This week’s picks
in front
Billy Crystal gives an unconventional (and reasonably convincing) performance in this thriller as Eli, a child psychologist reeling from his wife Lynn’s suicide. When a mysterious mute child shows up on his doorstep with bloody hands and an unblinking stare, Eli thinks he’s dreaming. But Noah (a creepy transformation from Jacobi Jupe) is very real. He is similarly drawn to Eli, but is unable to explain the roots of his obvious trauma, which manifest in the incredibly detailed drawings and disturbing episodes of violence. The dialogue is clunky and owes a debt to horror totems like The Exorcist and The Sixth Sense. But the interesting central premise makes it easy to watch.
Apple TV+, starting Friday, October 25th
beauty in black
All that glitters… (from left) Taylor Polydor Williams as Kimmy and Amber Reign Smith as Reign in Beauty in Black. Photo: Calvin Ashford/Netflix
Tyler Perry’s work is sometimes criticized for perpetuating negative stereotypes about black lives. This glossy drama focuses on a life in which two of the somewhat familiar paradigms of black womanhood gradually intersect, so it may never completely dispel that perception. Kimmy (Taylor Polidor Williams) is a pole dancer who has lived a life of hard knocks, and her highly successful boss Mallory (Crystal Stewart). When Kimmy has a chance to improve her situation, she ends up invading Mallory’s perfectly sculpted environment, with unpredictable results for both of them.
Netflix, from Thursday, October 24th
black shore
Spirit…Lisa Dwan as Fear Lacey in Blackshore. Photo: Madeline Mulqueen/Treasure Entertainment/River Pictures. Photographer: Madeline Mulqueen
DI Fear Lucy first appears breaking a creep’s nose in a pub toilet. She’s exactly the type of woman you’d expect to see on TV. Ambitious, hyper-focused to the point of perpetual anger, and more than a little troubled. Like many Rothers before her, she returns home on temporary secondment from Dublin and struggles with country attitudes. It’s not the most groundbreaking idea, and the drama of the search for a missing woman with mental health issues unfolding is just as common. Still, Lisa Dwan is a feisty protagonist, making the character of Lucy easy to root for.
Uh, I’m already out.
The disappearance of Kimmy Dior
Evil…Kimmy Diore’s disappearance. Photo: Disney Plus
A French crime drama set in the world of influencers and social media. When the titular 6-year-old child goes missing, Detective Sarah Roussel (Geraldine Nakash) is forced to explore a sinister scene that is completely different from what it seems. Kimmy and her mother are co-stars in a cute and highly successful online TV show, but suspicions about her family’s motives quickly become apparent. As Sarah grows closer to them, a troubling tale of exploitation and hothouses emerges. How will fans of the show react when the facts come out?
Disney+, from Wednesday, October 23rd
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doctor odyssey
All aboard…Joshua Jackson plays Max Bankman in Doctor Odyssey. Photo: Tina Thorpe/Disney
Another product of Ryan Murphy’s frenetic mind, this highly melodramatic medical procedure is set aboard a luxury liner and stars Joshua Jackson as Max, the doctor tasked with keeping the passengers and crew safe. I will perform. It’s a more difficult task than you might think. As expected, the Odyssey turns out to be an absolute death trap for accident-prone idiots. Also, as expected, when Dr. Max isn’t saving lives, he’s embarking on a very obvious foreshadowing case with one of his colleagues. Stupidity beyond explanation.
Disney+, from Thursday, October 24th
nautilus
Vibrant… (from left) Thierry Fremont as Gustav, Latif as Nemo, and Richard E. Grant as Raja of the Nautilus. Photo: Vince Valitutti/Disney+
The drama, based on Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” experienced a difficult birth. The film was originally scheduled for release on Disney+ before Prime Video made the series available. It tells the story of Nemo (the dashing Shazad Latif), one of the slaves captured and used to build a giant submarine for the villainous British East Company, but in the original It is a vivid depiction of something that doesn’t exist. But Nemo leads a rebellion, and soon he and a gang of rebels are venturing across the ocean and plotting revenge.
Prime Video, from Friday, October 25th
stem
A modern morality tale…Theo Fernandez, who played Lucas in “Stoke.” Photo: Channel 4
This French production from the Walter Presents series is a high school drama with high-tech elements. Lucas (Theo Fernandez) is a teenager whose natural nerdiness makes him an easy target for bullies. However, he has extraordinary talent and soon begins taking revenge through cyberstalking, catfishing, and other online tricks. Eventually, this prank escalated into an all-out war, and he began hacking into his tormentors’ phones and computers to learn their most intimate secrets and manipulate them accordingly. A dark modern morality tale.
Channel 4, from Friday 25 October
