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FILM:April 2015
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Here are some recommendations for films that have
recently been released: |
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I suppose I can't pass on FAST AND FURIOUS 7
(cert. 12A 2hrs. 17 mins.) which you will certainly enjoy if you
liked any of the first six of the franchise! There are lots of male
bodies doing their action stunts and lovely women helping them on
their way and cars - lots and lots of cars - and much noise. I saw
it on an IMAX screen and got the full right-in-your-eyes effects.
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It amazes me how the characters can have the most
terrible accidents in the cars and not only come out walking but
in the next scene appear without a scratch or any terrible bruises
showing! More dangerous car chases and set pieces here than in previous
films so full of excitement for those who appreciate this kind of
film – I don’t and I didn’t! Jason Statham as
the bad guy joins Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and the very handsome
Paul Walker, who very sadly died during the shooting of the film.
A couple of fine documentaries caught my attention. DIOR
AND I (12A 1 hr. 29mins.), gives an insight into how a
fashion director works as it focusses on Raf Simmons who came to
Dior as its artistic director in 2012. We follow his day to day
work as he prepares for his first collection. We meet many of the
workers in the House of Dior and hear them tell stories of their
working lives. Archive footage is interspersed with the build up
towards the presentation of Raf's first collection. It's a fascinating
and engaging film for those interested in fashion.
I found ALTMAN (cert.15 1 hr. 35 mins.) equally
interesting, although a very different study. This documentary about
the film director has a lot of stars and other directors talking
about Altman and the meaning of 'Altmanesque.' Most of the interest
lies in seeing early films and home movies made by the director
and we get a feeling of the director's history as well as a flavour
of his most famous films including Mash, McCabe and Mrs Miller and,
of course, Nashville and The Player.
Coming across as a documentary but actually a drama, THE
DARK HORSE (cert.15 2hrs. 5 mins.) is based on the life
of Genesis Potini, the Maori chess player who taught children to
play high class chess. |
Played by Cliff Curtis we see how the chess genius is bipolar
and comes across as a threat to the uninitiated. He takes a group
of difficult children and helps them to enter a chess tournament.
A wonderful performance by Curtis (will we see him featuring in
next year's Oscars, I wonder?) makes this a most compelling film
to watch. |
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It is good to see a film aimed at the adult world
rather than teenagers: WHILE WE'RE YOUNG (cert.15
1 hr. 37 mins.) is such a film. Sharply directed by Noah Baumbach,
it stars Ben Stiller as Josh and Naomi Watts as his wife Cornelia
(see picture). They are a couple who can't have children and rely
on each other while their friends are caught up in their individual
families. |
They make friends with a young couple, Jamie (Adam Driver) and
Darby (Amanda Seyfried), who begin by flattering documentary film
director Josh and then involve the older couple in their activities
in a manner that Josh and Cornelia find most flattering. The older
couple find, however, that just as they don't fit in with their
same-age friends with young children, they don't fit in with the
lifestyle of the youngsters either. |
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The movie also looks at different types of documentary
film makers and whether a director should film exactly what he sees
or - as young Jamie does - alter scenes to present the viewpoint
that the director wishes to put across.
So, a thoughtful film with lots of amusing dialogue; it is well-written
and very well acted. It is directed by Baumabach who shows real
feeling for the characters as well as the meaning behind the often
glib words.
COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK (cert.15 2 hrs. 16 mins.)
is a fascinating documentary using the Cobain family's personal
archive of films from his earliest childhood through to his adult
life. The lead singer in Nirvana led a troubled life both as a child
and later as a drug addicted famous musician. Brett Morgan uses
family members to give details of this life and leads some way towards
understanding the troubled artist who killed himself aged 27.
Dealing with one of the most interesting cases arising from the
Nazis appropriation of works of art belonging to Jews, WOMAN
OF GOLD (cert.12A 1hr. 49 mins.) tells the true story of
Maria Altman's fight to retrieve the paintings by Klimt, including
his painting of her aunt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, known as
The Woman in Gold, stolen from her family home in Vienna. Maria
(Helen Mirren), now living in Los Angeles, is greatly assisted by
the young lawyer, Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), himself the
son of Austrian immigrants. A fine performance from Mirren whose
appearance is greatly changed not just by the wig she wears but
the shape of her face. Reynolds presents a more subtle character
and the two work well together. |
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THEATRE TIP
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If you haven't yet been to the new…ish Sam Wanamaker
Playhouse, London, which is on the same site as Shakespeare's Globe
Theatre, but indoors, you have a treat awaiting you. It is a lovely
little theatre with seating all around the stage. The whole stage
is lit by candles and it is very atmospheric. Exactly right for
the new play on there: THE BROKEN HEART (until
18 April. Box office: 020-7401 9919). |
When Penthea (Amy Morgan) is forced by her brother Ithocles (Luke
Thompson) to marry the elderly, very jealous Bassanes (Owen Teale)
the result leads to bloody consequences, including a lethal trick
chair. Her adored suitor Orgilus (Brian Ferguson) disguises himself
as a scholar in order to gain access to her house. At the same time
brother Ithocles is fighting for the hand of Princess Calentha (Sarah
MacRae). The two women both suffer dreadfully from a broken heart
while Orgilus takes his own revenge. |
Owen Teale as Bassanes & Amy
Morgan as Penthea in The Broken Heart |
As directed by Caroline Steinbeis the play has many
laugh aloud moments which, to my mind, do not always blend in with
John Ford's language. The play, written around 1630 takes place
in Sparta and is a good example of the Jacobean revenge tragedy.
Well acted by all, it is beautiful to look at and for anyone interested
in the theatre and its history a visit to this little gem of a theatre
is recommended.
Personally I could watch Zoe Wanamaker in anything - even reading
the proverbial telephone book! She shows her skills as an actress
almost to perfection in STEVIE (Hampstead Theatre
London until 18 April. Box office: 020-7722 9301). |
Zoë Wanamaker as Stevie Smith
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The poet Stevie Smith became famous in her time and then lost
popularity so that only poetry lovers will know her these days.
She led three virtually separate lives - as a secretary in a publishing
company, someone who loved going out but relied on friends to drive
her to the venues and a quiet character who wrote poetry while living
with her 'Lion Aunt' in Palmers Green, North London. |
Christopher Morahan's production of Hugh Whitemore's
play, written in 1977, manages to weave Stevie Smith's poetry naturally
into the play like songs become an integral part of a good musical.
Here poetry and prose are used together with the narrative to form
the highlights of Stevie's life as part of the whole. The poetry
is spoken by Zoe Wanamaker as Stevie and also by Chris Larkin who
plays some men in Stevie's life.
By learning more about the poet's personal life we are able to
understand her poetry better, while sharing the poetry and prose
she wrote illustrates important moments in her life.
The set design exactly captures the house where Stevie lives. From
the leafy garden and the back of the house with a glimpse of a patio
to the 60s furniture we get a real feel for an actual home at a
particular time.
The play has no big dramatic events; it's a quiet contemplative
piece showing the character of Stevie and glimpses of her past and
present life. The three actors involved portray the essence of the
play extremely well. Lynda Baron shows us the full devotion of Stevie's
aunt for her niece. With her battle cry of, "Stuff and nonsense,"
she morphs into dependant old age with accuracy on the state of
an elderly person who doesn't want to be a burden but is truly grateful
for her niece's care. Chris Larkin has a somewhat thankless task
portraying first a young man who wants to marry Stevie but is turned
down after an unsuccessful sexual coupling. While this portrait
is OK, his turn as a camp friend who drives her to a party doesn't
work well. However, his reciting of Stevie Smith's most well-known
poem, 'not drowning but waving' is fine.
The production's chief virtue is Zoe Wanamaker's portrayal. Devoted
to her aunt, she exclaims, "I love aunt and aunt loves me." Wanamaker
walks in a somewhat strange manner with slightly humped shoulders.
In her white blouse and red pinafore dress, she embodies the character,
putting across the sensitivity of the poet together with her somewhat
bossy manner in getting friends to do what she wants. We see how
her poems on death reflect her occasional very morbid feelings.
Don't see this if all you like are loud musicals or thrillers with
lots of action. Do see it if you can relish a tremendous performance
by an actress of the highest quality. |
Deposit and Game |
Both plays deal with the difficulty of finding affordable
housing and both feature a young couple trying to cope with getting
somewhere to live in London, which is one of the most difficult
places to find anything. |
In DEPOSIT (Hampstead Downstairs, London (until
11 April. Box office 020 7722 9301) a young couple, Ben
(Ben Addis) and Rachel (Akiya Henry) want to save up to buy their
own place. So do their friends Sam (Jack Monaghan) and Melanie (Laura
Morgan), but rents are so high that they cannot afford to rent on
their own. They devise a scheme to share a one-bedroom flat with
one couple using the living-room and the other the bedroom. There
is no door between but the optimistic friends feel sure they can
manage. |
From L .to R: Jack Monaghan
(Sam), Laura Morgan (Melanie), Ben Addis (Ben), Akiya Henry (Rachel) |
Lisa Spirling has interpreted Matt Hartley's new
play in a most imaginative way. The set is simple as the audience
in the tiny Downstairs theatre sit on all sides. The director has
lots of choreographed movement with the cast lifting the bed and
the sofa and their bodies moving around with and under the furniture
and between each other in scene changes. The actors move well and
don't lose their individual characteristics as they do so. Mike
Hartley shows how living at such close quarters destroys friendship
and has a huge effect on the individuals. It's an innovative scenario
and well performed by the four actors.
Perhaps there is a little too much moving around but the play remains
interesting and shows some horrendous aspects of joint living arrangements.
There are some light moments and the play is not heavy at all.
Much stronger is GAME which has just finished
its run at the Almeida Theatre London, but I am sure we shall see
it somewhere else in the not too distant future. Another way of
coping with the housing crisis is depicted here. The play focusses
on the very frightening idea of a kind of Big Brother reality show.
In Mike Bartlett's new play the audience is split into four groups
and shown into four separate zones.
We look into the set when the blind in front of us rolls up and
when it is down, watch the action in different parts of the stage
on screens, all the while wearing headphones to hear what is happening.
We see a young couple, Ashley (Mike Noble) and Carly (Jodie McNee)
moving into a lovely apartment.
But just as we are watching the play, they are also being observed
by people who pay money to watch them at all times and in all their
activities including love-making and washing! The customers can
also purchase guns with tranquilising bullets to fire at the couple
and also later at the child they have.
The play lasts just an hour and is very strong meat. Looking into
the house makes voyeurs of us all.
Just right for this week or next week, in fact all the weeks until
we have established a new Government, THE THREE LIONS
(St James Theatre, London (until 2 May 2015. Box office 0844
264 2140) depicts the two days that David Beckham, David Cameron
and Prince William spent in a hotel room discussing how best to
present England as the host for the 2018 World Cup.
As the somewhat intellectually challenged David Beckham (Sean Browne)
remarks, "Football runs through our D and A". Although David Cameron
(Dugald Bruce-Lockhart) and Prince William (Tom Davey) disagree
with Beckham's choice of vocabulary they support the premise. |
In Bruce-Lockhart's portrayal, Cameron is shown as having more
than a little of John Cleese in him. Beckham is rather dim-witted
and makes mistakes in his pronunciation, use of grammar and vocabulary.
He is, however, very well dressed and covered in tattoos! Prince
William is depicted as a toff and shows his upper class credentials
with his constant "Yah." |
Séan Browne (David Beckham),
Dugald Bruce-Lockhart (David Cameron) & Tom Davey (Prince William) |
Bruce-Lockhart captures Cameron's voice but doesn't
look very much like him, while Tom Daley's Prince looks somewhat
like the real William but is not so broad shouldered. His wig has
thin hair on top which serves well. The best look-alike is Browne's
Beckham. He captures the Essex voice really well. He is well-dressed
at all times and his lack of intellect is finely caught, although
probably not strictly accurate.
There is a nice cameo from Antonia Kinlay as Perry, David Cameron's
assistant who is overcome with her adoration of Beckham and there
is a lot of fun in Ravi Aujla's characterisation of identical Indian
twins working at the Swiss hotel, although one is a spying journalist.
Director Philip Wilson gets the most out of this farcical play,
and keeps a sharp pace to the proceedings. There is a lot of amusing
dialogue. We can see Cameron practising his promotional presentation;
Beckham slowly working out how old he will be in 2018 [43] and Prince
William wearing Boris's trousers which are too tight for him and
he clutches his balls in pain! This is an amusing, light play: well
worth a visit.
If you want an evening that is not demanding and lots of fun, you
won't go far wrong with HARVEY at the Haymarket
Theatre (until 8 May Box office 020 7930 8800).
The film starring James Stewart is a delight and it is hard for
the theatre to capture its magical qualities. However, Lindsay Posner's
production of Mary Chase's play makes a brave stab at it. Mary Chase
wrote HARVEY to cheer up a very dear friend whose
husband had recently died. Apparently the friend loved it! |
Desmond Barrit, James Dreyfus
& Maureen Lipman in Harvey |
The story is charming: Elwood P. Dowd (James Dreyfus) has a best
friend, who he takes with him everywhere. The only trouble is it's
a white rabbit over six feet tall named Harvey. As if that is not
enough the rabbit is invisible to all except Elwood. His sister,
Veta (Maureen Lipman) and niece (Ingrid Oliver) find the whole situation
highly embarrassing, while Elwood has no hesitation in introducing
his best friend to everyone he meets including his sister's society
friends. |
Farcical scenes take place at an asylum where Vita
tries to have her brother admitted but the psychiatrist mistakes
her for the paranoid patient. When a cab driver warns Vita that
if Elwood has injections to cure him he will become a normal human
being - without warmth or generosity - she has second thoughts about
committing her happy brother to this fate.
Dreyfus is not James Stewart, but he does manage to portray a man
who has full belief in his enormous rabbit friend: in all other
ways he is absolutely normal. Maureen Lipman gives a charming performance
as Vita. Her comic timing is superb and she lights up the stage
whenever she is around. This is a delightful production - bring
your family and friends!
OPPENHEIMER (Vaudeville Theatre until 29 November.
Box office: 0844 482 96750)
Transferred from the RSC's smaller Swan theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon,
the play, written by playwright Tom Morton-Smith, will particularly
appeal to those of a scientific mind. But there is more to OPPENHEIMER
than just the story of the man who led the development of the atomic
bomb and had moral qualms about the victims.
We are shown the man behind the scientist. J Robert Oppenheimer
has many communist friends and promotes left-wing ideas to his students.
It is left open as to whether he himself belonged to the Party,
but as his career progresses, he distances himself from those closest
to him including his brother Frank (Michael Grady-Hall) and sister-in-law
in order to keep clear of the investigations of J Edgar Hoover's
House Un-American Activities Committee. |
John Heffernan as J Robert
Oppenheimer & Catherine Steadman as Jean Tatlock |
Oppenheimer can't resist the call to work on the ultimate weapon
that would end all wars.
Although he marries Kitty (Thomasin Rand), he carries on a relationship
with his former lover Jean Tatlock (Catherine Steadman). Both women
give us well-rounded portrayals: both complete individuals, very
different from each other. John Heffernan gives a strong, yet nuanced
performance as the great scientist doomed to be hated as the inventor
of the huge nuclear weapon which caused so much destruction. At
the end of the paly Oppenheimer admits that he "Left a loaded gun
in a playground." |
Known as the 'father of the atomic bomb," Oppie -
as he was called by his friends - was always really keen on nuclear
physics and his work on the ultimate nuclear weapon was governed
by his belief that because the bomb would be so devastating the
result would be increased safety for everyone and lead to the end
of all wars. He certainly was right about there being no WW111.
Actually, these days we can only hope that this continues.
The Park Theatre, London has come up triumphant yet again. DEAD
SHEEP (until 9 May 2015. Box Office: 020 7870 6876)
depicts the time leading up to Geoffrey Howe's virulent anti-Thatcher
resignation speech in the House of Commons in November 1990. |
The play, written by Jonathan Maitland and directed in his usual
flamboyant style by Ian Talbot, hops about a bit between 1981 and
1990 but we get a good idea of the pressures that Geoffrey Howe
(James Wilby) was under both from his boss, Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher (Steve Nallon) and, to a lesser extent, his wife Elspeth
Howe (Jill Baker) who, as Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission,
didn't see eye to eye with Thatcher. |
Steve Nallon (Margaret Thatcher),
Jill Baker (Elspeth Howe) & James Wilby (Geoffrey Howe) in Dead
Sheep |
Although Elspeth did not write his speech, it is
shown that she greatly influenced Howe's actions and fully supported
him when he decided to quit. All the parts are well presented and
most of the actors get a real flavour of the Government Ministers
even if they don't look like them. There is a nice little cameo
from Tim Wallers as Alan Clark.
Jill Baker is good as Howe's wife - not merely the compliant housewife
which Margaret would have preferred but a woman with her own views
who is not afraid to stand up for herself on occasions. Although
the wig is not completely right, Steve Nallon exactly captures the
tone of voice and the mannerisms of Thatcher.
The title comes from Denis Healey's remark, "Being attacked by
Geoffrey Howe is like being savaged by a dead sheep." In his final
House of Commons speech though, Howe shows that even a dead sheep
can turn. There are a lot short scenes and we move constantly between
different periods - this would make a very good TV play. There is
some good writing but the because of the bitty nature of the construction,
it doesn't quite make a whole. Always amusing with some lovely,
almost farcical, touches, the cast and director present an engaging
play.
DEATH OF A SALESMAN is now on at the RSC's main
theatre in Stratford (until 2 May Box office 0844 800 1110)
after which it transfers to the Noel Coward Theatre 9 May until
18 July 2015. Box office 0844 4825140). |
It's a really great production. Antony Sher is tremendous as
Willy Loman, the born salesman who is coming to the end of his working
life and director Gregory Doran has put together an excellent cast
to interpret Arthur Miller's dramatic story. Although he has been
working hard all his life, Willy Loman has no money and is sad to
see that his eldest son Biff (Alex Hassell) is not going down the
path that his father wants. There is constant conflict between Willy
and his son and, although she tries to intervene, his wife Linda
(Harriet Walter) is not listened to by her husband and is not able
to help in the tragedy that gradually unfolds. |
Antony Sher and Harriet Walter
in the RSC's Death of a Salesman |
A good set of tenement housing rising around Willy
Loman's home, reflects the low neighbourhood in which Willy reluctantly
lives while dreaming of better places and a higher quality of life.
The jazz music in the background helps interpret the mood.
Walter is exactly right as the supportive wife who realises that
her husband is never going to achieve his dreams and is merely driving
his son Biff away from him. Hassell shows once more that he is a
rising star - keep your eye on him. While Sher, who was recently
a rumbustious Falstaff, now gives us a magnificent portrait of one
of the great tragic figures of modern drama.
I urge you to pay a visit to Stratford or book now for the London
transfer, but don't miss this!
There is a somewhat quirky play on at the Tricycle Theatre, London
now. AFTER ELECTRA (until 2 May Box office
020 77328 1000) is billed as a comedy and there
are indeed some amusing moments, but it is a very black comedy dealing
with serious issues. Virgie (Marty Cruickshank) at 81 has made a
very rational decision: she has had enough of life and decided to
end it. To announce this, she has brought together her daughter,
Haydn (Veronica Roberts), a 56-year-old bereavement counsellor,
her sister Shirley (Rachel Bell), who sits in the House of Lords
and her two old friends Tom (Neil McCaul), an actor and husband
to Sonia (Kate Fahy). Later they are joined by Virgie’s son,
Orin (James Wallace). They all express deep dismay at her intention
and try to dissuade her and then think of ways to prevent her leaving
them by drowning.
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April de Angelis's play also considers the needs of Virgie as a
woman artist over what is the right way to act as a mother. There are echoes of the Electra story but nobody gets killed
here; Virgie just wants to be allowed to commit suicide in a way
that she chooses at a time to suit her. A taxi driver (Roy (Michael
Begley) is brought in in the second act and he also comments on
the situation. |
Marty Cruickshank as Virgie
in After Electra |
While all the parts are well characterised - and particularly so by Cruickshank - and the play is very powerful in the first act, it somehow meanders away in the second act when Virgie becomes less capable. |
Carlie Newman |
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