The Truman Show (1998)

Jim Carrey stars as Truman Burbank, a man who doesn’t realise that his whole life has been filmed for a reality TV show broadcast to millions. This show is masterminded by Christof (Ed Harris), portrayed as an almost godlike figure.

It's a fascinating idea, but the execution seems fatally flawed. In places the storytelling isn't strong enough – mainly because you can’t easily tell what’s meant to be TV footage and what is us seeing what’s really going on. 

The plot only works at all if you don't ask any questions of it. For example, why does Carrey’s character perform as though he’s in a TV show when he doesn’t know he is? And how does the acting role actually work for his wife (Laura Linney), who is on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days per year?

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

An intelligent, compassionate drama directed by Tom Ford. 

Amy Adams, as usual, is absolutely perfect in the role of Susan Morrow, an L.A. art gallery owner leading a wealthy but shallow life. Out of the blue she is sent the manuscript of a novel written by her ex-husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal). Reading this narrative sets her off on a series of reflections on her own life. 

We also get to see the drama of the novel itself, in which the “fictionalised” Gyllenhaal and his fictionalised wife (Isla Fisher) and daughter are terrorised by a gang who force them off the road at night in West Texas. It’s harrowing stuff. 

A third thread explores how Susan and Edward came together and fell apart. 

The multiple connected stories are handled beautifully, with no confusion about what’s happening where or when. The transitions between the various plot lines are expertly realised, with the director finding images and motifs that mirror and echo each other. There’s emotional depth in the performances as well as some episodes as terrifying as any thriller. 

One point deducted for slightly intrusive music, and also for the horrible opening sequence of naked obese people dancing.

The Life of David Gale (2003)

Thriller/drama directed by Alan Parker. 

David Gale (Kevin Spacey) plays a university professor and anti-capital punishment campaigner who finds himself on death row. A journalist improbably called Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet) is sent to meet him and conduct his final interviews. Through their conversations, she begins to unravel what really happened in the crime he is accused of. We see those events unfold in flashback. 

It’s a tense and exciting story that’s slightly spoiled by the last five minutes, which offers one unlikely twist too many. As soon as you start asking questions about the plot logic, it collapses. 

Spacey and Winslet are both excellent, as is Laura Linney as Gale’s friend and colleague. 

The film makes some good points about the evils of capital punishment, although you can’t help thinking that those points would be stronger still without the final twist. A simpler, more believable plot would have worked so much better.

You Can Count on Me (2000)

Absolutely brilliant drama written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan.  

Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo star as Sammy and Terry, a sister and brother who lost their parents in a car crash when they were young. Sammy has stayed in her home town and her family house, living as a single mother with her son Rudy (Rory Culkin). Terry is a troubled drifter who has spent some time in prison. When he comes to stay with Sammy, you see Terry form a bond with his nephew and Sammy’s increasing confusion as she tries to resolve her complicated love life – including a fling with her boss (Matthew Broderick) as well as wrestling with being a mother and a sister to a complicated brother and son. 

It’s tender and extremely moving. There’s gentle humour, and the script is perfectly judged. Linney and Ruffalo deliver astounding performances that feel incredibly real. Ruffalo in particular has such an expressive face that you can’t take your eyes off him.

Absolute Power (1997)

Above-average political thriller. 

While robbing a billionaire’s mansion, a skilled burglar named Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) witnesses a crime involving the US President (Gene Hackman) and his secret service operatives. Because of the President’s careless actions in an affair with the billionaire’s wife, his mistress ends up getting shot. Detective Seth Frank (Ed Harris) begins to investigate the death, for which Whitney now finds himself the main suspect. 

All three male leads are charismatic and appealing. The secret service team are less impressive, although there’s a funny and clever scene in which the President dances with his Chief of Staff (Judy Davis). It’s moments like this – and a scene in which Ed Harris shows his attraction to the burglar’s estranged daughter Kate (Laura Linney) – that exhibit the warmth and intelligence that make the film so enjoyable. There’s also fun to be had in Whitney’s skill as a master of disguises, and there’s a fairly touching thread in which – despite everything – Luther and Kate begin to re-connect.

Sully: Miracle on the Hudson (2016)

Reasonably engrossing saga of the true-life events of 15th January 2009, when Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed a damaged Airbus A320 in New York’s Hudson river after both engines failed. The film intercuts the story of that day with flashback scenes and details of the aftermath in which Sully is subjected to a public hearing. The National Transportation Safety Board questions his decision not to return to LaGuardia airport, despite the fact that he's being widely celebrated as a hero who saved all 155 lives on board. He has to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder, the sudden adoration of the public and the threat of seeing his career and reputation in ruins.

Tom Hanks takes the lead role and is his usual blandly competent-but-unremarkable self. Laura Linney is rather weak as his wife, stuck at home worrying and not given much of a role. Ironically, Sully’s actual wife is tougher, more glamorous and more charismatic – as can be seen in the DVD-extra documentary.