Being the Ricardos  ★★★½

DO YOU recall seeing Lucille Ball on television?

I don’t, but that didn’t stop my enjoyment of Being the Ricardos, Aaron Sorkin’s account of a pivotal week in the actress’s life in 1960.

Ball and husband Desi Arnaz were at the height of their powers with a hit television series when she was publicly accused of being a Communist and his alleged infidelities were again under the spotlight.

Sorkin’s story is multi-faceted, looking at these controversies, their relationship, the on-set and behind the scenes interactions and the entertainment industry’s attitude in general to women.

Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are very believable in the lead roles while J. K. Simmons and Nina Arianda enjoy themselves playing the other main cast members on the television series.

The structure of the film is a bit of a cheat because it includes extended flashbacks rather than just being set during the one week.

But this isn’t a criticism as no scene seems wasted in this intelligent and entertaining biopic about a pairing that dominated Hollywood while being torn apart by the system.