The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (12A) ***

Dir: Mike Newell

With: Lily James, Matthew Goode

Runtime: 124 minutes

FROM the director of Four Weddings and a Funeral comes a pleasant if predictable tale of wartime courage and love. Lily James plays Juliet Ashton, a young writer who has made her name with lighthearted capers and is in search of something more serious to write about. Ashton believes she has found such a thing when she comes across the titular society, set up during the Nazi occupation of the island, but why are the members so reluctant for their story to be told? Handsomely rendered, Newell’s picture is likely to delight fans of Mary Ann Shaffer’s bestseller while leaving others intrigued and gently entertained. Oh, and good luck remembering that title at the box office.

Funny Cow (15) **

Dir: Adrian Shergold

With: Maxine Peake, Paddy Considine

Runtime: 103 minutes

BY ’eck it’s grim up England’s north. If you were not aware of that already, Adrian Shergold’s comedy drama will quickly remove any doubts. Maxine Peake plays a comedian retracing her life through flashbacks to her miserable childhood and equally unhappy marriage, and excerpts from her stand-up routine. Apart from running through every cliche in the book about the unhappy clown, Shergold’s film provides work for every northern actor who ever lived (including Stephen Graham, John Bishop, even Kevin Rowland of Dexy’s Midnight Runners gets a look-in). Peake is as watchable as ever, but this is tired stuff.