Guest of Honour – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
Guest of Honour

5 June — 31 August 2020 Tickets from £11.99 — Book now

There is no shortage of mystery in Guest of Honour, the darkly compelling new release from Canadian writer-director Atom Egoyan. Structured around a conversation between a young woman named Veronica (Laysla De Oliveira) and the priest (Luke Wilson) who is to bury her late father, Jim (David Thewlis), the film jumps backwards and forwards in time, unfurling through liberal layers of flashbacks, as we see Jim — a former restaurateur and British expat in Canada — at work as a health inspector.

He wanders in and out of restaurants, bars and takeaways, commending some and condemning others to closure. At home he tends to Benjamin Bunny, a sixteen year old specimen left to him to care for since the death of his wife. He also visits Veronica in prison, where she is serving time for abusing her position of trust while employed as a high school orchestra conductor. Whether she is guilty or not is initially left vague, but it is made clear that she is in no hurry to be released.

The pile of family secrets reaches almost ludicrous levels as Egoyan slowly reveals his hand. Alongside the circumstances surrounding Veronica’s crime, the zippy 105-minute runtime takes in infidelity, suicide, extortion, illegal meat, fake rat faeces and a jealous bus driver. The burdens of guilt, shame and reputation are central here, but the knotty plotting may leave viewers scratching their heads as to exactly what the film has to say about these heavy subjects. Nevertheless, a quietly committed performance from Thewlis means Guest of Honour is never less than absorbing.

5 June — 31 August 2020 Tickets from £11.99 Book now

Where to go near Guest of Honour – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema

Manchester
Restaurant
Fairfield Social Club

Launching in spring 2024, Fairfield Social Club is a multi-purpose site next to Angel Meadows Park in the Green Quarter.

Cumbria
Theatre
The Coro

Nestled in the heart of Ulverston, a rural market town on the fringes of the Lake District, stands The Coro —an esteemed historic hub for arts, culture, and entertainment

Cumbria
Shop
Sam Read Bookseller

Award-winning small bookshop in the Lake District. Est. by Sam Read in 1887. Run by Will Smith and Polly Atkin.

Restaurant
Capri

Capri serves up homely, family-style Italian food in North Yorkshire.

Manchester
Restaurant
Manchester Wine Tours

Manchester Wine Tours is a relaxed, fun wine tour, taking in four or five venues across three hours, plus six high-quality glasses of wine.

Sheffield
Shop
Juno Books

Friendly local queer and intersectional feminist bookshop in Sheffield. Visit for interesting fiction and non fiction books.

Restaurant
The Dusty Miller

Family friendly pub situated in the beautiful village of Mytholmroyd.

What's on: Cinema

CinemaManchester
It’s A Wonderful Life at HOME

This ultimate feel-good, festive favourite, from Oscar-winning director Frank Capra, stars James Stewart as despairing businessmen George Bailey. HOME present their annual screenings.

from £9.15
CinemaLiverpool
Charade at Showroom Cinema

Over in Sheffield this December, Stanley Donen’s Charade is an early Christmas treat scheduled as part of Showroom’s Spotlight series.

from £10.30

Culture Guides

Music in Manchester and the North

Spotlighting global artists who all, in one way or another, break the mould, we preview the best gigs happening this side of Christmas and beyond.