Best Films On BBC iPlayer (5th December 2021)
It’s that time of the week again, for a selection of the best free films available now on BBC iPlayer. A diverse range of genres, a mixture of old and new with new titles added every week. With Sky, Virgin Media an expensive option for some Freeview offers the great free alternative, check out our choices below. Stay tuned for a Christmas Special!
THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES CRIME, THRILLER, DRAMA
A riveting film starring Ryan Gosling in one of those roles where his script could fit onto a cigarette packet. Touring motorcycle stuntman Luke finds out he has a son in Schenectady, New York. He stays around to get to know the boy and his mother Romina but his desire to provide for them creates tensions with Romina’s new partner Kofi. Turning to bank robbery to fund his family, Luke falls foul of honest, straightforward cop Avery, setting off a chain of events that will have repercussions for years to come.
THE CONSERVATION CRIME, THRILLER
Francis Ford Coppola’s acclaimed claustrophobic psychological thriller that sometimes doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Harry Caul is a surveillance expert – a wire tapper and industrial spy for hire. He is also a man who obsessively guards his own privacy, but when his latest job appears to involve a murder plot, his work and private life become terrifyingly entangled.
A FISH CALLED WANDA CRIME, COMEDY
Offbeat black comedy which has gained more plaudit over time than when it was originally released. An con artist uses her female charms to steal a stash of jewels from her gangster boyfriend, taking advantage of his henchman and a lawyer – with whom she later falls in love – to realise her cunning plan. The group’s various criminal escapades are often complicated by the presence of a hapless mobster, whose mission to kill an elderly witness proves increasingly hard.
MY FERAL HEART DRAMA
A British indie drama tat touched the hearts of those who were fortunate to see it. Luke, a young man with Down’s syndrome who prizes his independence, is forced into a care home after the death of his mother. There he rails against the restrictions imposed on him, but his frustrations are allayed by his budding friendships with his care worker Eve and a mysterious feral girl.
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THE BABADOOK HORROR, THRILLER
An unsettling Australian indie horror with it’s roots in grief, anxiety and depression. Single mother Amelia struggles to raise her demanding six-year-old son Samuel alongside working shifts in an old people’s home. The kid’s behavioural problems stem from a fear of lurking monsters, against which he prepares weapons, which does not go down well at his school. Bedtimes are difficult, and Samuel usually ends up sleeping in Amelia’s bed, with disturbed nights the result.
With his seventh birthday looming – also the anniversary of his father’s death – the discovery of a strange pop-up book titled Mister Babadook on his bookshelf unleashes a sinister presence in the house.
THE MAGNIFIENT AMBERSONS DRAMA, ROMANCE
Orson Welles’s period drama telling the story of a wilful son of the proud Amberson family who destroys his mother’s hopes of marrying her first love – a recent widower. Refusing to move with the times, he not only causes his mother to suffer but also brings about his own financial ruin.
Based on the novel by Booth Tarkington.
The above descriptions are all taken (or partly) from the description at BBC iPlayer | Some of the above films may only be available for a short time.
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