Alfonso Cuarón’s PD James adaptation hits all the right notes and its lean pacing, unpredictable plot and bravura camerawork, not to mention a large dose of contemporary social and political resonance, make it essential viewing from start to finish. Clive Owen’s reticent and downtrodden bureaucrat Theo makes the unlikeliest of heroes in protecting the transport of the first pregnant women in nearly 20 years to safety. But when he gets her out of London and to the English channel what does Cuarón do? He kills Theo off right there in a rickety rowboat. A truly haunting and mesmerising conclusion.