The Last Movie Stars (Foxtel/Binge) is a brilliant new docuseries about the lives and careers of two icons, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, the Hollywood couple who defied the odds and stayed married for 50 years.
Made with love by an enthusiastic Ethan Hawke, and with Martin Scorsese on board as executive producer, this CNN and HBO co-production The Last Movie Stars has a unique way of covering the material. Shot during Covid lockdown, a cast of actors from today re-create audio interviews of the past, and the results are compelling.
George Clooney voices Paul Newman and Laura Linney is Joanne Woodward. Amongst an incredible supporting cast, Vincent D’Onofrio impersonates both Karl Malden and John Huston, while Rose Byrne plays Estelle Parsons.
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward made many movies together, and The Last Movie Stars finds a way to use footage that mirrors events from their real lives. Their body of work together is staggering and it becomes obvious they frequently dug into their own emotional issues to make great art.
This is probably going to be the best movie documentary of the year, but I need more. It might be time for Foxtel to start raiding new movie vaults and find some companion titles. Fox Classics already has all the iconic Paul Newman movies, but surely it’s time for some Joanne Woodward ones too.
Two new Australian movies have been picked up by Stan, and both of them are fantastic efforts considering their shoestring budgets. Beat (Stan), from Newcastle filmmaker Jye Currie, is about homelessness and mental health. It is done to a soundtrack of original classical music, and stars Alexandra Jensen, Rachel Carpani and Ben Hall.
Darklands stars Nadine Garner as a cop involved in a high school massacre. Samantha Cain plays the pushy journalist trying to get the inside scoop, which backfires for her on her in spectacularly dark fashion (hence the title).
Darklands was made by a breakaway creative team from Neighbours, including scriptwriter Sarah Mayberry, director Scott Major and executive producer Shane Isheev. Cast and crew agreed to defer their fees and the film was made after some savings and $27,000 raised in finance. True teamwork.
The Control Room (Sunday on BBC First) is a new BBC drama set in Glasgow. An ambo (Iaian De Caestecker) working at an emergency call centre gets a call about a murder that drags him back into childhood trauma. At just three episodes, it’s an easy watch but tense.
A ton of new stuff to talk more about next week, including Monarch (Tuesday on Paramount+), American Gigolo and Last Light (Stan) and Heartbreak High (Wednesday on Netflix). I’m already exhausted.
Read other Mercado on TV columns here.
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