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| Dalton's Dream Photo: Courtesy of Sheffield DocFest |
Dalton Harris found fame on X Factor in 2018. Kim Longinotto and Frank Murray Brown's moving documentary followed him for four years as he won hearts on the singing contest and attempted to convert that into a career. The Jamaican-born star had the sort of back story that audiences also lap up, including an impoverished childhood, but the documentarians don't go down the sensationalist route. Instead they allow Dalton time and space to tell his story, including his experience of homophobia in his homeland. A fine example of collaborative filmmaking that results in raw honesty from its subject as he tries to reconnect with his mum and improve his mental wellbeing.
Assault On Precinct 13, 11.10pm, Legend (Freeview Channel 41), Tuesday, May 28
John Carpenter has often proved a simple premise can pay dividends and does so here as a near-defunct police station comes under siege from a street gang in a film where events are triggered by the killing of a child before spinning into a spiral of violence. The director - who also supplies the impressive synthesiser-driven score - lets the down-at-heel corridors of the cop shop become a claustrophobic trap for its denizens, including both officers and a trio of convicts, in a film that is also shot through with racial tensions and never lets up for a minute. If it gives you a taste for a claustrophobic, modern-day equivalent, check out Jericho Ridge, which is available from most good streaming services at the moment.
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise, 2.25am, BBC4, Tuesday, May 28
The accomplishments of writer and activist Maya Angelou are many fold and Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack take a comprehensive approach to her life in this in-depth documentary. The film reflects wider societal change as it tells her story and shows how she met the great and the good of politics along the way, from Martin Luther King to Bill Clinton. Featuring extensive interviews with Angelou herself, there are also lively contributions from her son Guy and others who knew her. The film is also available to stream on the BBC's iPlayer for those who don't fancy staying up until the middle of the night.
Neds, 1.25am, Friday, May 31
Although Peter Mullan's tale of growing up in Seventies Glasgow is not autobiographical, it's evident that many of the moments featured in the film are close to his own experience. This isn't a film about kids who are born bad, but one that shows instead how baby steps and society's unwillingness to help can turn youngsters who are naturally quite sweet into something altogether more broody and violent. The title, for non-Scots, is a term usually used for ne'er do well kids and which people - in backronym fashion - have come to say stands for 'non-educated delinquents'. The writer/director captures the allure of gangs as a place of belonging as much as an opportunity to fight with others in a gripping drama that is laced with a surprising amount of humour. Read what Peter Mullan told us about the film.
Military Wives, 9pm, Channel 4, Saturday, June 1
Peter Cattaneo's feel-good film is based on one of the singing groups Gareth Malone founded in his hit BBC series The Choir - although Malone is wisely kept out of this picture. Instead the focus is firmly on a group of women on an Army base, who are grappling with fears about their husbands, who are on a dangerous tour of duty in Afghanistan. Structured largely around the relationship that develops between the posh colonel's wife (Kristen Scott-Thomas) and the more working class sergeant's wife Lisa (Sharon Horgan), the choir they set up to improve morale contains all the initial dischord you might expect. The plot might follow a familiar tune but Scott-Thomas, in particular, helps the emotional beats land solidly.
Everybody's Talking About Jamie, 11pm, Channel 4, Sunday, June 2
A candy-coloured musical charmer that's another based-on-a-true-story yarn. Its focus is the story of Jamie Campbell, who found fame as a teenager in BBC3 Documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16 (which is currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer. In this coming-of-ager he's played by with gusto by newcomer Max Harwood. While the teenager is happy with his gender identity, his divorced and largely absent dad (Ralph Ineson) isn't, which provides the emotional undertow for the story. Featuring plenty of bright and breezy musical numbers, a lovely friendship element - Lauren Patel making her presence felt as Jamie's mate Pritti - and Richard E Grant having the time of his life as an older drag queen, this is and enjoyable film that also nods to generations before who paved the way for the teenager to be out and proud.
No Country For Old Men, ITVX, streaming now
This stripped back cat-and-mouse thriller plays out against the arid empty landscapes of Texas in 1980. A man (Josh Brolin) finds a suitcase of cash tough to resist and is soon on the run from a psychopathic killer (Javier Bardem, never better than here), while the murderer is, in turn, being chased by a sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) and a bounty hunter (Woody Harrelson). Playing around with archetypes – the saint, the abject sinner and someone hovering in between – the Coen Brothers offer up a tense and blackly comic ride. Props too to Kelly Macdonald and Garret Dillahunt who put in small but excellent supporting turns.
We're returning to Maya Angelou for our short selection this week. Angelou On Burns follows the writer to Ayrshire, where she compares the similarities of her own life with those of the famous Scot. It's on BBC4 at 12.40am on Tuesday morning... or you can watch it at a more reasonable hour here on the iPlayer
