The SLMan Culture List: April

THE ACTION FLICK: Monkey Man

Monkey Man is Dev Patel’s explosive directorial debut. With a little help from Jordan Peele, he’s created a John Wick-esque action thriller about one man’s quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimise the poor and powerless. The film stars Patel (Lion, Slumdog Millionaire) as Kid, an anonymous young man who makes a meagre living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, he unleashes an explosive campaign of retribution against the men who took everything from him.

Visit Picturehouses.com

THE FASHION DOC: Who Is Sabato De Sarno? – A Gucci Story

This 20-minute documentary short offers a unique glimpse into the creation of the Gucci Ancora fashion show – the debut show of the house’s new creative director Sabato De Sarno. Available to watch on Mubi, it’s narrated by Paul Mescal and features never-before-seen footage, weaving an intimate narrative that transcends the confines of the runway.

Visit Mubi.com

THE REAL-LIFE DRAMA: Scoop

Scoop is a dramatised account of the tenacious journalism that landed an earthshattering IRL interview – Prince Andrew's infamous BBC Newsnight appearance. From the tension of producer Sam McAlister’s high-stakes negotiations with Buckingham Palace, all the way to Emily Maitlis’s forensic showdown with the prince, Scoop takes us inside the story, with the women who would stop at nothing to get it. Gillian Anderson stars as Maitlis, with Rufus Sewell as the beleaguered royal.

Visit Netflix.com

THE MUST-WATCH SERIES: Ripley

Tom Ripley needs little introduction. A grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, he is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom's acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder. In this version – beginning on Netflix tomorrow – Andrew Scott plays Tom Ripley, Dakota Fanning is Marge Sherwood and Johnny Flynn plays Dickie Greenleaf. Maurizio Lombardi, Margherita Buy, John Malkovich, Kenneth Lonergan and Ann Cusack also star.

Visit Netflix.com

THE COFFEE-TABLE BOOK: Skateboard By Jonathan Olivares

This new Phaidon hardback chronicles the history of skateboard design from 1950 to the present day. From its starting point as a simple wooden plank to the high-tech models of today, the skateboard has undergone a dramatic evolution. Skateboard explores the golden eras of skateboarding through over 100 boards that proved to be turning points. Each one is photographed to scale, allowing the reader to gauge its individual flair and comparative size, and is accompanied by text from author, designer and former skater Jonathan Olivares. Elsewhere, iconic skaters such as Ray ‘Bones’ Rodriquez, Tony Hawk, Natas Kaupas and Mike Vallely are brought to life in archival action shots.

Visit Amazon.co.uk

THE HISTORICAL DRAMA: Franklin

At age 70, without any diplomatic training, Benjamin Franklin convinced a monarchy to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy. Diplomats and historians still regard it as the greatest single tour of duty by an ambassador in American history. Based on Pulitzer prize winner Stacy Schiff’s book A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France & The Birth Of America, Apple TV+ series Franklin tells the thrilling story of the greatest gamble of the founding father’s career. It starts in December 1776. Franklin (Michael Douglas) is world famous for his electrical experiments, but his passion and power are put to the test when – as the fate of American independence hangs in the balance – he embarks on a secret mission to France.

Visit TV.Apple.com

THE BIG NOVEL: Caledonian Road By Andrew O'Hagan

From the author of Mayflies comes this unputdownable, state-of-the-nation novel about one man’s epic fall from grace. It’s May 2021, London. Campbell Flynn – an art historian and celebrity intellectual – is entering middle age. Fuelled by an appetite for admiration, controversy and novelty, he doesn’t take people half as seriously as they take themselves. Then there’s Milo Mangasha, his provocative student. Milo inhabits a more precarious world, and has experiences and ideas that excite his teacher. Over the course of an incendiary year, a web of crimes, secrets and scandals is revealed, and Flynn may not be able to protect himself from the shattering exposure of all his privilege really involves.

Visit Amazon.co.uk

THE A-LIST SERIES: The Regime

This darkly comedic six-parter stars Kate Winslet and tells the story of life at the heart of a modern authoritarian regime as it unravels. After not leaving the palace for quite some time, Chancellor Elena Vernham (Winslet) becomes increasingly paranoid and unstable, and turns to volatile soldier Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) as an unlikely confidant. As Zubak’s influence over the chancellor grows, Elena’s attempts to expand her power eventually result in the palace and the country fracturing around her. Also stars Guillaume Gallienne, Andrea Riseborough, Martha Plimpton and Hugh Grant.

Visit NowTV.com

THE BEACH READ: The Gentleman From Peru By André Aciman

The bestselling author of Call Me By Your Name returns with a new novel about a group of college friends marooned at a luxurious hotel on Italy’s Amalfi Coast. While their boat is being repaired, they can’t help but observe the daily routine of a fellow hotel guest – a mysterious, white-bearded stranger who sits on the veranda each night and smokes one cigarette, sometimes two. When the group decides to invite the elegant traveller to lunch with them, they cannot begin to imagine the miraculous abilities, strange wisdom and life-changing story he is about to impart to one of the friends in particular…

Visit Amazon.co.uk

THE MUSIC DOC: Thank You, Good Night

This four-part all-access docuseries chronicles the epic past and uncertain future of Bon Jovi. Arriving on Disney+ on 26th April, the series joins the band in February 2022 and follows them as they attempt to chart out their future. Through 40 years of personal videos, unreleased early demos, original lyrics and never-before-seen photos that chronicle the journey from Jersey Shore clubs to the biggest stages on the planet, the series relives the triumphs and setbacks, greatest hits, biggest disappointments and most public moments of friction of one of the biggest hitmakers of the 80s and 90s.

Visit DisneyPlus.com

THE FASHION BOOK: The Casual Style Guide By Permanent Style

Simon Crompton’s Casual Style Guide is a series of street-style shots featuring some of the most stylish people in the menswear industry. But unlike most style books, it focuses on practical analysis of every image, picking up why the outfit works in terms of texture, colour or cut. The result is an attractive summary of the most important style advice Crompton has dispensed on PermanentStyle.com over the past decade. The first drop of the self-published book sold out instantly, but now’s your chance to pre-order for round two, for delivery in June.

Visit Shop.PermanentStyle.com

THE DETECTIVE STORY: Sugar

Sugar is a contemporary take on a classic detective story. Colin Farrell stars as John Sugar, an American private investigator looking into the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he unearths some Siegel family secrets – some very recent, others long buried…

Visit TV.Apple.com

THE NEW CLASSIC: James By Percival Everett

Percival Everett’s novel Erasure was recently turned into the Oscar-winning film American Fiction. His new novel, James, is an enthralling and funny reimagining of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from the perspective of the enslaved Jim. When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans, and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson’s Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town. Thus begins a dangerous and transcendent journey by raft along the Mississippi river. With rumours of war brewing, Jim must face the burden he carries: the family he is desperate to protect and the constant lie he must live. And together, the unlikely pair must face the most dangerous odyssey of them all.

Visit Amazon.co.uk

THE COMEDY DOC: STEVE!

Steve Martin is one of the most beloved figures in entertainment. STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces dives into his extraordinary story from two jumping-off points: Then chronicles Martin’s early struggles and meteoric rise to revolutionise stand-up before walking away at 35; Now focuses on the present day, with Martin in the golden years of his career, retracing the transformation that led to happiness in his art and personal life. Companion documentaries feature never-before-seen footage and raw insights into Martin’s personal and professional trials and triumphs.

Visit TV.Apple.com

THE EXHIBITION: Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter & The Blue Rider

The Tate Modern will host the first exhibition in over 50 years dedicated to Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). This network of artists including Wassily Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter came together in the early 20th century to transform modern art through radical experimentation with form, colour, sound and performance. Running from 25th April, Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter & The Blue Rider will feature pieces from the world’s largest collection of expressionist masterpieces at the Lenbachhaus in Munich, alongside rare loans from public and private collections, including works never previously seen in the UK.

Visit Tate.org.uk