Five things to watch this weekend

Luther: The Fallen Sun — Netflix

The plot may be more ludicrous than ever but this movie spin-off of the hit BBC detective show proves a welcome return for Idris Elba’s tortured cop John Luther. Elba has a particular flair for antihero characters and here he’s given plenty of opportunity to battle Luther’s personal demons. When a vicious serial killer terrorises the citizens of London, the police have no option but to call upon the brilliant but troubled Luther to restore order. Problem is Luther’s behind bars and so unavailable. That doesn’t deter him, though, as he breaks out of prison and starts setting his telepathic criminal investigation powers to the task of saving the city. His dogged quest will bring him face to face with his own ghosts and the maniacal smirking psychopath wreaking havoc on Luther’s beloved London. Plotwise it’s all more than a little over-the-top and stretches credulity but Elba as Luther remains undeniably watchable and intriguing.

The Confessions of Frannie Langton — Britbox

Sara Collins adapts her novel of sexual, racial and scientific intrigue in Georgian London with satisfyingly understated but dramatically engaging effect. Karla-Simone Spence offers a committed and fiery performance as Frannie, a Jamaican-born woman supposedly free under the law who soon finds that in English high society she’s very much still a slave. When she’s accused of murdering a celebrated London scientist and his wife, Frannie’s account of the events that led up to the tragedy reveals a complex web of scientific and social racism and a sexual scandal that threatens to shame the London elite.

Gilded Passions: Films by Merchant Ivory — Mubi.com

No-one made period films like the seminal trio of director-producers James Ivory and Ismail Merchant and writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala who for the better part of three decades specialised in original and adapted period material that offered a quiet but pointed critique of colonial-era social relationships. Achingly romantic but restrained, burning with the tensions of characters caught in limbo between the demands of tradition and the pulls of modernity, the Merchant Ivory canon is rich with memorable characters and stories drawn from literary masterpieces by writers such as Henry James and EM Forster and smaller but equally effective original tales created by Prawer Jhabvala. Mubi has curated a selection of titles that traverse both categories, now available on the streaming platform.  

Let The Right One In — Showmax

Tomas Alfredson’s groundbreaking 2008 film adaptation of the novel by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist about the young love between a shy, bullied boy and an enigmatic vampire girl has already spawned an adequate if not particularly memorable US remake. Now the story gets an extended series adaptation that while it can’t compete with the original, offers just enough in the way of decent performances and sad, bleak atmosphere to warrant part, if not all, of your attention.  

Brian and Charles — Rent or buy from Apple TV+

A quirky, eccentric, very British and ultimately quietly charming comedy adapted by comedians David Earl and Chris Hayward from a short film skit. Shot in a mockumentary style it’s the story of Brian, a lonely bumbling rural Welsh inventor who finally manages to make something that works when, using a washing machine and a hodgepodge of spare parts, he creates a strange, cabbage-loving robot named Charles. Together the lonely inventor and his artificial intelligence bestie navigate the ups and downs of life, love and friendship with suitably offbeat and chuckle–inducing results.