Verve’s film picks for the holidays.
THE LOST KING
26 December
In 2012, having been lost for over 500 years, the remains of King Richard III were discovered beneath a car park in Leicester, UK, thanks to amateur historian Philippa Langley whose unrelenting research was met with incomprehension by her friends and family, and scepticism by experts and academics. The Lost King tells the life-affirming true story of a woman who refused to be ignored, taking on the country’s most eminent historians and forcing them to think again about one of England’s most controversial kings.
Directed by Stephen Frears, starring Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan.
MY OLD SCHOOL
19 January
The astonishing true story of Scotland’s most notorious imposter. In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow. What followed over the next two years would become the stuff of legend: soon he’s top of the class, acing exams, and even taking the lead in the school musical. The model pupil, until he’s unmasked. With themes of identity and deception, My Old School stars the internationally renowned actor Alan Cumming as both the face and the voice of Brandon.
Directed by Jono Mcleod.
I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY
26 December
I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a powerful, triumphant celebration of the incomparable Whitney Houston – a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice. From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most awarded recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on an inspirational, poignant, and emotional journey through Houston’s trailblazing life and career, with show-stopping performances and a soundtrack of the icon’s most beloved hits as you’ve never heard them before. Don’t you wanna dance?
Directed by Kasi Lemmons, starring Naomi Ackie, Stanley Tucci, and Ashton Sanders.
A MAN CALLED OTTO
1 January
Based on the comical and moving New York Times bestseller, A Man Called Otto tells the story of Otto Anderson, a grumpy widower who’s very set in his ways. When a lively young family moves in next door, he meets his match in quick-witted and very pregnant Marisol, leading to an unlikely friendship that will turn his world upside-down. Experience a funny, heart-warming story about how some families come from the most unexpected places.
Directed by Marc Forster, starring Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, and Rachel Keller.
