2 Best Movies to Watch by Carolin Stoltz

Staff & contributors

Happy Valley and Line of Duty to Luther and Sherwood, the BBC has produced some of the finest police dramas in recent TV history, and Better is a worthy addition to the roster. It’s not as refined as the mentioned shows, but it’s grounded by a riveting, morally conflicted performance by Fazard. The breakdown of her conscience, the constant negotiation between obligation and survival, the road toward redemption—Fazard embodies it all with rugged grace. It’s not often we get the point of view of a corrupt cop, and when we do, we rarely see them with this much screen time and backstory. Better is an okay crime thriller, but it’s even better as a character study of the well-meaning, desperate, and brilliant Lou. 

Genre: Crime, Drama

Actor: Andrew Buchan, Carolin Stoltz, Garry Cooper, Gavin Spokes, Leila Farzad, Lucy Black, Olivia Nakintu, Samuel Edward-Cook, Zak Ford-Williams

Directed by the award-winning Swedish filmmaker Bjorn Runge and adapted by Jane Anderson from Meg Wolitzer's 2003 novel, The Wife has enjoyed great acclaim since premiering at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. The film follows the growing tension between acclaimed author Joseph Castleman and his wife Joan, who works as his secret ghostwriter, as Joseph is set to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. The direction is clean and careful with Glenn Close giving possibly one of the finest performances of her career as the supportive then increasingly resentful Joan. Emotional and funny at times, The Wife is a profound character exploration, celebrating womanhood and liberation.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Alix Wilton Regan, Anna Azcárate, Annie Starke, Björn Runge, Björn Runge, Carolin Stoltz, Christian Slater, Elizabeth McGovern, Glenn Close, Grainne Keenan, Harry Lloyd, Jan Mybrand, Jane Garioni, Johan Widerberg, John Moraitis, Jonathan Pryce, Karin Franz Körlof, Mattias Nordkvist, Max Irons, Michael Benz, Morgane Polanski, Nick Fletcher, Ossian Skarsgård, Peter Forbes, Richard Cordery, Suzanne Bertish

Director: Björn Runge

Rating: R