FILM Lose yourself in these real-life tales

FILM SOPHIECLAIRE MCLEOD

Rosamund Pike: thinking hard as Marie Curie in Radioactive

Kristen Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan: one’s fun and cool, the other a chilly sticker – but can you guess who’s who?

Ladies fi rst

Based on the Booker Prize winning novel by Peter Carey, The True History of the Kelly Gang shatters the mythology surrounding the story of bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and murderer Ned Kelly (George MacKay, recently seen in war epic 1917), previously played, much more sympathetically, by the likes of Mike Jagger and Heath Ledger. Taught by another notorious bushranger, Harry Power (Russell Crowe), and spurred on by what he sees as the unfair arrest of his mother (Essie Davis) following the attempted murder of a policeman, Kelly fl ees to the bush and recruits a bunch of young men, including his younger brother Dan, to become his warriors in an unlikely plan to start a rebellion. Instead of a heroic Robin Hood-like tale, it’s a slow descent into crime and madness that’s gripping from the start.

Indeed, the big diff erence between this and other tellings of Kelly’s life is that The True Story of the Kelly Gang does little to romanticise Kelly’s actions, nor make him seem like some sort of martyr. But this doesn’t mean that director Justin Kurzel’s dark, gritty fi lm can’t also be surprisingly funny at points, while Ari Wegner’s cinematography is stunning; incredible surreal shots of the stark and cruel This month, a trio of top-notch real-life tales are coming to the Little Theatre, two of them celebrating the lives of wellknown women, though they couldn’t be more different… landscape of middle-of-nowhere Australia complements the atmosphere of the fi lm perfectly. Full of crime and humour, it’s sure to leave you thoroughly entertained. The feel-good fi lm of the year, Military Wives is the true story of the choir of the same name, which shot to fame in the early 2010s. Directed by Peter Cattaneo of The Full Monty, this is a classic Britcom full of charm, wit and heart. When their soldier partners are deployed on a dangerous mission to Afghanistan, two women, Lisa (Sharon Hogan) and Kate (Kristin Scott Thomas), decide to set up a choir to distract themselves, and the women around them, from their situation. As they practise, Lisa – a chilled and relaxed mum – wants the choir to experiment with pop songs, while Kate, her opposite in nearly every way, is keen to stick with hymns. As tension between the two women builds, their unlikely partnership “This is a classic Britcom full of charm, wit and heart”

nevertheless helps connections between all the women to grow. The more they practise, the better the choir becomes, until fi nally they get their big moment – a concert that launches them to superstardom. This is a brilliant heartwarming drama fi lled – as you might expect – with touching moments; if you’re after an easygoing, humorous yet heart-felt cinema experience, this is defi nitely for you.

Finally, the great Rosamund Pike plays Polish scientist Marie Curie in Radioactive, which follows events as she discovers the radioactive elements radium and polonium. Becoming the fi rst woman to win a Nobel Prize – and the fi rst person to win two – the fi lm mixes Curie’s great discoveries with the inevitable challenges of her life and times, institutional sexism not the least of them.

Pike’s version of Curie is strong, vulnerable and intriguing to watch develop – and achieve. Indeed, it’s a great reminder that you should power through the doubts of others if you want to do incredible things. We have a special preview of this epic biopic on Sunday, 8 March, followed by a satellite Q&A with star Rosamund Pike and director Marjane Satrapi – an excellent way to spend International Women’s Day!

Sophie-Claire McLeod is duty and marketing manager at The Little Theatre, 1–2 St Michael’s Place; 01225 466822; www.picturehouses.co.uk