TV for Friday, July 31
MotherFatherSonCredit:
MOTHERFATHERSON
★★★★
8.30pm, ABC
The ageless Richard Gere is marvellous as an American press baron in Britain, and the antagonist in the bitter custody battle that appears to have destroyed his now adult son, Billy Howle (from the 2017 film, On Chesil Beach). As his former wife, Helen McCrory (a memorable Cherie Blair in 2006 film, The Queen), portrays the cost of a lifetime of patriarchal control. While the dialogue can slice like a blade, a lot happens when nothing is said. This is statement drama that tonight takes a tragic turn.
Lord of the FliesCredit:
LORD OF THE FLIES
Movie ★★★
7.30pm, NITV
Peter Brook’s 1963 film adaptation of William Golding’s book, as remarkable a piece of cinema as it was, is a curious choice for the Indigenous network’s Friday-night line-up. Yes, the story is a classic portrayal of human nature, power structures and survivalist behaviour, but it’s essentially a white man’s imagining of what savagery might become of a group of English choirboys (eventually in tribal face and body paint) marooned on a desert island. Viewed from a 2020 perspective, the work invites an even more detailed examination of society.
The Living RoomCredit:
THE LIVING ROOM
★★½
7.30pm, Ten
The set may be different but the bond between the four presenters holds this magazine show together, and the more homely nature of it seems appropriate for our constricted times. The jokes are often droll, but when eyes well up, it feels genuine. For tonight’s dinner party, Barry Du Bois and Chris Brown show that if they can cook crispy miso salmon and symi prawns, anyone can. Meanwhile, Miguel Maestre makes watermelon margaritas, and the classy queen of light entertainment, Amanda Keller amuses Osher Gunsberg.