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FILM: August 2008
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| Helen Hunt is a fine actress and
directing her first film THEN SHE FOUND ME
(cert.15 1 hr. 40mins.) she also stars as a teacher of
39 who desperately wants a child. When her husband
leaves her she feels her options disappearing. Then her
adoptive mother dies and Bette Midler, playing a famous
TV star, turns up claiming to be the teacher's birth
mother. |
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| Hunt is a very unassuming actress and
here comes across as plain and gaunt and believable as a
woman pining for a child of her own as well as trying to
cope with the traumas hitting her. She is helped
considerably by Colin Firth who plays the father of two
children separated from his wife and feeling very bitter
about the break-up. For her first venture, Hunt probably
takes on too much, directing as well as starring in the
movie and the story doesn't quite gel all the time.
There are some nice touches, though, such as Salman
Rushdie as the obstetrician seeing Hunt in the presence
of her husband and boyfriend. Already out is a welcome
non-animated film for children and JOURNEY TO
THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (cert. PG 1hr. 32mins.)
is exciting and always interesting for adults as well as
children - in spite of the Americanisation of Jules
Verne's title and tale.
There is a great central performance by Julianne
Moore as Barbara, an over-doting mother in
SAVAGE GRACE (cert. 15 1hr. 34mins.). Her
incestuous relationship with her son and dependence on
the upper class Brooke Baekeland leads to a tragic
conclusion. The film spans the years from 1946 to 1972
and the depiction of each era is finely tuned. There is
also the usual fine professional performance from Anne
Reid in the small part of Barbara's mother. |
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ANGUS, THONGS AND PEFECT
SNOGGING (cert. 12A 1 hr. 40mins.) is a lovely
little film with a somewhat unpleasant title. Directed
in a charming manner by Gurinder Chadha who co-wrote it
with her husband Paul Mayeda Berges, the story of 14
year-old Georgia (newcomer Georgia Groome) who is facing
the trials and tribulations that confront a teenager
approaching her 15th birthday: |
| these include spots, getting a
boyfriend, being embarrassed by your parents and falling
in and out of close friendships. Set in Eastbourne there
are some amusing lines such as "I'm not boylingual yet." |
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Theatre August 2008
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| There are two smashing productions at
Shakespeare's Globe. You wouldn't think that THE
MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (until 5 Oct.) would
work in the outdoors setting, but with its differently
designed staging that includes the back of a house with
a large area inside and a thrusting curved walkway
extending into the groundlings area with a small and
larger bridge, director Christopher Luscombe pulls off a
lively show with humorous dialogue and bits of
slapstick, all much enjoyed by a young and enthusiastic
audience. It is not a subtle play but expounds the theme
of "Wives may be merry and yet honest, too." |
| I saw the second, FRONTLINE
(until 17 Aug.) when the rain came down relentlessly
throughout the evening. The audience and part of the
stage was under cover but the 'groundlings' (those who
stand in the well of the theatre) had water on them the
whole time. They wore the see through plastic macs
provided by the Globe and laughed and enjoyed the
performance of Che Walker's play about the different
people - of all types and cultures - assembling outside
Camden Road tube station.
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| We see an elderly man walking around
with photograph albums greeting every woman as his lost
daughter; a lap dance club manager and the bouncer she
fancies who doesn't like to use violence; an actor
making ever more frantic telephone calls to his agent to
try to get her to see his play and the younger members
of the community who are into Jesus or drug taking and
dealing, sometimes both. With characters from Ethiopia,
Somalia, Afghanistan, writer Che Walker provides a
cosmopolitan feel to the area depicted. Sometimes it was
difficult to catch the words being spoken - because of
the rain, the laughter from the audience and the
simultaneous dialogue in many of the scenes. Well-acted
and sung the play had a genuine exuberance and a feel
for London and Camden Town in particular. The National
Theatre continues to provide a varied array of
offerings. Its latest, AFTERLIFE (until
16 Aug.) by Michael Frayn outlines the end of Max
Reinhardt's theatrical life and finally his actual
death. He had extravagant tastes both for the stage and
his own mansion where most of the action takes place.
Frayn uses rhyming couplets at times and there are some
very stagey episodes involving Everyman and the figure
of Death. Although there is a beautifully choreographed
sequence where Reinhardt rehearses the servants on how
to serve a special dinner, I found it somewhat dry and
emotionally uninvolving. |
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There is a very jolly show at the
Playhouse: THE HARDER THEY COME. Based
on the film starring Jimmy Cliff, it seems to have come
with its own fan base. With a black cast and
predominantly black audience the really great singing
soon had people swaying and clapping along. There was
lively choreography which, with the music on stage as
well as the cast, made for a somewhat crowded area for
dancing. |
| I found that at times the West Indian
speech was difficult to understand but I could always
follow the story based on a true tale of Ivan (the
flexibly limbed Rolan Bell),a country boy who becomes a
singer, is beaten up and ends a hero. I defy anyone not
to come out of the theatre in a good mood. As you will
also after watching SPAMALOT (Palace),
a musical Monty Python and the Holy Grail. While there
are some very amusing episodes some have a decidedly
sour flavour such as the jokes about gays and Jews.
Sanjeev Bhaskar has now taken on the role of King
Arthur. Though most personable, he comes over as
somewhat diffident and could make more out of his Asian
personality.
The funniest play on offer this month must be
MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS (Tricycle), the story,
by Ron Hutchinson, of David O.Selznick, Victor Fleming,
director and the writer Ben Hecht getting together to
write a new script for Gone With the Wind, the film
which was to win many Oscars and make the three of them
(although Hecht was unaccredited) famous. At the time
none of them thought the film would do great business
and Fleming, when offered a one-off fee or a share of
the profits, is quick to take the fee as he believes the
film to be a dead duck. The set of Selznick's office is
suitably claustrophobic and there is a touching final
vista of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara against the
sunset. Great stuff!
Lots of spectacular effects including conjuring in a
good, flexible set in ZORRO (Garrick).
Real and fine flamenco dancing and the general
choreography and singing were OK. The acting was
somewhat below par with half the actors using cod
Spanish and the other half English.perhaps it signified
something that I missed.
A great cast in a very well-written play, do hurry to
see FEMALE OF THE SPECIES (Vaudeville).
Margot (a Germaine Greer type) is a feminist writer who
is suffering from writer's block. A young woman (Anna
Maxwell Martin) comes into her home and soon holds her
hostage. Margot (Eileen Atkins) is joined by her
daughter, son-in-law, a cab driver and her publisher
who, far from assisting her, join in discussions on the
meaning of feminism and what it and Margot have achieved
and how she has changed her opinions over time. Director
Roger Michell directs his cast with verve and manages a
lot of comic business in the one set. Sophie Thompson is
an actress who always puts in a true performance and
here, as Margot's unconfident daughter, is another gem.
It is good to see Connie Fisher - the winner of the
TV Maria contest - away from the big Sound of Music at
the Palladium and starring in THE'RE PLAYING OUR
SONG at the tiny Menier Chocolate Factory
Theatre, London. She has a terrific voice, and, although
not quite the kooky character that the heroine should
be, puts in a competent performance as Sonia the song
writing partner to Vernon. The surprise here is Alistair
McGowan who is really very good as Vernon, who tries to
tame Sonia but has to give up when she remains tied to
the demands of a former boyfriend. He has a pleasant
singing voice and manages the acting demands somewhat
better. I wasn't madly keen on the chorus of three
look-alike Sonias and three Vernons, dressed the same as
the main characters and dancing and singing alongside
them. If you can manage it do try to have the meal in
the Menier restaurant before - good food, nicely served.
Carlie Newman
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