ORDINARY LOVE (Cert 12, 92 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, Drama/Romance, available from April 5 on Amazon Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services). Starring: Lesley Manville, Liam Neeson, David Wilmot, Amit Shah.
JOAN (Lesley Manville) and husband Tom (Liam Neeson) have slowly come to terms with the death of their daughter Debbie. They have settled into a routine under a cloud of grief. The couple make regular pilgrimages to the grave and keeps fit by walking side by side along a busy road.
In the shower after one stroll, Joan feels a lump in her left breast and she makes an urgent appointment at the local hospital, where she is diagnosed with cancer.
Joan begins treatment in earnest, relying on Tom to drive her to and from appointments as clumps of hair fall out and her body weathers crashing waves of nausea and exhaustion. The couple's marriage feels the strain and Tom struggles to articulate his feelings of impotency.
Ordinary Love is an intimate drama based on a script by playwright Owen McCafferty, which unfolds without directorial fanfare, coolly observing Joan and Tom as they contend with mortality.
Tracing a familiar narrative arc, Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn's picture elegantly captures the minutiae of daily life for a husband and wife who fondly accept each other's foibles and find comfort in the easy silences that punctuate their domestic routine.
Earthy humour cuts through the sombre self-reflection – "Are you going to miss these?" quips Joan shortly before a double mastectomy – but doesn't dull the impact of well-spaced emotional blows.
Manville and Neeson are handsomely matched and share a delightful on-screen chemistry that compels us to stand hopefully beside their long-time lovebirds through chemotherapy and the inevitable squabbles borne of crippling fear and frustration.
Rating: 8/10
:: Preacher – The Final Season (Cert 18, 435 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, available now on Amazon Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from April 6 on DVD £26.99/Blu-ray £32.99 Fantasy/Drama/Thriller)
IT'S THE end of the world as we know it as the supernatural drama adapted from the comic book series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon reaches its apocalyptic conclusion.
West Texas preacher Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper), his no-nonsense girlfriend Tulip (Ruth Negga) and Irish vampire Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) reach the end of their righteous road trip, albeit on different paths, as God's endgame is revealed.
Herr Starr (Pip Torrens), a member of the secret Grail organisation, confers closely with God about the destruction that lies ahead.
Meanwhile, the search intensifies for Humperdoo (Tyson Ritter), the last surviving descendant of Jesus Christ.
The three-disc DVD and Blu-ray box sets boast all 10 episodes including the feature-length finale.
