The Rio’s monthly Classic Matinees take place on the first or second Wednesday of the month. There is an interval for every film, and extra seating is provided in the foyer. We are delighted that thanks to funding from the City Bridge Trust we are able to offer free admission. We are also able to offer free tea and cake! Please come along and enjoy a film and a chat!

These screenings are also open to everyone else at normal weekday matinee ticket prices.

• Wed 10 Feb 2.30

NOWHERE BOY (15)

(UK 2009) dir. Sam Taylor Wood 98m. Digital.
Kristin Scott Thomas, Aaron Johnson, Anne-Marie Duff, Thomas Sangster, David Morrissey.

In 1950s Liverpool the teenage John Lennon discovers rock 'n' roll, decides to form a skiffle group, meets kindred spirit Paul McCartney and the rest is history but the Beatles play no part in this probing, perceptive screenplay by Matt Greenhalgh (CONTROL). An assured feature film debut by artist Sam Taylor-Wood centres around Lennon's relationship with, and the duel between, two women: the Tchaikovsky-loving Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) who has brought him up strictly with genteel, middle-class values and his mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff) who had abandoned him at five years old. With a strong performance by Aaron Johnson as Lennon, impeccable production design and a superb soundtrack, it's an enjoyable and emotionally engaging piece of film making.

• Wed 10 Mar 2.30

NINE (12A)

(US/Italy 2009) dir. Rob Marshall 119m. Digital.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren, Stacy Ferguson.

A star-studded musical extravaganza inspired by the life and work of the great Italian film director Federico Fellini, from the director of CHICAGO and co-written by Anthony Minghella. A gracefully moving Daniel Day Lewis gives a fine, thoughtful performance as famous film director Guido Contini, who is struggling to find harmony in his professional and personal life by reflecting on the women who have shaped it. Some of cinema's leading ladies take on the roles of his wife, mistress, muse and mother; everybody gets to sing and the staging is spectacular.