This film is part of Rentals

On Chesil Beach
Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle play a young, married couple struggling to physically connect in this sensitive adaptation of Ian McEwan’s acclaimed novel.
Drama 2017 110 mins
Director: Dominic Cooke
Overview
In the early 1960s, a young couple on their honeymoon struggle to physically connect in this sensitive adaptation of Ian McEwan’s acclaimed short novel. As Florence and Edward settle down for their first dinner as a married couple, a nervous energy fills the air. But while it might appear the fledgling husband and wife are suffering from wedding night jitters, as the evening unfolds it becomes apparent something else is creating a divide. Awkwardly grasping for the connection they know they share, the pair recall moments from their lives, both together and apart, as the inevitability of physical intimacy looms ever-closer.
Impeccably adapted for the screen by McEwan himself, Dominic Cooke’s quietly heart-breaking debut is a work of subtle restraint, capturing the intricacies of the source material with grace and delicacy. As ever, Saoirse Ronan shines as the hesitant young bride, ably supported by rising star Billy Howle, both of whom express so much, even when their characters struggle to find the words. And indeed, for a film in which many emotions remain unspoken, and countless feelings are left unsaid, this melancholic love story speaks profoundly about the fragility of human relationships and the destructive nature of silence.

Accessibility
Related
Drama

The Good Boss The Good Boss
Comedy 2021 120 mins
Javier Bardem is a beleaguered Spanish factory boss in ruthless pursuit of winning an award for excellence in this waspish corporate comedy.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Comedy 2022 97 mins Director: Sophie Hyde
Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson), a retired school teacher and widow, is yearning for adventure and really good sex, in comedian Katy Brand’s witty drama.

She Will She Will
Thriller 2021 96 mins Director: Charlotte Boulay-Goldsmith
In Charlotte Colbert’s strikingly gothic film, an ageing actor recovering from a mastectomy taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.

True Things True Things
Drama 2021 102 mins Director: Harry Wootliff
Ruth Wilson is at her best in this compelling drama about a lonely woman whose life is changed by Tom Burke, the dangerous stranger who offers something different.

Happening Happening
Drama 2021 100 mins Director: Audrey Diwan
Audrey Diwan’s outstanding Venice Golden Lion winner could not be more timely or urgent.

Executive Order Executive Order
Science Fiction 2020 102 mins Director: Lázaro Ramos
In Lázaro Ramos’s disturbing dystopian thriller starring Alfred Enoch, the Brazilian government orders the deportation of the country’s entire Black population.
Festival Favourites

Lean on Pete Lean on Pete
Drama 2017 122 mins Director: Andrew Haigh
The ravishing fourth feature from Andrew Haigh (45 Years, Weekend) sees a boy and a horse embark on a Huckleberry Finn-esque journey across America in search of home.

Loveless Loveless
Drama 2017 127 mins Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Andrey Zvyagintsev (Elena, Leviathan) delivers a masterpiece in this caustic look at contemporary Russian society, a failed marriage and the disappearance of a child. A major prize winner at both Cannes and BFI London Film Festival.

You Were Never Really Here You Were Never Really Here
Thriller 2017 90 mins Director: Lynne Ramsay
Lynne Ramsay journeys with Joaquin Phoenix into the mind of an ex-soldier gun-for-hire whose own demons are as brutal as the actions of his adversaries.

Beast Beast
Drama 2017 106 mins Director: Michael Pearce
The hunt for a Jersey serial killer sparks a dangerous awakening in a young woman in this astonishing psycho-sexual thriller, which sets all the senses aflame.

Ghost Stories Ghost Stories
Horror 2017 98 mins Director: Jeremy Dyson
Being scared has never been this much fun, as Martin Freeman, Andy Nyman and Paul Whitehouse bring the chilling London stage play to the screen.

Funny Cow Funny Cow
Comedy 2017 102 mins Director: Adrian Shergold
Maxine Peake plays a woman who rises above abusive relationships and crass sexist audiences of the 1970s to become a female stand-up comedian.
Featuring Saoirse Ronan

Ammonite Ammonite
Biopic 2020 118 mins Director: Francis Lee
Francis Lee follows up God’s Own Country with a film that is every bit as immersive, tactile and emotionally powerful, aided by the devastatingly good Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan.

Loving Vincent Loving Vincent
Drama 2017 95 mins Director: Hugh Welchman
The first ever fully painted feature film takes us through the last days of Vincent van Gogh.

Death Defying Acts Death Defying Acts
Drama 2007 93 mins Director: Gillian Armstrong
The great illusionist Harry Houdini (Guy Pearce) meets his match when the charming and manipulative Mary McGarvie (Catherine Zeta-Jones) magically appears in his life.

Brooklyn Brooklyn
Romance 2015 112 mins Director: John Crowley
Saoirse Ronan shines as a woman who journeys from post-war small-town Ireland to New York, in Nick Hornby’s adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s best-selling novel.
Featuring Ann Marie Duff

Suffragette Suffragette
Historical drama 2015 106 mins Director: Sarah Gavron
The time is now for factory worker Maud (Carey Mulligan) as she joins the campaign movement for women’s votes, in Sarah Gavron’s stirring social history.
Directed by Dominic Cooke

The Courier The Courier
Thriller 2020 112 mins Director: Dominic Cooke
Benedict Cumberbatch is gripping in this true-life spy thriller charting the story of unassuming British businessman Greville Wynne as he is recruited into the Cold War effort.
New

The Good Boss The Good Boss
Comedy 2021 120 mins
Javier Bardem is a beleaguered Spanish factory boss in ruthless pursuit of winning an award for excellence in this waspish corporate comedy.

Maisie Maisie
Documentary 2021 76 mins Director: Lee Cooper
An intimate portrait of ageing and friendship, we follow David Raven as he dons his sequins and eyelashes to prepare for a special birthday performance as ‘Maisie Trollette’, Britain’s Oldest Performing Drag Artiste.

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Fantasy 2017 133 mins Director: Terry Gilliam
Two decades in the making, Terry Gilliam’s wildly imaginative Cervantes adaptation is finally with us, and it’s everything we have come to expect from this visionary filmmaker.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Comedy 2022 97 mins Director: Sophie Hyde
Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson), a retired school teacher and widow, is yearning for adventure and really good sex, in comedian Katy Brand’s witty drama.

She Will She Will
Thriller 2021 96 mins Director: Charlotte Boulay-Goldsmith
In Charlotte Colbert’s strikingly gothic film, an ageing actor recovering from a mastectomy taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.

True Things True Things
Drama 2021 102 mins Director: Harry Wootliff
Ruth Wilson is at her best in this compelling drama about a lonely woman whose life is changed by Tom Burke, the dangerous stranger who offers something different.