Alchemise

Their dearest wish was to alchemise iron into gold.

Something about this gutsy, heartfelt drama from screenwriter Robert D Siegel and director Darren Aronofsky alchemises Rourke’s conceit into a terrifically engaging, likable and even vulnerable performance.

In tonight's opener, Kevin McCloud revisits the programme's longest-running saga – the five-year (and counting) epic of Stefan Lepkowsky and Annia Shabowska, who have been attempting to alchemise a cutting-edge contemporary home from the unpromising base metal of a derelict mill cottage in Northamptonshire.

Art should alchemise poetry from unexpected ingredients.