Films
I love films. I love the music, I love the scripts, I love the actors, I love the way the story resolves itself in time for the end credits, I even love the end credits. So it makes sense, I suppose, to give a little corner of this site over to the films I've seen and loved.
I'm not a particularly adventorous film viewer, and there isn't a cinema in the town I live in, which means that the films I watch are usually either on television or DVD. I'm also not a fan of horror or gore, or films rated 18. Really, my cinematic tastes are quite limited but nevertheless, here's what I thought of some of the films I've watched and loved recently.
Capturing Mary – Stephen Poliakoff
Rating: UK 15
Poliakoff is a pretty controversial director; you love him, or you hate him, or you've never heard of him. I loved Capturing Mary, and its sister film A Real Summer, although it's hard to define precisely why. The script is extremely subtle and if you like sudden explosions, laugh-out-loud humour or weepy love stories then this isn't your kind of film.
It's set in a beautiful house and the story is told through flashbacks to a time when the house was filled with people. Mary is simultaneously a promising young journalist (played by Ruth Wilson) and an elderly woman (played by Maggie Smith), whose career was destroyed by the sinister Greville. I'm not sure which theory to subscribe to: that Greville was a real person, maliciously bent on ruining a young girl's future, or that he was a figment of her imagination, possibly a symptom of alcohol dependency or mental illness. Either way, Capturing Mary is beautifully filmed, directed and produced and it is visually stunning. Look out for A Real Summer and Joe's Palace, also by Poliakoff and linked to Capturing Mary, although each one is a great film in its own right.
The English Patient – Anthony Minghella
Rating: UK 15, US R
I found this film by accident, switching on the television and immediately being caught by the opening sequence. It's predominantly a love story, or rather two love stories which take place before and after WWII. One character is present in both stories, although at first it is not clear which character that is. Some people have complained that it is too slow-paced, but personally I felt that it was perfectly balanced and extremely moving.
Things that stood out for me were the sensitivity in the portrayal of death, the evocative music throughout, the elegantly subtle clues laid throughout which led to the final convergence of the two stories, and the breathtaking landscapes. I have to admit it wasn't until the end that I realised that Willem Dafoe and Ralph Fiennes were playing different characters, but that is probably more to do with my concentration than anything else. Overall, The English Patient was very moving and pleasantly contrasting to the normal run of romantic war films. Please watch it, you won't regret it.
Erin Brockovich – Steven Soderbergh
Rating: UK 15, US R
Often, films based on true stories can be either factually incorrect or boring, but this one is neither. I found the opening a little unclear when I first watched it, but the pace picks up and the acting is superb. Julia Roberts plays Erin Brockovich, a single mother with three young children who walks into a lawyer's office and demands a job. Almost by accident she discovers a huge coverup by a large company and spearheads the lawsuit against them, which turns out to be one of the largest class action lawsuit in American history.
Look out for the real Erin Brockovich and the lawyer Ed Masry in the cafe scene. The deleted scenes on the DVD are definitely worth watching; in some ways they're the most memorable part of the film. Julia Roberts is sparky and defensive, more Steel Magnolias than Notting Hill, and the three children are lovely to watch.