Casting and Character Dynamics

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On this week’s episode of Kermode and Mayo’s Take, Stephen Graham joins us to talk about his new film The Good Boy. It’s an unsettling thriller where he plays a father fixated on a strange rehabilitation ritual for a violent young man who he takes in and…erm… chains up in his basement. Stephen chats to Simon about navigating the film’s darker emotional undercurrents, finding the human intrigue in morally murky territory, and being his usual lovely Liverpudlian self.

You’ll be able to hear Mark’s full verdict on The Good Boy in this week’s show too, alongside a packed slate of other new releases. First up, Project Hail Mary finally lands—bringing big ideas, bigger stakes, and one very lonely astronaut to the big screen. Then there’s Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, which ups the ante on the original’s gleefully gory game of survival. And finally, Dead Man’s Wire, a tense thriller starring Bill Skarsgard that sees a desperate act spiral into a gripping standoff.

Elsewhere, we’ll have all the usual Take treats: the box office top 10, a Laughter Lift that may (or may not) brighten your week, and your ever-wonderful correspondence. Thanks for listening!

Timecodes:

00:00:00 Show starts

00:09:44 Dead Man's Wire review

00:18:12 Box office top ten

00:30:51 Stephen Graham interview

00:44:11 The Good Boy review

00:53:37 Laughter Lift

00:57:06 Ready or Not 2: Here I Come review

01:04:42 What's On?

01:09:21 Project Hail Mary

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