Ticket price £7.00
X + Y (12) – 6.30pm
2014 ( UK ) ( Drama )
STARRING:Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall, Sally Hawkins
DIRECTOR: Morgan Matthews
A Member’s Choice Film. X + Y is a small gem of a British movie and stars Asa Butterfield as a young maths prodigy who, as the film opens, is diagnosed with light autism following the death of his father in a traffic accident. Remote and unable to show any affection to his doting mother (Sally Hawkins), the self-absorbed but gifted lad only starts to emerge from his shell when he’s chosen by a teacher (Rafe Spall) to compete in an international maths contest being held in China.
It may all sound awfully like Rain Man for kids, but the story resolutely refuses to descend into the easy sentimentality so favoured by Hollywood. With A+ acting, a solid script and sensitive handling, there’s enough here to move even the hardest of souls. Gold stars all round.
(1hr 51min)
followed by…
The Lady in the Van (12A) – 8.45pm
2015 ( UK ) ( Biography, Comedy, Drama )
STARRING:Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent
DIRECTOR: Nicholas Hytner
Lady in the Van tells the true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years. Miss Shepherd emerges from this wonderfully warm-hearted romp as a perversely lovable and profoundly poignant figure, albeit utterly cantankerous.
Led by a marvellous performance from Maggie Smith, Lady in the Van is poignant, charming and often hilarious but we never lose sight of the underlying sadness (mixed with something more sinister) that haunts Miss Shepherd’s past.
(1hr 44min)