comic version of the early life of the great American poet Emily Dickinson is an ode to quirkiness.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

10 Tiny World

Wildlife series proves small is beautiful with jaw-dropping new technology used to film some 200 species of wee beasties such as these tiny frogs.

BBC iPLAYER & ALL4

The Hunter

Take a trip back to 1990s Sicily for the latest entry in Walter Presents’ outstanding library of continental thrills and spills. Francesco Montanari plays young, ambitious provincial prosecutor Saverio Barone, who makes a name for himself with several important arrests on the troubled streets of Palermo.

But there are bigger fish to fry, so after making a move AC-12 would be proud of – he brings down his corrupt boss – Barone earns a promotion to a unit specialising in investigating organised crime.

He soon realises that success comes at a price, however, when his personal life begins to fall apart. Also featuring Miriam Dalmazio. All4/Walter Presents, from Friday

Man In Room 301

BBC4’s first-ever Finnish series plays out over two timelines. The first focuses on the fatal shooting of a two-year-old boy; the second takes place 12 years later after his family spot the man they believe to be the killer while holidaying in Greece. BBC iPlayer, available now

Love And Mercy

Paul Dano and John Cusack play Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson at different stages in his life. The biopic charts the making of his masterpiece, Pet Sounds, in the 1960s, his subsequent breakdown and eventual resurgence.

Elizabeth Banks portrays Wilson’s second wife, Melinda, while Paul Giamatti is chilling as the dodgy psychotherapist Dr Eugene Landy, who played a major role in the singer-songwriter’s life. BBC iPlayer, available now

Shooting Joe Exotic

Louis Theroux probably couldn’t believe his luck when Joe Exotic became famous thanks to Netflix’s Tiger King – it was as if the subject of his next film had fallen into his lap.

The pair first met a decade earlier, and now here’s Joe again, ripe for a follow-up. He’s got plenty to say from inside the prison he now calls home. BBC iPlayer, available now

Floodland

You can’t help but feel the makers of this eight-part Euro-thriller were inspired by The Bridge. The story takes place on the border between Holland and Belgium, where a mysterious African girl is found in distress.

A Belgian court psychiatrist and a Dutch police inspector join up to find out what happened to her, uncovering evidence of trafficking. Also featuring Anne-Laure Vandeputte. All4/Walter Presents, from Friday

Sound Of Metal (Amazon, from Mon)

There are three big reasons why there’s a buzz around Sound Of Metal. First – and most importantly for his fellow Brits – is the sheer quality of Riz Ahmed’s Oscar-nominated central performance, which is also up for a Best Actor Bafta at tonight’s awards.

The Wembley-born, former Four Lions star is brilliant as Ruben, the heavy metal drummer whose life is plunged into crisis when he suddenly – and rapidly – starts to lose his hearing.

Then there’s the fact that the film itself – directed and co-written by Darius Marder – is up for no less than six Oscars, including the big one, Best Motion Picture of the Year.

Another of those nominations, for Best Supporting Actor, brings us to the third reason to watch – Paul Raci’s quietly powerful performance as the community leader who offers Ruben sanctuary and help.

But, rather like Minari – another small, indie-style film with six nominations – there’s a danger of Sound Of Metal suffering from sheer weight of expectation.

Ahmed looks fabulous behind a drum kit but there’s actually very little drumming in the film. What little heavy metal there is… well, let’s just say it’s of a particularly challenging kind.

No, this is a serious drama about the trauma of a young man suddenly losing not just his hearing but his livelihood, his music and possibly his relationship with Lou (Olivia Cooke).

Can Ruben rebuild his life? Thanks to Ahmed’s brilliance, you’ll enjoy finding out.

Matthew Bond