The Fifth Estate (15A) ***

Benedict Cumberbatch’s recent growth in fame comes courtesy of his award-winning performance as BBC’s Sherlock Holmes and his entertaining turn as a villain in summer’s Star Trek Into Darkness.

But taking on a character as tricky and divisive as Julian Assange proves to be a challenge even for Cumberbatch.

Sure, he’s made himself look physically like the Wikileaks founder, and has captured his mannerisms and distinctive accent. But he’s hampered by the fact there’s a great movie to be made about Assange and this  -  while often entertaining and engaging  -  isn’t it.

With the story of Assange, his motivations and his activities still very much playing out, maybe it’s simply too soon for a film about him.

The movie, for its part, focuses on the foundation of Wikileaks and the two-year build up to his decision to release thousands of damning US diplomatic cables online and through the media, making the organisation one of politics’ most-feared whistle blowers.

In fact, the film covers many of Assange’s most high-profile leaks, from detailing US military operations in Guantanamo in 2007, exposing the Swiss bank, Julius Baer, for moneylaundering a year later, to the hacking of Sarah Palin’s email account.

We see the fallout from the BNP membership list that made 12,000 names public, that memorable video of a 2007 US military helicopter strike on Baghdad and subsequent arrest of soldier Bradley Manning, and the massive fallout from the large-scale leaking of cables through media outlets including The New York Times.

The movie also centres on the tricky relationship between Assange and his earliest recruit Daniel Berg, a partnership that ended in a public falling out and bitter recrimination. The Fifth Estate feels like less than the sum of its sensational parts.

Thanks to the series of dramatic incidents it covers, the film is never less than interesting. But the story suffers from director Bill Condon’s efforts to cram in so much material, giving us a decent overview but leaving us little the wiser about Assange’s intentions and motivations.

But kudos to German actor Daniel Bruhl  -  building on his terrific performance as Niki Lauda in Rush  -  who again delivers as the lead’s friend turned nemesis.

Le Weekend (15A) ****

Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan play Nick and Meg, an intellectual, slightly-past-middle-aged couple who decide to go on a second honeymoon to Paris.

But this is no ordinary road trip to the city of love. Nick is a talented university lecturer who recently lost his job after making unfortunate remarks to a black student, and feels deeply disappointed and bitter with his achievements in life. Meg, meanwhile, has grown tired of being the patient wife and is harbouring notions of a new life.

This is all bettered when the couple run into Morgan (Jeff Goldblum, brilliant). He’s a former peer of Nick’s who has gone on to become and very successful author and invites the couple for dinner with his friends, unaware that this nice middleclass couple are going through a crisis.

Like Julie Delpy’s film, Two Days In Paris, from a few years ago, this is a movie that sets out as a soppy sojurn to the City of Lights but develops into something far more witty and insightful.

Thanks to some sharp writing and wonderful performances, you can never quite decide whether Nick and Meg love or loathe each other, and they go from affection to conflict in a couple of ill-judged comments or revelations. Very funny, but with some unexpected emotional punches, Le Weekend is an intelligent drama that makes the most of its cast and setting.