Winchell

Stanley Tucci (Big Night) gives a bold and layered performance as the lead character, radio and newspaper journalist Walter Winchell who, for several decades, was one of America's most feared and powerful gossip columnists. This made-for-TV movie dramatises the complex relationship between Winchell and his friend and ghostwriter, Herman Klurfeld, upon whose memoir the film is based. Under the skilled direction of veteran Paul Mazursky (Down and Out in Beverly Hills), the cast and performances are uniformly strong, especially Paul Giamatti (Man in the Moon), who plays Klurfeld with great pathos and insight. Although uneven at times, the film combines humour and gravitas at every turn, and the story should definitely hold your interest.