A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, Parasite and Emma.

I found A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood to be a strange concoction of fact and fiction. Somehow the family drama seemed to dominate the story about Fred Rogers. Tom Hanks is predictably good as the children's TV host, at first his niceness seems to be an act, only later we find that is what he really is, nice. Nice to other people, harder to be nice to himself. Lloyd Vogel (played just right by Mathew Rhys) is the fictional journalist who's childhood Rogers guesses needs sorting. A well made and well written drama, thanks to director Marielle Heller.

Parasite was a very clever movie, but I'm not sure what the fuss was all about. Despite being a black comedy with some predictable political overtones and farce thrown in, it never gripped me emotionally which is what I want from a movie. Subtitles are never a problem: Pain and Glory and La Belle Epoque had them and were much better films. Parasite was fine and entertaining, kind of dressed up as a social commentary but too much seemed to echo the duality of Us. 

The main set is terrific, that ultra modern mansion complete with obligatory concrete walls covered by expensive fittings and furnishings. Almost theatrical, it could have played out in a big theatre, it was sort of Shakespearean. The cinematography was top drawer, so was the sound and music, good script, very well acted and all the work of director and writer Bong Joon-Ho. I remembered that his film The Host was brilliant and the main lead, Kang-ho Song appears again here. Looking a lot older!

However, all the characters are pretty dis-likeable so I never had much sympathy for any of them. That, for me, was the root of the problem, and why it missed being the great movie I had imagined it would be.

There are so many characters to like in Emma.. (I think I had to put in two full stops, one for the title and one for the end of the sentence?) Just take one minor role, Mrs Weston. Gemma Whelan is outstanding. I thought she was terrific in White House Farm and here she was superb. In an even smaller role, Oliver Chris played John Knightley with almost silent brilliance. Chloe Pirrie as his wife was amazing.

This was an ensemble cast to die for. Anya Taylor-Joy as Emma is highly watchable (so different from he scary role in Morgan.). Johnny Flynn (George Knightley), Josh O'Connor (Mr Elton), Callum Turner (Frank Churchill) and Rupert Graves as Mr Weston thrive in their parts. Equally good are Mia Goth as Harriet Smith, Tanya Reynolds as Mrs Elton and Amber Anderson as Jane Fairfax.

But there were two experienced actors who gave the film that memorable touch. Bill Nighy as Mr Woodhouse and Miranda Hart as Miss Bates were superb. So although director Autumn de Wilde had her hands full, she brought out their best performances, which is really something. And Eleanor Catton did marvels with adapting the book. Of course the costumes were incredible, and the scenery and houses equally so. Jane Austen would have loved it.

Tring Book Club; The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins

I persevered as this was a book club choice, otherwise I would have given up a lot earlier. Novels about slavery are not what I want to read. I agreed with one reviewer who said "While there are things about it that I really appreciate, I cant say I actually enjoyed reading it. Which is what I want from a book". 

There was some good stuff about Frannie's relationships with her "employers" in Jamaica and London. Although I find it hard to read about slavery in any of it's forms. I acknowledge that the writing is intelligent, captivating and highly researched, but for me that is never enough. It all seemed quite strange and sordid. There was never any light to soften the darkness. 

All the male characters are pretty awful. At a dinner for Langton, he is asked "Are you enjoying your trip?" He replies "trying to persuade old friends to behave like friends". I  found that the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 paid out the equivalent of billions of pounds, not to the slaves but to the owners who continued with "apprenticeships" for the black labour, for little or no pay.  The anger shows through the writing.

Cyrano de Bergerac - National Theatre Live

It was all about the words. The original 1897 play by Edmond Rostand (no, we didn't do it at school and I can only vaguely remember a couple of movies) was all rhyming couplets of twelve syllables per line. No wonder this ultra modern adaptation by Martin Crimp leaves that behind. But he and director Jamie Lloyd totally respect the idea behind the original by using rhyme in a free verse rap style that I should have hated but came to love. In one scene someone slowly paints the backcloth, with something Cyrano could have told Roxanne, as she later stares at the message.

The essence of slam poetry is marked by the bare stage, hard chairs and microphones. The actors are also mic'd up, although at times their whispering that takes advantage of them is inaudible in the cinema I was in. However, the play in this version is challenging, dangerous and original. I do love the format of addressing the audience. One of the first times I saw it used was David Hare's The Permanent Way which was unforgettable.

James McAvoy is excellent in his highly physical portrayal of love struck Cyrano. I shouldn't have been surprised that this is basically a love story, but I was. At first I thought James was reprising his multi character role in the Split and Glass but that soon went away. The colour blind casting works exceptionally well, especially for those performing in that rap styles. Then we have Anita-Joy Uwajeh as Roxane. She seems to be the only one actor with a cut glass English accent, but more than that she is outstanding. The advantage of watching her close up at the cinema makes up for not being there. Her facial expressions, her eyes are incredible. This is a star in the making.

I also liked Michele Austin as Ragueneau who has appeared in so many TV programmes) and Eben Figueiredo as Christian. In the end it is Jamie Lloyds direction that gives this old play that modern drive. But it's the words that still count. As Cyrano finds to his cost.

The Bottle Factory Outing, Daisy Jones and The Six and The Children of Dynmouth

Not my favourite Beryl Bainbridge novel, but The Bottle Factory Outing is a clever black comedy. There are elements of farce as Freda and room mate Brenda join a works outing to Windsor. Their relationships with some of their Italian co-workers are particularly difficult. The offbeat writing is at the fore in some of the rich dialogue. The story gets darker and even more farcical as it goes along. I was glad it was only a shortish book. 

To begin with I thought the idea of telling the story of Daisy Jones and The Six through alternating interviews with all the characters was ingenious and worked well. Like a TV documentary with talking heads. However, the format does start to get tedious after a while and I wanted to read a more traditional novel. There was also too much philosophical clap trap from a bunch of drunks and druggies that could have easily been cut. There was only one point half way through that was in any way emotionally gripping. But the story was way too predictable, given we are told the ending on the back cover! In a way it was quite good fun and a really easy read. But no literary merit here. Disappointing as I was really looking forward to reading this book. 

Not in the same league as "Felicia's Journey" or "The Story of Lucy Gault", William Trevor's short novel The Children of Dynmouth from 1976 seemed a little dated. Although his insight into the deepest recesses of humanity still shine through. He imbues his characters with all the foibles of real life and the writing, as always, has that lightness of touch that seems so ordinary but marvellous to read. "... the holidaymakers who had taken advantage of the pre-Easter rates looked as though they regretted it as they loitered in the rain". Dynmouth itself is well described. "Fluffy white clouds floated politely around the sun, as though unwilling to obscure it".

The story revolves around Timothy Gedge, a fifteen year old wannabee delinquent. Are we expected to be sorry for him as the story develops? Maybe just a little, but his actions were always disturbing to read. I much preferred the story when he was not in it, but he was the catalyst for all that happens. I liked all the references to cricket that young Stephen mentions, reminding me of those weird fielding positions: third man, gully, cover point, slips, deep fine leg.

Great Film Composers: The Music of the Movies on Sky Arts: The 1960's Parts 1 and 2

This episode started with a bang. Bernard Hermann re-wrote the book for thriller scores. On a limited budget (he could just afford strings) his music for Psycho added drama to Hitchcock's horror. Austrian born Ernest Gold moved to the USA in 1938 and his first symphony was performed a year later. He was engaged by Columbia Pictures. He is best remembered for his score for Exodus in 1960.

Elmer Bernstein's roots were in jazz and as a modern composer he was well suited to the movies. His score for The Magnificent Seven is a classic, as well as those for To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Great Escape and many others. He ways nominated fourteen times for an Oscar and in 1967 he won with Thoroughly Modern Millie.

This was the decade of memorable music and songs. Henry Mancini spent 35 years working with Blake Edwards on thirty films. Not only was he nominated for seventy two Grammy awards and won twenty, but he won four Oscars out of eighteen nominations. In 1961 he won best song for Moon River (with that distinctive harmonica) and another for the film it came from Breakfast at Tiffan'ys. The following year he won best song again for Days of Wine and Roses. Who can forget his theme for The Pink Panther from 1963. Another long standing relationship was with Stanley Donen, particularly for his scores for Arabesque and Charade.

 Another star composer from the 1960's was Alex North. Nominated fourteen times, he never won an Oscar until he beacme the first composer to be presented with an Honorary academy Award. His best known scores were for Spartacus (1960), The Misfits (1961), Cleopatra (1963) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 1966. That ended Part 1.

Part 2 started with some words about the combining of lush orchestration with the electric guitar. This was typified by Sergio Leone's scores for A Fistful of Dollars and it's sequels For a Few Dollars More and The Big, The Bad and The Ugly. With very few musicians , he made up for it with that whistling and haunting melody. The last of the three had no speech for the last 20 minutes proving the music came first and the action second.

We then come to John Barry, my favourite film composer of all time (see my post 31st January 2011). His father managed a cinema and his mother played classical piano. His breakthrough came in 1962 with his music for the first James Bond movie Dr No. He followed this with another ten scores for this franchise. In 1966 he won two Oscars for song and music to Born Free. Another Oscar followed for the music to The Lion in Winter. He won more Academy Awards in the following decades.

Stanley Kubrick's 1968 blockbuster 2001; A Space Odyssey used classical and other orchestral music, none original. Best known for the Johann Strauss 11 waltz.  Composer Gerry Goldsmith was nominated for an Academy Award on multiple occasions but did not win until the next decade. His score for Planet of the Apes was his best know in the 60's. The score was hugely avant-garde with the use of weird instruments that portrayed the anger and danger in the action.

Quincy Jones started his illustrious career with the movie The Pawnbroker in 1965. His jazz score for In the Heat of the Night really made his name. British composer on Goodwin had scored many films before his great success with Where Eagles Dare in 1968. Previous work included 633 Squadron, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines and Operation Crossbow. In 1962, David Lean engaged Maurice Jarre to compose the music for Lawrence of Arabia. This proved to be an inspired choice. The score won the Oscar and Jarre continued this partnership on many movies to come, including in 1965 Doctor Zhivago. Another Oscar was on it's way.

The film for the music played over the end titles was never discussed. But it's familiarity was never in doubt - Quincy Jones music for Getta Bloomin' Move On (The Self Preservation Society) for The Italian Job.

Inside No 9 : The Referee's a W....r

The fifth series of Inside No 9 opened with my favourite episode to date, The Referee's a W....r, a half hour classic that stands multiple viewing. Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith write and appear in every episode and this time thet have surpassed themselves. All the "action" takes place in a referee's dressing room, before, during and after a Championship game that might or might not give the winner promotion to the riches of the Premier League.

David Morrisey is the best I have seen him as the belligerent ref at his last match, and Ralph Little is also great as an assistant referee. He hopes that a delegation from Qatar might be in the crowd to pick him for the World Cup in 2022. Some hope! Steve Pemberton runs the other line and might be in a bit of bother. Reece Shearsmith is the fourth official, harping back to an appearance at A C Milan.

Tubby Steve Spiers plays a mascot and Dipo Ola a team captain. There are plenty of twists and turns, lots of comedy, pathos, possible corruption and drama. No horror this time, but the ending is superb. There is even a mention of Robbie Savage's hair, so everything football gets in somewhere.

Storm Ciara and the Silver Birch

On Sunday 9th February, we watched as Storm Ciara brought down one of our tallest trees, a lovely silver birch. Initially a branch buried itself in the borders so we had no real damage. It did turn round the next day as the second photo shows when the last part of the stump broke.

However, our tree surgeon visited the next day and on Thursday his men arrived to remove the debris. And on Friday I tidied the border. Apart from some broken branches of the maypole cherry, the border is back to normal.

Great Film Composers: The Music of the Movies on Sky Arts: The 1950's: A New Dawn

The 1950's in film music was described as a decade of innovation where the score became increasingly important in telling the story on the screen. The start of this episode concentrated on the influence of jazz on these composers. Alex North's score for 1951's A Streetcar Named Desire earned him an Oscar nomination, as did Leonard Bernstein's for On the Waterfront. Jazz musicians Miles Davis and Duke Ellington became involved in film music.

But it was Bernard Hermann who continued to gain in reputation from that he had gained in the previous decade. He continued to work with Alfred Hitchcock with Oscar nominations for The Trouble With Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo and North By Northwest. At the end of the decade, his atmospheric music for Psycho.

Also repeating earlier success, Franz Waxman won the Academy Award for his music to 1950's Sunset Boulevard. His score for Rear Window deserved the same. Demitri Tiomkin had already gained a reputation for his music to A Wonderful Life and Mr Smith Goes To Washington. In the 1950's he won the Oscar for High Noon and The Old Man and the Sea as well as other nominations.

Victor Young was actually nominated 22 times for best score, only to win once with 1957's Around the World in 80 Days. However he died before he could receive the award.

Great Film Composers: The Music of the Movies on Sky Arts: 1940's The Golden Age

The programme started with one of the all time greats of film music composition: Miklos Rozsa. An immigrant to the USA from Hungary, he composed nearly a hundred film scores, was nominated for an Oscar on seventeen occasions and won three for Spellbound, A Double Life and Ben-Hur. The list of Hollywood movies for which he wrote the music is endless. For example his score for The Killers ( another nomination) was typical of the music for film noir for which he became famous.

Alfred Newman went from cinema pianist to conducting musicals on Broadway and ended up in Hollywood in 1940. For 20th Century Fox he became their music director and composed over 200 film scores, winning five Academy Awards to go with those he won at the end of the 1930's. Over his career, he gained 45 Oscar nominations and won nine, more than any other composer in history.

Although Newman's films were mostly new to me, the same cannot be said for Bernard Hermann. How he came to only win one Oscar (for The Devil and Daniel Webster) is a mystery, especially as the greatest film of that decade Citizen Kane was notable for his score. Much later he did, however win a BAFTA for Taxi Driver. His scores for the seven movies with Alfred Hitchcock are classics that include The Trouble with Harry, Marnie, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho.

Franz Waxman moved from Germany to Paris and then Hollywood in 1934 after being beaten by Nazi sympathisers. He became successful with his music for Hitchcock's Rebecca in 1940 and never looked back. He worked again for the same director on Suspicion. As a composer he gained twelve Oscar nominations and later won two for A Place in the Sun and Sunset Boulevard. 

Those composers from the previous decade were still successful in the 1940's such as Max Steiner with Casablanca. The programme described how film scores had developed over this decade and went out with that Harry Lime theme from The Third Man written and played by Anton Karas.

Just Mercy, The Rhythm Section and The Personal History of David Copperfield

Just Mercy is a worthy movie about the wrongful conviction of Walter McMillian and his fight for justice led by lawyer Bryan Stevenson. All based on the latter's book. Jamie Foxx and Michael B Jordan excel in their roles and Destin Daniel Crettin's direction is just right when it could have been so bad. If there is one thing I took from this film, it is how I felt so sorry for the murdered girl's family and friends by the police missing the true culprit and targeting a black innocent man. So it was the police and judicial system that let that white family down. A harrowing story of racial injustice in Alabama.

Despite some sniffy reviews, I enjoyed The Rhythm Section, a type of origins story for a female James Bond, full of early failures before she gets better at her job. The same producers have given us lots of different locations, a great car chase but fortunately not too many action scenes. Blake Lively is great and the script was actually quite passable. The cinematography was what made it for me on a big wide screen. And the sound was incredible.

I agreed with Mark Kermode's five star review of Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield. His adaptation and direction are brilliant. Personal, because this is the story as told by our protagonist played with verve and class by Dev Patel. (He wonders if he is the hero of his own story). The huge cast are all excellent with a masterclass from Hugh Laurie and Tilda Swinton. Also great were Peter Capaldi, Morfydd Clark (playing both Dora and David's mother), Ben Wishaw and others. I particularly liked Rosalind Eleazar as Agnes. I superbly understated performance. No wonder it has the most nominations for the British Independent Film Awards.