Pillion to Roofman: Seven Top Films to Watch on TV This Week
Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling portray an unlikely couple in Harry Lighton’s gay biker drama. Additionally, an amiable thief discovers romance while hiding out in a toy store.
Pillion
Love stories manifest in diverse forms. Harry Lighton’s provocative and witty debut film is set within the BDSM community. Harry Melling stars as Colin, an introverted traffic warden and occasional barbershop quartet singer living with his parents in suburban London. When Colin is approached at a local pub by the Adonis-like biker Ray, played by the enigmatic Alexander Skarsgård, he believes his dreams have come true. However, Ray requires dominance in their sexual relationship, and for their bond to endure, Colin must submit to Ray’s every desire. This film offers a fascinating exploration of the gay biker subculture and fetish scene, balancing transgressive elements with touching moments, ultimately presenting a coming-of-age story bound by chains.
Friday, 10pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
Outcome
Films featuring actors lamenting their careers can often be tiresome, but this comedy from director, writer, and co-star Jonah Hill features shrewd casting with the ever-affable Keanu Reeves. Reeves plays Reef Hawk, a celebrated actor and secret recovering heroin addict who becomes the target of extortion over a compromising video. This incident propels him on an apology tour to those who dislike him, including his first manager (portrayed by Martin Scorsese), an ex-girlfriend, and even his mother. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Reef is far from a nice person.
Available now on Apple TV
Caught Stealing
The title of Darren Aronofsky’s frenetic crime caper refers both to theft and to a baseball runner attempting to advance before a play is made. The central character is Hank, a New York bar worker played by Austin Butler, who remains believable despite the plot’s numerous twists. Hank is left holding a cat and a mysterious key by his neighbor, Russ, an errant London punk portrayed in a ridiculous yet oddly endearing cameo by Matt Smith. Violent criminals from various backgrounds—including Russians, a Puerto Rican, and two Orthodox Jews—are all pursuing whatever the key unlocks.
Saturday 11 April, 10.05am and 11.15pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
Our Man in Havana
Set in Cuba before the revolution, Carol Reed’s 1959 comedy-drama offers a lighthearted critique of espionage’s subterfuge and self-importance. Adapted by Graham Greene from his own novel, the film stars Alec Guinness as James, an English vacuum cleaner salesman who leads a quiet life with his upwardly mobile daughter. His routine is disrupted when Noël Coward’s British agent recruits him. James fabricates a network of informants and intelligence, but the question remains whether he can maintain his deception.
Saturday 11 April, 4.35pm, Talking Pictures TV
Blue Moon
Ethan Hawke delivers a transformative performance, notably in height, in Richard Linklater’s melancholic and sharp drama. The film imagines one night in the life of Lorenz Hart, a failing and alcoholic Broadway lyricist. Attending the opening of Oklahoma!—the musical created by his former partner Richard Rodgers (played by Andrew Scott) and Oscar Hammerstein II—Hart slips away to a bar before the afterparty to drown his sorrows in a cocktail of regret and unrequited love.
Sunday 12 April, 6.10am and 7.10pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
Soul
Pixar’s metaphysical storyteller Pete Docter, alongside co-director and writer Kemp Powers, presents another imaginative and bittersweet film. Joe, a music teacher and pianist voiced by Jamie Foxx, aspires to a jazz career but dies prematurely. In his quest to return to Earth, he finds himself in a realm for unborn souls and encounters 22, voiced by Tina Fey, who is reluctant to begin life. The film operates on multiple levels: a whimsical children’s adventure about finding one’s way back home and a mature lesson on appreciating life’s opportunities.
Sunday 12 April, 4.15pm,
Roofman
This film is based on the true, poignant story of an escaped convict who hid in a Toys R Us store and developed a relationship with an employee. Channing Tatum portrays Jeffrey Manchester, an affable thief, ex-soldier, and estranged father who was apprehended after robbing multiple McDonald’s outlets by drilling through the roof. After escaping prison, he establishes a hidden refuge in a toy store and observes the staff, including Leigh, a single mother played by Kirsten Dunst, who may offer him a chance at a new family.
Tuesday 14 April, 8.05am and 9pm, Sky Cinema Premiere/Paramount+
