Three Films
18 May
Ross and I have managed a mini film
festival over the past couple of days.
It comes down to three things...
- having a local cinema in Crosby, the
Plaza
- having the car to make getting there easier
- the programming of a run of films which we wanted to see
It began with Gosford Park on Sunday. Directed by
Robert Altman, the film has the sort of large, scale ensemble cast that simply
makes the mouth water.
Michael Gambon .... Sir William McCordle
Kristin Scott Thomas .... Lady Sylvia McCordle
Camilla Rutherford .... Isobel McCordle
Maggie Smith .... Constance, Countess of Trentham
Charles Dance .... Raymond, Lord Stockbridge
Geraldine Somerville .... Louisa, Lady Stockbridge
Tom Hollander .... Lieutenant Commander Anthony Meredith
Natasha Wightman .... Lady Lavinia Meredith
James Wilby .... The Hon. Freddie Nesbitt
Jeremy Northam .... Ivor Novello
Bob Balaban .... Morris Weissman
Alan Bates .... Jennings (The McCordles' Butler)
Helen Mirren .... Mrs. Jane Wilson
Eileen Atkins .... Mrs. Lizzie Croft
Derek Jacobi .... Probert (Sir William's Valet)
Richard E. Grant .... George (First Footman)
Jeremy Swift .... Arthur (Second Footman)
Clive Owen .... Robert Parks (Raymond's Valet)
Ryan Phillippe .... Henry Denton (Weissman's Valet)
Adrian Scarborough .... Barnes (Anthony's Valet)
Stephen Fry .... Inspector Thompson
A quick look down the cast and their rôles tells you that this is a tale
of the upper classes and those below stairs and, indeed, much of the delight and
fun of the film comes from comparing and contrasting the antics of both worlds.
It's a mark of the depth in casting that there are performers of the quality of
Alan Bates, Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins and Derek Jacobi in what amount to
cameo performances.
It's also a murder mystery in the Agatha Christie genre. The solution to the
whodunnit rests on the differences between the social orders. I guessed more
or less what was going on.
However, I completely missed one twist. The Ryan Phillippe character turns out
not to be a valet but rather an actor researching a rôle. When this is
revealed, both upstairs and downstairs feel him to be a complete traitor and he
is rejected by both. However, there are some nice jokes. Phillippe's very bad
Scots accent is revealed to be just that - an American's best attempt at a
good Scots accent. And the film is quite knowing about those cross cultural
differences which do not translate across the Atlantic.
I'd put Gosford Park up there with Amelie
as one of my favourite films of the year so far.
Thursday was both my father's 78th birthday (I bought him three
trees in a new planting in Delamere, Cheshire under a scheme organised by
The Woodland Trust)
and the premiere of the new Star Wars film.
Attack of the Clones is two hours of action-packed entertainment and
marks a return to form by George Lucas.
And after that, there's not an awful lot more you can say. The cast walk through
their rôles with a high degree of professionalism and the special effects
are special.
Hayden Christensen could pout for Canada at the next Olympics. He has one bare
chest scene where he has extremely perky nipples prompting one to wonder if they
had employed the ice cube trick just before the cameras rolled.
Ross, myself and the rest of the cinema rose in acclaim for the moment
when Yoda gets tough and has a swashbuckling light sabre duel with Dracula -
you'll know what I mean when you see the film.
Finally, on a grey and grizzly Saturday afternoon, we caught up with
The Royal Tenenbaums which was another ensemble film with a strong
Hollywood cast.
Gene Hackman .... Royal O'Reilly Tenenbaum
Anjelica Huston .... Etheline 'Ethel' Tenenbaum
Ben Stiller .... Chas Tenenbaum
Gwyneth Paltrow .... Margot Helen Tenenbaum
Luke Wilson .... Richie 'Baumer' Tenenbaum
Owen Wilson .... Elijah 'Eli' Cash
Danny Glover .... Henry Sherman
Bill Murray .... Raleigh St. Clair
Alec Baldwin .... Narrator
Directed by Wes Anderson, the film was full of mordant, quirky humour. It passed
an enjoyable two hours but, overall, I'm left with very little feeling for the
film. In contrast, I know that Gosford Park will stay in my memory for
some time yet.
