Commonwealth, The Dark Circle and Mothering Sunday

Not my favourite Ann Patchett novel. I preferred Run, State of Wonder, The Magician's Assistant and (especially) Bel Canto. For the most part, Commonwealth is not an uplifting family drama. It could have done with more humour and a lighter touch. It's all about the six children and the two sets of parents. Timelines crossover and the sometimes complicated relationships make for a pretty mesmerising first half. But once I learnt to remember who was who, it made for a more satisfactory second.

I would have said that Franny, the child whose Christening opens the story, is the main character. And of the nine long chapters, she appears in seven. We could have done with more of Jeanette and Albie. In the hot Brooklyn apartment "The radiator hissed and clanked like someone was beating it to death with a lead pipe down in the basement. A humidifier blew a steady mist through the tiny room, very possibly an attempt to create a sub-Saharan climate in this Brooklyn terrarium". Yes, Patchetts's writing is still as good as ever.

The Dark Circle contains a raft of wonderful characters (we really get under their skin in more than one way), with superb dialogue and lots of wit. Linda Grant does come up with something special given the lack of a plot. A story set in an isolated sanatorium for sufferers of tuberculosis is all about the patients and the staff. The setting is 1950 (I was five so much of the background of post war England is familiar). Linda Grant is such a good writer you get carried away with the lives of young twins Lenny and Miriam and all those they meet.

For such a short book (actually a novella) Mothering Sunday packs plenty of punch. In 1924, Jane Fairchild is a maid who spends the day from which the book has it's title, with the son of friends of her employer. Or should I say morning, as Paul has to meet his bride to be for lunch. So Jane has plenty of time to explore the empty mansion and contemplate her young life. Then halfway through, just a few words changes everything.

Then in an intricate construction the author turns everything on it's head until regaining forward momentum towards the end. How Graham Swift is able to delve so deep into the characters and say so much about the human condition in such a short book is amazing. I was sorry that it only lasted a couple of days.

WFTPOTA, The Beguiled and Dunkirk

I was amazed how boring was the story of War for the Planet of the Apes. I know it made complete sense at the end, but it was a gruelling couple of hours to get there, unlike it's two predecessors. The heavy handed references to Apocalypse Now were an embarrassing comparison to that classic movie. The two major features that this film got right were the CGI (the technological advances have given the apes amazing characters) and the music by Michael Giacchino.

A movie from Sofia Coppola is usually a nice surprise, and The Beguiled is no different. A melodrama set during the American Civil War is confined to the claustrophobic setting of a ladies seminary in the wilds of Virginia. In fact this could easily have been a play, the set is so small. The director has taken the novel by Thomas P Cullinan and turned it into a highly charged drama. What else would it be when an injured Union soldier (a witty casting of Colin Farrell) is taken in by the half dozen females stranded? in their big house. It is a delight to see how the story pans out, the twists and turns ramp up towards the end. Not only are the leads played by Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst pitch perfect, but the younger cast are equally terrific. All down to the director's touch. The cinematography, costumes and lighting make this wonderful to look at, but it always needed a good screenplay, and this is what we got.

I'm not sure how Christopher Nolan persuaded Warner Brothers to stump up a big budget for a movie about a British retreat. Not an American in sight. I guess it was because he concentrated on the disaster and survival aspects of an epic war movie. His choice of telling three particular stories (the soldier, the small boat and a Spitfire pilot) and then, typically,  messing about with the editing and timescale, to give the audience the sense of the prevailing chaos, danger and heroism that combine to attack our minds. This is a film short on dialogue, but that is exactly what you would expect if you had been there. The action says it all and tiny unscripted events tell a much bigger story.

There had been some criticism of the lack of due paid to the French holding off a German land attack. But the one short scene at the beginning is enough to say it all. The choice of some heavyweight actors (Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy (now a Nolan regular)  and Kenneth Branagh) give some old time bravado. Then there is the music by Hans Zimmer. That is enough to ramp up the tension on it's own. Or as Nolan puts it "increasing intensity". He certainly gave us that.

Jodie Whittaker - The New Doctor Who

I applauded when the announcement came. If there was to be a female Doctor, I could not think of anyone better than Jodie Whittaker. Not only was she a strong presence in Broadchurch, but her performance as the spiky female lead in Attack the Block (below) makes her a perfect choice. I will be glued to the screen for the Christmas special. If anyone can revive an ailing programme, it's Jodie. I just hope she gets to meet Bill.

I was never a big fan of the choice of Peter Capaldi (although he is a great actor) and I hardly watched the last series. In the final episode he is typically whinny when his regeneration starts: "I cant keep being somebody else". Oh yes you can!

Baby Driver Soundtrack

The soundtrack to Baby Driver is a real mixture of songs. These are my favourites:

Harlem Shuffle by Bob and Earl. Only because Baby's walk through the city has a great cinematic touch as we hear snatches of conversations from the people he passes.

Smokey Joe's La La by Googie Rene. At first I thought this was a Mason Williams track.

Unsquare Dance by Dave Brubeck. On one of my extremely old LP's. I hadn't heard this track for so long.

There are a number of rock tracks that were not to my taste but suited the occasion: for example NEAT NEAT NEAT by The Damned and Queen's Brighton Rock .

Easy by The Commodores. Sounded really good on the cinema's hi fi speakers.

Early in the Morning by Alexis Corner's Blues Incorporated. Recorded in 1965, I'm sure I saw this band play at the University of Sussex in 1966.

Nowhere to Run by Martha Reeves and The Vandellas.

When Something is Wrong with my Baby by Sam and Dave.

And of course the final song from Simon and Garfunkel. 

As a final comment, it just seemed too much that when Baby meets Debora, he has the T. Rex song with her name there on his iPod.

Gifted, Baby Driver and It Comes at Night

Gifted was an unexpected pleasure. Superbly written by Tom Flynn and expertly directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer and Spiderman x 2) this heartfelt drama is humurous and witty and a complete joy. The acting is first rate (who knew Chris Evans could act?) especially newcomer McKenna Grace together with Lindsay Duncan and Octavia Spencer. All with Cat Stevens' The Wind at the end.

If you want songs with your movie, look no further than Baby Driver. I will put all my favourites on a separate post, the whole lot can be found on a Spotify playlist. Writer and director Edgar Wright has tried to weave a Tarantino type crime thriller (especially the messy ending) with a soundtrack that never lets up. This is courtesy of getaway driver Baby (Ansel Elgort) and the iPod that helps to correct some brain problem.

There are some heavyweight actors as partners in crime: Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm and Jaime Foxx, but whilst Wright's story is interesting enough, his dialogue is disappointingly not up to scratch. I was afraid there would be too much revving of engines in the car chases and I was right. Then the scenes with a sparkling Lily James were excellent, and there are enough great cinematic touches. But in the end it is the soundtrack for which this film will be remembered. And that would stand repeat viewings.

This post apocalyptic thriller is deadly serious. So much so that it is filled with dread at every turn. Written and directed by Trey Edward Shult on what must have been a tiny budget, It Comes at Night is set in an isolated house in a forest where most of the family have escaped the plague. When they are joined by another family, the tension increases. For me, there were too many silent or dream sequences and in the end it runs out of ideas. I didn't think it merited the positive reviews.

Tring Book Club - The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant

One book club choice that I was not looking forward to. However this novel has plenty to commend it. Although it is very light and undemanding, I liked the characters. Addie Baum is telling her life story to a granddaughter and this works very well. Her mother is an over powering presence throughout, and not in a good way. But her friends are great and her early years are especially interesting. In fact all the main characters are well drawn.

There are some nice observations: "Every girl should have her own money" and "You never marry one person, you get the whole family as part of the deal".

In the end, this is quite a sentimental story, and much too nice to be true.