I think Lesley Manville is wonderful. I’ve been lucky enough to be spellbound by a performance on stage in Oedipus. I believe she deserves a damehood. The king’s birthday honours are coming up, so you never know.
It appears there are several movies on this list that I haven’t seen. I now have a little project.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/mar/05/lesley-manville-best-films-ranked
She was brilliant in The Firm along with her husband at the time Gary Oldman. It’s currently on the BBC iplayer and worth watching if you haven’t seen it already.
Among the 10 listed, the only one I’ve seen is Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. It’s a lovely film, and she’s great in it. Recently, she’s also been as good as ever in The Critic and Mr Burton.
I’ve never got on with Mike Leigh films – I always end up feeling like I’ve just been lectured a bit (see also: Ken Loach films) – but I’ll look into some of the others on the list.
I agree with you @Captain-Darling, Mrs Harris is a wonderful feelgood movie and Lesley is superb. In 2026 we need some feelgood films like that
PRESIDENT TRUMP BOMBS THE HELL OUT OF TEHRAM….
I really hope that bombs at the box office.
Try Topsy Turvey. Nothing like formula Mike Leigh and marvellous,
I completely agree on Leigh and Loach – perhaps necessary and ‘important’, but not for me.
Here’s an excellent interview with Lesley…
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/apr/22/lesley-manville-hollywood-gary-oldman-citadel-amazon-prime
She was great on Desert Island Discs.
She likes her torch songs. The most moving song I’ve heard at a funeral is Eva Cassidy’s Over The Rainbow. It was played as the coffin disappeared into the furness. There were a lot of gutteral sobs.
She was also good in the two Anthony Horowitz Magpie Murders adaptations on the small screen.
I’m old enough to remember her in Emmerdale when it was a Farm.
Aye, that’s as maybe, Mr Wilkes, but she was also great in Phantom Thread on film, and Sherwood on TV.
And Twin Peaks, of course.
I loved her in Mum with my friend Dorothy Atkinson as the ghastly daughter in law.
Mrs Harris goes to Paris was lovely too.
She unexpectedly turns up in the very grisly Monster: The Ed Gein Story on Netflix. I didn’t even clock it was her for ages, which is always testament of a good actor.
Yes. She becomes the character she is playing. Not for her, the being herself thing.
Superb actor. Dig around to see her as the mother in Ibsen’s Ghosts (filmed theatre) and Marlene the Thatcherite in Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls (BBC TV version 1990s)
Yes – LM is one of those actors who’s good in everything they’re in.
I see that she has one of the two lead roles in the new film version of a novel I enjoyed, Bernard McLaverty’s “Midwinter Break”. The male lead is Ciaran Hinds.
That is interesting @DuCo01-.
Of that list, I’d rate Luca Guadagnino’s film Queer the highest. More for Daniel Craig’s performance though. I didn’t recognise Manville in it. Let Him Go isn’t bad and she’s excellent as the baddie. Cold Storage, however, is a crap, dumb action flick not worth watching.