Twiggy (12A)
Directed by Sadie Frost 
★★★★ 

 
 
LESLEY HORNBY, a working-class girl from Neasden, was just 16 when she was discovered in 1966, taking the modelling world by storm with her unique androgynous look, and becoming the face of London and the swinging ’60s. 

Better known as Twiggy, she was initially told she was too short and too thin to ever be a model, plus she had no bust. She also spoke with a Cockney accent which was unheard of for a model at that time. 

This fascinating documentary, directed by Sadie Frost, chronicles the meteoric rise of Britain’s first supermodel and reveals the woman behind the icon as Twiggy tells her story first hand for the first time. It is riveting viewing. 

Featuring archive film footage and interviews with her husband and daughter, as well as the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Paul McCartney, Joanna Lumley and Lulu to name a few, they outline her impact and influence on British fashion and culture over the years: how she was a trailblazer and an inspiration for teenage working-class girls as up until then only upper-class women became models. And how, despite her extraordinary international fame — winning over the US — she stayed true to herself. 

The body shaming she faced from interviewers was astounding. Woody Allen’s attempts to make her look stupid with his patronising questions completely backfired when she turned the tables on him. 

This follow-up to Frost’s debut documentary Quant is insightful and full of twists as it shows how Twiggy turned successfully from modelling to acting and singing, winning two Golden Globes. Also how she fuelled M&S sales and in her early seventies became an ambassador for Charlotte Tilbury beauty brand. 

As Brooke Shields states, “she embraces every era of her life.”  

In cinemas March 7. 

Mickey 17 (15)
Directed by Bong Joon Ho
★★

 
 
FIVE years after his masterpiece and four-times Oscar-winning film Parasite, writer-director Bong Joon Ho returns with this surreal sci-fi featuring a stellar cast but which fails to capture the imagination or ignite the screen. 

It is based on Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey 7 and it follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) as he signs up as an “Expendable” on board a spaceship leaving Earth to colonise the planet Nilfheim. Mickey’s job is to carry out lethal tasks because every time he dies in a violent fashion (think Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow) he is reprinted. 

He is left for dead on Nilfheim after being swarmed by the native lifeforms dubbed “creepers” (Dune’s sandworms’ smaller, cuter cousins) and when he manages to return to the spacecraft he finds Mickey 18 in his quarters. The problem is multiple imprints cannot coexist so one must die. 

Pattinson is outstanding as both Mickeys who are polar opposites. Mark Ruffalo excels as the OTT evil despot and leader of the colony, while Toni Collette is wonderfully manipulative as his bonkers wife. 

But the film lacks any tension or drama and is exceedingly gory. I just expected greater things from Bong Joon Ho. 

In cinemas March 7. 

Day of the Fight (15)
Directed by Jack Huston
★★★ 

 
 
AN unrecognisable Michael C Pitt stars as a former champion boxer on a path to make amends on the day of his first fight since leaving prison in this solid boxing drama from first time writer-director Jack Huston. 

Beautifully shot in black and white and unfolding over the course of one day, it follows Mikey as he reconnects with his uncle (Steve Buscemi), his trainer (Ron Perlman), his friend Father Patrick (John Magaro), his ex and mother of his daughter (Nicolette Robinson) and his estranged catatonic father (Joe Pesci). He attempts to put things right with all of them before the bout knowing that one punch to the head can kill him. 

Surprisingly moving, this is an underdog story about redemption, second chances and forgiveness, driven by cracking performances from its impressive cast. 

But it fails to punch above its own weight. 

In cinemas March 7. 

Marching Powder (18)
Directed by Nick Love
★★ 

 
 
AFTER his impressive and against-type performance in Rivals, Danny Dyer returns to his alpha male tough geezer stereotype as he reunites with writer-director Nick Love. 

This is the romantic comedy version of The Football Factory (co-written and directed by Love and also starring Dyer) and is set in the same world as it follows Jack (Dyer), a football hooligan who is hooked on drink and drugs. His addictions are putting his marriage to Dani (a phenomenal and scene-stealing Stephanie Leonidas) on the line.

It is very slick and stylish and thinks it is cleverer than it is. 

It is full of hilarious killer one-liners which take aim at Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Harry, to name a few. But every other word Jack spouts is the C-word which becomes tiresome after a while. 

The biggest revelation is Leonidas, while sadly, Dyer delivers no surprises. 

In cinemas March 7.