An acclaimed Irish documentary, quiz fun, and movies are our picks for your screens.
Face Down: The Disappearance of Thomas Niedermayer
9:35pm, RTÉ One
A chance to see the acclaimed documentary that was in cinemas earlier this year. It tells the story of the German businessman Thomas Niedermayer, who was kidnapped by the IRA from his West Belfast home in December 1973 and murdered within a few days of his abduction. His remains were found in 1980, with further trauma for his family in the years following. Now, Mr Niedermayer's only two granddaughters, Tanya and Rachel, have set out to piece together the events that happened in Belfast 50 years ago.
Celebrity Mastermind
7:00pm, BBC One
The Clive Myrie-hosted Celebrity Mastermind is the best selection box on Christmas TV - and tonight's specialist subjects are a joy as the four hopefuls play for their chosen charities. BBC News presenter Jane Hill, former Gogglebox star Mica Ven, Dr Amir Khan, and stand-up comedian Jamie MacDonald will be answering questions on the music of ABBA, the films of Eddie Murphy, the R&B trio TLC, and the Adrian Mole books of Sue Townsend. Among the other specialist subjects in upcoming episodes are the films of Al Pacino, Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Yes!
Belfast
9:00pm, BBC Two
A beautiful coming-of-age story, a pitch-perfect celebration of family, and a fitting tribute to the goodness in a city and its people, Belfast crams a lot into an hour and a half. Writer-director Kenneth Branagh's Oscar-winning return to his birthplace to explore his early years inspired him to deliver his best work - poignant, funny, and timeless. Told through the eyes of nine-year-old Buddy (Jude Hill), Belfast plays out across the closing months of 1969. With his head spinning, Buddy tries to make sense of how the safety of his world with Ma (Caitríona Balfe), Pa (Jamie Dornan), brother Will (Lewis McAskie), and Nanny (Judi Dench) and Pop (Ciarán Hinds) is threatened by the toxicity that has been unleashed in the streets around him and the weight of the adult world. The fear is there from the opening scene, but so too are the love, fun, and mischief that anyone would be blessed to have among the scrapbooks in their head. This film is a triumph for the director, his cast and crew, and the place at its centre. It's also proof, if needed, that you can go home again.
Boiling Point
4OD
An edge-of-the-seat film - set in a restaurant. Boiling Point has more tension than most thrillers, and you'll be doing well to find a more immersive movie experience. Filmed entirely in one take, director Philip Barantini and co-writer James Cummings' searing study of the workplace and its diverse personalities sees Stephen Graham leading a superb cast as close-to-breakdown chef Andy Jones. On the busiest night of the year for Andy's new restaurant, the problems arrive faster than the orders. Watching the dominoes fall in real-time here is a reminder that as bad as things get, they can always be worse. Boiling Point is frighteningly realistic and heart-rending. You'll see yourself in the characters - and their reactions - as the lid comes off everything that they've piled into the pot. NB: A follow-up series recently aired on the BBC...
Beautiful Boy
RTÉ Player
Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet get into the headspace of parents everywhere with Beautiful Boy - the true story of the devastation that addiction visits on both a father and son, based on the memoirs of David and Nic Sheff. Nic (Chalamet) turns 17 with what appears to be the brightest of futures, only to become hooked on crystal meth. As his journalist father David (Carell) scrambles to 'save' him and learn as much as he can about addiction - like researching a big article - the film moves back and forth through their lives together. Beautiful Boy's fragmented narrative is not detrimental to the story, but if you are expecting the grit of Requiem for a Dream or Christiane F, don't. It is focused on the father-son dynamic (the female characters are secondary), rather than the full-time job of addiction. Frustratingly, director Felix van Groeningen chooses to smother Beautiful Boy in songs, resulting in a sort of emotional jukebox where numbers are punched into your heart. There was no need: in a film all about cycles, you'll either have just finished crying or are just about to start.
