Our top 5 film picks for November

This wonderful adaptation of Colm Toibin’s acclaimed novel is by far the best film to tackle the Irish immigrant experience of the 1950s. Saoirse Ronan plays Eilis, a young girl lured by the promise of America and a more fulfilling life.

She soon falls in love with Italian plumber Tony (Emory Cohen), but homesickness and an encounter with a childhood friend (Domhnall Gleeson) forces her to make a heartbreaking choice.

The subject matter is deeply touching, and the film as a whole represents a huge breakthrough for Ronan, who absolutely dominates every scene she’s in. Watch out, also, for a hilarious cameo from Julie Walters, playing with gusto that most passionate of characters—the Irish matriarch.

Read our in-depth film review

On October 9, 2012, 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by Taliban gunman for her work in promoting female education.

Not only did she survive, but the attack catapulted the Pakistani teenager onto the world stage. This absorbing documentary reveals a modest, likeable and extremely brave young lady, who’s kept her feet on the ground in the face of threats and accolades.

The fourth film in this hugely successful series sees the climactic showdown between Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and President Snow (Donald Sutherland) as the nation of Panem slips into civil war.

A recent survey suggested that this final instalment was more hotly anticipated than even the new Star Wars film, and it also features the last performance from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

British director Danny Boyle turns his attention to the maverick co-founder of Apple Inc and his manic drive to revolutionise technology, ending with the launch of the iconic iMac in 1998.

This is well worth seeing for another eye-catching turn from actor-of-the-moment Michael Fassbender and a slick screenplay by Aaron Sorkin, who won an Oscar for his work on The Social Network in 2010.

This moving drama stars Rooney Mara as Therese, an New York photographer in her 20s who falls for an older, married woman (Cate Blanchett).

Patricia Highsmith originally published the source novel, The Price of Salt, under a pseudonym due to its taboo subject matter, and while this adaptation lacks the shock value of the novel, it’s still a well-acted piece of cinema.

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