The SLMan Culture List – November
THE A-LIST ADAPTATION: Frankenstein
January saw the release of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. Now its Gothic horror companion, Frankenstein, is set to arrive. Directed by Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth) it stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein, a scientist tortured by ambition, and man-of-the-moment Jacob Elordi as his monster (getting his ‘Gothic novel adaptation’ practice before starring as Heathcliff in next year’s Wuthering Heights remake). The film also stars Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz and Charles Dance.
7th November
Visit Netflix.com
THE THRILLER: The Beast In Me
Since the tragic death of her young son, acclaimed author Aggie Wiggs (Claire Danes) has receded from public life, unable to write, a ghost of her former self. But she finds an unlikely subject for a new book when the house next door is bought by Nile Jarvis (Matthew Rhys), a famed and formidable property mogul who was once the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. At once horrified and fascinated by this man, Aggie finds herself compulsively hunting for the truth – chasing his demons while fleeing her own – in a game of cat and mouse that might turn deadly.
13th November
Visit Netflix.com
THE DRAMA: Train Dreams
Based on the novella by the great American writer Denis Johnson, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th-century America. Orphaned at a young age, Robert grows into adulthood among the forests of the Pacific Northwest, where he helps expand the nation’s railroad empire. After a tender courtship, he marries Gladys (Felicity Jones) and they build a home together, though his work often takes him far from her and their young daughter. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he has felled. Train Dreams captures a time and place that are now long gone, and the people who built a bridge to a future they could only dream of. Also stars William H. Macy and Kerry Condon.
7th November
Visit Picturehouses.com
THE FINALE: Stranger Things – Series 5
Get ready for the final showdown in Hawkins. Stranger Things’ fifth season kicks off in the autumn of 1987, with the town still reeling from the fallout of the Rifts. Vecna is missing – his whereabouts and plans unknown – but our heroes are laser-focused on finding and killing him. Meanwhile, the military has quarantined the town and turned up the heat on Eleven, forcing her into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance draws near, a familiar dread closes in. With darkness rising and old threats returning, this last battle needs every member of the gang back together for one epic, soul-stirring finale.
26th November, then 25th December & 31st December
Visit Netflix.com
THE LONG-AWAITED RETURN: Pluribus
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fans need to set aside this Friday night. That’s the date Vince Gilligan’s new show lands on Apple TV+. The sci-fi series stars Better Call Saul standout Rhea Seehorn as Carol Strurk. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Carol is a romance novelist who appears to be the only person on Earth who’s immune to a sweeping new virus that turns its ‘victims’ into perpetually content and optimistic humans. Now, the most miserable woman on Earth must save humanity from an epidemic of happiness.
7th November
Visit TV.Apple.com
THE BTS DOCUMENTARY: Marines
This coming-of-age docuseries following the members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), which is the US military’s ‘force in readiness’ in the Pacific. With unparalleled access to the US Marine Corps, the series offers an inside look into the rigorous training and emotional moments of young Marines as they forge bonds while grappling with the complexities of life at sea.
10th November
Visit Netflix.com
THE HISTORICAL DRAMA: Death By Lightning
Death by Lightning is a drama series that brings to life the epic and stranger-than-fiction true story of James Garfield, reluctant 20th president of the United States, and his greatest admirer Charles Guiteau – the man who would come to kill him. Stars TV heavyweights Matthew MacFadyen, Nick Offerman and Michael Shannon.
6th November
Visit Netflix.com
THE TRUE STORY: Nuremberg
Based on the book The Nazi And The Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai, this new WWII film stars Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Leo Woodall and Michael Shannon. The Allies, led by the unyielding chief prosecutor Robert H. Jackson (Shannon), have the task of ensuring the Nazi regime answers for the unveiled horrors of the Holocaust, while a US Army psychiatrist (Malek) is locked in a dramatic psychological duel with former Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Crowe).
14th November
Visit Picturehouses.com
THE REMAKE: The Running Man
If you loved Squid Game, this remake of an ‘80s Schwarzenegger classic will be right up your street. In the near future, The Running Man is the top-rated show on television, a deadly competition where contestants must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins. Desperate for money to save his sick daughter, Ben Richards (Man of 2025 Glen Powell) is convinced by the show's ruthless producer to enter the game as a last resort. Ratings soon skyrocket as Ben's defiance, instincts and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favourite, as well as a threat to the entire system.
12th November
Visit Picturehouses.com
THE DARK COMEDY: Die My Love
Die My Love is a psychological black comedy directed by Lynne Ramsay (We Need To Talk About Kevin) and based on a screenplay she co-wrote with Irish playwright Enda Walsh and Succession writer Alice Birch. Grace (Jennifer Lawrence), a writer and young mother, is slowly slipping into madness. Locked away in an old house in Montana, her increasingly agitated and erratic behaviour leaves her husband, Jackson (Robert Pattinson), worried and helpless. If the whole film is anything like the trailer, we’re in for a bonkers two hours…
7th November
Visit Picturehouses.com
THE MUSIC EPIC: Anthology
The Beatles’ landmark Anthology documentary series has been restored and remastered. The original eight episodes trace the band’s legendary journey that began in Liverpool and Hamburg, and soon captivated the world. They bring to life the timeless stories of Beatlemania, the band’s groundbreaking arrival in the USA, their role at the forefront of the 1960s counterculture, their spiritual exploration in India, and their eventual breakup. There is now a completely new episode, including unseen behind-the-scenes footage of Paul, George and Ringo coming together between 1994 and 1995 to work on Anthology, and reflecting on their shared life as The Beatles.
26th November
Visit DisneyPlus.com
THE CRIME CAPER: Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon
Stay with us – Thomas Pynchon novels are never easy to summarise. The latest from the 88-year-old postmodernist (whose Vineland recently inspired the outstanding Leonardo DiCaprio film One Battle After Another) starts in Milwaukee in 1932. Private eye Hicks McTaggart gets sent out on what should be a routine case, locating and bringing back the heiress of a Wisconsin cheese fortune who’s decided to go wandering. Before he knows it, he’s on a transoceanic liner, ending up in Hungary where there’s no shoreline, a language from some other planet, and enough pastry to see any cop well into retirement – and of course no sign of the runaway heiress he’s supposed to be chasing. By the time Hicks catches up with her, he will find himself entangled with Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, practitioners of the paranormal, outlaw motorcyclists, and the troubles that come with each of them – none of which Hicks is qualified to deal with. Surrounded by history he has no grasp on, the only bright side for Hicks is it’s the dawn of the Big Band Era and, as it happens, he’s a pretty good dancer. Whether this will be enough to allow him to somehow Lindy-hop his way back to Milwaukee and the normal world is another question.
Out now
Visit Amazon.co.uk
THE SHORT-STORY COLLECTION: The Eleventh Hour by Salman Rushdie
Two quarrelsome old men in Chennai, India, experience private tragedy against the backdrop of national calamity. Revisiting the Bombay neighbourhood of Salman Rushdie’s name-making Midnight's Children, a magical musician is unhappily married to a multibillionaire. In an English university college, an undead academic asks a lonely student to avenge his former tormentor. The five new works of fiction that comprise Rushdie’s latest move between the three countries that he has called home – India, England and America – and explore what it means to approach the final hour of life. They are the reckoning with mortality that we all must one day make, and speak deeply to what the author has come from and through. Do we accommodate ourselves to death, or rail against it? How can we bid farewell to the places that we have made home? How do we achieve fulfilment with our lives if we don't know the end of our own stories? The Eleventh Hour ponders life and death, legacy and identity with the insight and imagination that have made Rushdie one of the most celebrated writers of our time.
Out now
Visit Amazon.co.uk
THE BOOKER CONTENDER: The Land In Winter by Andrew Miller
December 1962, the West Country. Local doctor Eric Parry, mulling secrets, sets out on his rounds, while his pregnant wife sleeps on in the warmth of their cottage. Across the field, funny, troubled Rita Simmons is also asleep, her head full of images of a past life her husband prefers to ignore. He's been up for hours, tending to the needs of the small dairy farm where he hoped to create a new version of himself, a project that's already faltering. When the ordinary cold of an English December gives way to violent blizzards, the two couples find their lives beginning to unravel. Where do you hide when you can't leave home? And where, in a frozen world, can you run to?
Out now
Visit Amazon.co.uk
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