Paul (Daniel Auteuil) is a respected, successful surgeon married to the devoted Lucie (Kristin Scott-Thomas). They live in a beautiful house, want for nothing and seem perfectly happy but beneath the calm surface of their marriage lurks all kinds of niggling resentment and unspoken discontent. Daniel Auteuil has the meatier role and is good at conveying the grumpiness of advancing age.

He retains our sympathy as he meets a younger woman Lou (Leila Bekhti) who claims that he once operated on her. Initially, she seems like a stalker and the film could be straying towards Fatal Attraction territory but then it is Paul who becomes obsessed by her as he recklessly risks his perfect life. Before The Winter Chill often feels more of a melancholy character study than a thriller. When it delivers on that intrigue with a completely unexpected denouement, you realise it has been cleverly structured and perfectly executed.

It’s impossible not to enjoy this big-hearted and sweet-natured British family movie from Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin – effectively a feature-format development of their smash-hit BBC TV comedy, Outnumbered, which pioneered semi-improvised dialogue from the children. It creates a terrifically ambitious (and unexpected) narrative with a tonne of sharp gags. I would have liked to see Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner reprise their roles as the mum and dad, but because we have all seen their fictional children grow up on the small screen that is not really feasible.

David Tennant and Rosamund Pike are Doug and Abi, the troubled parents of three boisterous kids: they’re heading up to Scotland for the 75th birthday of Doug’s unwell dad, Gordy (Billy Connolly), which means staying with Doug’s uptight brother, Gavin (Ben Miller), and his depressed wife, Margaret (an excellent Amelia Bullmore). This means maintaining all the secrets and lies of families, and Gordy finds the only people he really gets on with are Doug’s young children. He respects their natural honesty and confides to them his hopes and fears. Jenkin and Hamilton have created a smart script, with laughs and subtleties: could there be a connection in Gordy’s mind between the own goal in football and the wartime friendly fire that caused a family tragedy? Very impressive and likable stuff.

“The Way” is a powerful and inspirational story about family, friends, and the challenges we face while navigating this ever-changing and complicated world. Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son (played by Emilio Estevez), killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Rather than return home, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son’s desire to finish the journey. What Tom doesn’t plan on is the profound impact the journey will have on him and his “California Bubble Life”.

Inexperienced as a trekker, Tom soon discovers that he will not be alone on this journey. On his journey, Tom meets other pilgrims from around the world, each with their own issues and looking for greater meaning in their lives: a Dutchman (Yorick van Wageningen), a Canadian (Deborah Kara Unger) and an Irish writer (‘James Nesbitt’), who is suffering from a bout of writer’s block. From the unexpected and, oftentimes, amusing experiences along the way, this unlikely quartet of misfits creates an everlasting bond and Tom begins to learn what it means to be a citizen of the world again. Through Tom’s unresolved relationship with his son, he discovers the difference between “the life we live and the life we choose