Digital: Pick of the Day

IN THE CINEMA, Alan Rickman (right) is probably best known for a series of seductive baddies (cf, Die Hard and Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves), but he added another string to his bow with an impressive directorial debut, The Winter Guest (10pm FilmFour). Rickman himself makes no appearance in front of the camera; rather, the film is led by the real-life daughter and mother Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law who play a fictional daughter and mother trying to overcome years of non-communication. Set against the backdrop of a snow-bound Scottish fishing village, the film is a beautifully photographed account of the thawing of an emotional freeze.

Those yearning for a sight of Rickman's face however, should tune in to Judas Kiss (10pm Sky Premier), a satellite premiere thriller about a pair of petty con artists.

James Rampton