{"id":611862,"date":"2026-05-30T10:19:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T10:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/611862\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T10:19:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T10:19:41","slug":"bill-nighys-charming-period-drama-is-the-special-movie-you-need-to-see-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/611862\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Nighy’s “charming” period drama is the “special” movie you need to see this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

It might not be as hot this weekend in the UK, but if you’re spending the weekend recovering from the heatwave, we’ve got the ideal movie to watch tonight with British acting legend Bill Nighy.<\/p>\n

Released in 2017, Their Finest is set in 1940 during the Second World War and follows screenwriter Catrin Cole (Gemma Arterton) as she’s hired to make a morale-boosting propaganda movie, which is set to star fading actor Ambrose Hilliard (Nighy) despite his initial reluctance to the idea.<\/p>\n

“The thing is the movie has a lot of big things to say, but what I love about books or music or anything is the fact that it doesn’t forget to be entertaining. It doesn’t forget that it’s in show business… So you get to laugh and cry, hopefully, and you get something to think about,” Nighy told Vulture<\/a> about the movie in 2017.<\/p>\n

If you fancy checking it out this weekend to see if you agree with him, here’s all the details on Their Finest, including where to stream it right now.<\/p>\n

\"gemma<\/p>\n

Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Who is in Their Finest?<\/p>\n

\u2022 Gemma Arterton as Catrin Cole
\u2022 Sam Claflin as Tom Buckley
\u2022 Bill Nighy as Ambrose Hilliard
\u2022 Helen McCrory as Sophie Smith
\u2022 Jack Huston as Ellis Cole
\u2022 Eddie Marsan as Sammy Smith
\u2022 Claudia Jessie as Doris Cleavely
\u2022 Jake Lacy as Carl Lundbeck
\u2022 Richard E Grant as Roger Swain <\/p>\n

What did critics say about Their Finest?<\/p>\n

Their Finest stands at an impressive 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> from 168 reviews, which marks one of Nighy’s highest-rated movies as well as Arterton’s highest-rated movie and Claflin’s third highest-rated movie.<\/p>\n

“Grows into something special, powered forward by Arterton’s charming central turn,” said Little White Lies, with Globe and Mail adding: “There’s a sweet love story and some wonderful work by an array of British actors. My heavens, this is charming, rib-tickling escapism.”<\/p>\n

Daily Telegraph called it “the kind of handsome, rousing, rigorous entertainment you can’t help but play along with”, while Guardian said: “You’d need a heart of stone and a funny bone of porridge not to enjoy this sweet-natured and eminently lovable British film.”<\/p>\n

San Francisco Chronicle essentially summed up what everybody was saying about the movie in 2017: “Their Finest is a charming and thoughtful movie, about people making a charming and thoughtful movie.”<\/p>\n

\"gemma<\/p>\n

Moviestore\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Where can I watch Their Finest?<\/p>\n

If that sounds like something you want to watch, Their Finest is available to watch right now on BBC iPlayer. It’ll be available to see on the streaming service for the next 16 days, so be quick.<\/p>\n

Don’t worry if you miss out as Their Finest is also available to watch on Lionsgate+<\/a>, which can be added as a Prime Video channel to your Amazon Prime subscription and comes with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers.<\/p>\n

\"sam<\/p>\n

Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Other Bill Nighy movies to stream now<\/p>\n

If Their Finest has got you in the mood for more Bill Nighy movies this weekend, you’re in luck as the entire Cornetto trilogy is available to stream now, with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz on Disney+<\/a> and The World’s End on Prime Video<\/a> and ITVX.<\/p>\n

To keep the period drama theme going, Emma (2020) is available to watch right now on Prime Video<\/a> or if this heat has got you wishing for Christmas, festive classic Love Actually is available to watch on Netflix until 31 May.<\/p>\n

Nighy’s highest-rated movie Living is not available to watch on any subscription service at the time of writing, but you can rent it from Prime Video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Their Finest is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.<\/p>\n

Visit our Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n

The new edition of Living Legends, a collector’s edition exploring the royal family, is here! Buy The Royals in newsagents or online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Movies Editor, Digital Spy \u00a0Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. \u00a0Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies<\/a>, attending genre festivals around the world. \u00a0\u00a0After moving to Digital Spy<\/a>, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel<\/a> and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda \u2013 whether his editor likes it or not.
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