´óÏó´«Ã½

Page Eight

Bill Nighy, Michael Gambon and Rachel Weisz star in Page Eight, David Hare's first film as writer and director for over 20 years and also the first British film to address the special challenges of intelligence practice in the new century.

Johnny Worricker (Nighy) is a long-serving M15 officer. But the death of his boss (Gambon) and a seemingly chance encounter with his next-door neighbour (Weisz), a political activist who seems too good to be true, force him to walk first out of his job and then out of his identity in search of the truth.

NC3

A Carnival Films, Heyday Films and Runaway Fridge co-production

The Night Watch

A tragic and tender adaptation of Sarah Waters's best-selling novel, adapted by award-winning British writer Paula Milne, The Night Watch is set against the turbulent backdrop of Forties London and tells the stories of four young Londoners inextricably linked by their wartime experiences. In a time when the barriers of sexual morality and social convention have been broken down, Kay, Helen, Viv and Duncan enjoy a freedom never experienced before as they engage in secret liaisons and passionate trysts.

The drama opens in 1947 as the country is trying to rebuild itself after the war; Kay is mysteriously roaming the streets, haunted by some traumatic personal loss. Meanwhile, Helen and Viv run a marriage bureau, helping people rebuild their shattered lives by finding love. But their own complicated love lives are less easy to solve. Helen obsessively clings to her tumultuous and volatile relationship with Julia while Viv is continuing an affair with a married man from whom she seems unable to break free. Viv's vulnerable young brother Duncan harbours a terrible secret; when a face from his past reappears it threatens his fragile existence.

Moving back in time through the Forties into the maelstrom of the Blitz, the lives, loves and losses of these four central characters are unravelled. For them, the post-war victory is bitter-sweet, for it returns them to the margins of society from which they hoped they had been liberated. In order to build their future they must each make peace with their past.

Anna Maxwell Martin is Kay, Claire Foy is Helen, Jodie Whittaker is Viv and Harry Treadaway is Duncan.

RN

´óÏó´«Ã½ Productions

Life's Too Short

Life's Too Short, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, is a fake documentary following the day-to-day existence of actor Warwick Davis (Return Of The Jedi, Harry Potter, Willow). Warwick plays a fictional version of himself. He is desperate, conniving, fame-hungry and self-centred, but always gets his comeuppance.

He runs a talent agency, Dwarves For Hire, for small people but is always taking the best jobs for himself. Warwick is taking part in a documentary to help raise money to pay off his huge, looming tax bill. Being a "showbiz dwarf" creates many an unusual situation for Warwick and he is constantly trying to use this to his advantage – it's just a shame that nobody recognises him without his costumes...

Life's Too Short is an observational comedy, dealing with everyday problems, human foibles and social faux pas... but with a dwarf.

PA/JD

A ´óÏó´«Ã½/HBO co-production

Rev

´óÏó´«Ã½ Two's award-winning comedy, Rev, returns for a second series. Reverend Adam Smallbone is still trying to negotiate the moral maze of life within his East London parish. No longer a novice at St Saviour's since his move from rural Suffolk, surviving one winter has by no means made him an experienced urbanite and now it's time to tackle summer in the city – before he can mark the end of the year by celebrating his first Christmas in London.

Adam continues to endure the "support" of hopeless volunteers as he navigates the perils of inner-city parish life. Heavy drinking lost soul Colin remains reliably erratic; cassock-chasing Adoha's passion for her priest is reaching fever pitch; and pedantic lay reader Nigel goes out of his way to be no help at all. Of course, they all want something – all the time. Even Mick the local crackhead needs more than cash now.

As Adam struggles to meet everyone else's demands, his wife Alex's patience is running perilously thin. She needs something too – and what she wants is life-changing...

Tom Hollander stars as Reverend Adam Smallbone, with Steve Evets as Colin, Ellen Thomas as Adoha, Miles Jupp as Nigel, Jimmy Akingbola as Mick and Olivia Colman as Alex.

SM4

Big Talk Productions

Rab C Nesbitt

Rab's back for a landmark 10th series, but age has not mellowed Nesbitt – something Chingford Steel (Richard E Grant) discovers when, as Minister for Work, he knocks on Nesbitt's door. It starts with a whack to the head with a frying pan from Mary Doll (Elaine C Smith) and ends up with a full-scale siege.

Elsewhere, Mary and her pal Ella (Barbara Rafferty) form a "girl" group to enter Govan's Got Talent, featuring a hilarious cameo from Scottish superstar Susan Boyle. Meanwhile, Jamesie (Tony Roper) gains a baby son and almost loses that part of his body most dear to him; and Rab turns the air blue on his local radio station and falls out with everyone from the City council to his local church. But Rab's still got a kind word for the camera. In these times of economic hardship, nobody talks more sense than Rab C Nesbitt, the nutter's nutter.

The new series will be launched with a special Rab C Nesbitt night on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two, celebrating the legendary Scot. It will include the one-hour documentary, A Portrait Of Rab C Nesbitt.

A Portrait Of Rab C Nesbitt

Lover, philosopher, fighter, nutter. Not so much a national treasure, more something you'd find conked out in the national skip. This portrait charts the changing face of Nesbitt, now into his fourth decade on TV screens. The world changes, but the head-bandage stays the same.

Experienced journalist John Sergeant travels to Govan to track down the one man who has managed to successfully skive for 20 years between two recessions. Sergeant relishes the opportunity to encounter the ultimate scrounger in his native scumhole by interviewing Rab and his associates. They reflect on triumphs and disasters alongside clips of momentous moments, classic capers and forgotten gems. Sergeant-Nesbitt is possibly the greatest onscreen combination since Frost-Nixon. Will Nesbitt get the better of Sergeant? Or will John dance rings round Rab?

This profile whets the appetite for series 10 and acquaints new viewers with a legendary comic character.

RD2

The Comedy Unit, part of Zodiak Media Group, production

´óÏó´«Ã½ Films

This Autumn ´óÏó´«Ã½ Films brings an award-winning première to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two audiences, as ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two continues its role as the principal home to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Films.

Revolutionary Road from Sam Mendes, acclaimed director of American Beauty, reunites Kate Winslet in a Golden Globe-winning performance with her co-star from Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio. Based on the celebrated novel by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road is the heartrending story of a young couple who find themselves torn between their own desires and the pressure to conform, with explosive consequences.

There will also be a host of television premières this Christmas from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Films on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two.

LG

DreamWorks Pictures presents in association with ´óÏó´«Ã½ Films an Evermere Entertainment, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Films and Neal Street production, Revolutionary Road

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