What to Watch This Week: Bad Apples and Sense and Sensibility

If you are deciding what to watch this week, be warned: three of the four titles below turn on child abduction, exploitation or a television sting operation, and each asks how much harm can be justified in the name of virtue. As Alexander Solzhenitsyn put it, “the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” If that sounds heavy, a charming new adaptation of a classic romance should help — a dash of the Dashwoods lightens the mood.

Bad Apples

“Bad Apples” is in cinemas in America and Britain. Jonatan Etzler’s inky-black comedy-thriller stars Saoirse Ronan as Maria, a primary-school teacher who is no match for a disruptive ten-year-old pupil, Danny. She resorts to chaining him up in her soundproof basement. Though she is appalled by her own crime, the film asks whether it was the best option available to her: Maria becomes a better teacher without Danny in her class, and his peers are happier without his bullying. The next question is even more provocative — now that he is getting one-on-one attention from Maria, could it be that Danny’s life has improved, too?

The Good Spirit: Behind the Doors of the Opus Dei

“The Good Spirit: Behind the Doors of the Opus Dei” is on HBO Max. “How I Left the Opus Dei” (2025), a four-part docuseries, caused a stir when 13 women from several countries described the coercive control they experienced during their time with the secretive Catholic organisation, such as unpaid work, emotional manipulation and being isolated from their families. Opus Dei responded by apologising for any hurt caused to these women, but denied that their accounts reflected the reality of the prelature. Mònica Terribas, the documentary’s director, has now interviewed 14 male former members, many of whom held leadership positions, to reveal the money and networks of influence behind dozens of Opus Dei centres, including hospitals, schools and universities. The result is a gripping investigation into the machinery behind one of Catholicism’s most powerful and controversial organisations.

Primetime

“Primetime” is in cinemas in America now and in Britain from October 30th. Robert Pattinson specialises in playing weak, self-serving and generally loathsome characters (see his recent turns in “The Odyssey” and “The Drama”). The latest and best of these roles is in “Primetime”, a dark satire about “To Catch a Predator”, a television series. Between 2004 and 2007, the programme lured suspected child sex offenders in front of the camera, where they were greeted by the series’ dapper host, Chris Hansen. The film argues that this was the birth of a toxic new era of sensationalist reality television — and Mr Pattinson portrays Mr Hansen as a sneering sociopath, more interested in chasing ratings than criminals.

Sense and Sensibility

“Sense and Sensibility” is in cinemas in Britain now and in America from October 16th. Jane Austen fans fondly remember the adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility” of 1995, with its unbeatable cast including Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. But the new one, directed by Georgia Oakley, holds its own. This time the lovelorn Dashwood sisters, rational Elinor and passionate Marianne, are played commendably by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles. The scenery is ruggedly gorgeous, the tone is more earnest than satirical and, for all the romantic machinations, there is more focus on the intense relationship between the siblings themselves.

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