Essie Speaks - mostly about movies - but also of books, countries, life. Mostly movies though :) (Updated every weekend - sunday night latest ^-^)P.S. ALL THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE IS COPYRIGHTED AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION OF ITS WRITER - AND THAT WOULD BE ME!
It is the bane of human existence that people are not always what they seem. Sometimes this is because of some kind of sinister plan, for whatever reason the person is trying to manipulate you for whatever reason.
But sometimes it is a tad more complicated than that. Maybe you are trying to leave your past behind. You need to be reinvented and you are trying to become the person you are portraying - you may not be there yet but with hard work you intend to! Or maybe, like Morvern, you are actually suffering terribly but sharing your pain with the world is not the solution.
When faced with periods of great change some of us want to run out enthusiastically, eyes shining to scream the progress at the world, be it good or bad. Others need to take a more quiet approach. You may not hear them screaming, and jumping around, but if you look closely you will see their eyes glowing in the dark. And if you draw a little closer you will see there is just as much, if not more, going on in their hearts. It is merely a matter of knowing where - and how - to look...
I have, up
to a point, returned to my Film Studies roots. I have, through this method and
that, had the opportunity to take a look back at important films and directors
and watch some really interesting stuff I would not have normally initially
chosen. Life being what it is, this means I am falling behind slightly on the
new releases but oh well. I can’t be everywhere. And they will be released to
DVD soon enough. I am aware that the day I day I will have a list as long as my
arm of films to watch – it is categorically impossible to watch them all – but
I like to try… I mean, what’s the point of life otherwise, right…
And this
week I take a look at one of the most important British female directors
knocking around, Lynne Ramsey. Morvern Caller was not a film I had heard of,
but it was a bit before my immersion in cinema. In any case it seems to have
wiped a fair bit of the slate clean between awards won at Cannes, San Sebastian
and the British Independent Film Awards. Morvern Caller is strong and outspoken
as films go, it doesn’t always make incredibly easy viewing but its honest
description of raw emotion carries you through to the end.
One day around
Christmas, supermarket shelf stocker Morvern Caller comes home to find her
boyfriend, an aspiring writer, has committed suicide. He has a single request
from her as far as earthly matters go and that is to have his newly finished
novel published. Morvern, stunned, obliges, and uses the funds from it in her
quest to come to terms with her own emotions and figure out what her next move
will be now that her life has changed forever.
What I love
about the film is that Morvern’s reactions to this clearly unexpected upheaval
in her life are gloriously illogical. And it is precisely this “lack of logic”
that makes the film so close to real life. All of a sudden everything in
Morvern’s life is different. And yet the world goes on around her, most of the
things she has known all her life, her friends, her job, relatives, they are
all exactly how she left them except – and unbeknown to them – Morvern herself
has literally changed overnight. And now
she has to rediscover how to approach them again. It is during this period of
discovery that she will decide what she needs to do next…
As far as
we can tell Morvern is a pretty average girl. She doesn’t like her job and
lives for the weekend, liking nothing more than getting high/drunk/both with
her best friend Lana. Morvern’s first reactions seem pretty heartless, it would
appear that for her it’s just business as usual. The thing is, both we and
Morvern will quickly discover that this is affecting her a lot more than it
would first seem…
We all have
upheavals, pain, change and surprise developments in our lives. It could be,
like Morvern, a death or something else that causes it but sometimes, one
morning you just wake up and you know you are no longer the same person. The
world around you may very well not understand, or indeed they may not have a
cause to do so. This is especially true when coming to terms with the death of
a loved one, we stare with disbelief at the world – untouched by our loss –
carries on as normal and we wonder how we could ever have been a part of it and
wonder if we can ever join it again… Yet we do. Sometimes we truly will never
be the same again and sometimes the change is a lot subtler than we think it
is…
Intense and
hard to watch at times, Morvern Caller is definitely NOT what you need when you
come back home tired from work and need something to uplift you. You will
sympathise with Morvern, get frustrated with her and want to give her hug ,
sometimes all at once. Or maybe you will feel neither. The film is a truly
extraordinary exploration of human emotion and one thing I can guarantee is
that you will end up feeling something. Something you really do not want to
miss.
In my life this week I am coming to terms with the fact that sometimes things do not go according to plan.
You may well think you know something. Or that you are ontop of it - whatever it may be - or that you have come far enough to move onto the next step. Then you may wake up with a jolt one fine morning only to find out that in a word, you have more studying to do.
The key here is to dust yourself off and forge your way forward. If you just slump into a heap where you fall or just roll off the track completely, well... That IS a bit of a setback. But it is important to the remember that often you are your own setbacks. Sort your own head out and chances are stuff will start falling into place.
This weeks protagonist, Emma, was quite sure she was on top of EVERYTHING not just IT. This is the ideal state of things of course, the problem is that if it falls apart, IT ALL falls apart...
As a
relative novice I am finding the National Theatre a fascinating experience. I
am completely ready to admit that this is part of my own prejudices as well. I
guess I have to learn not to judge a book by its cover – it generally is a
mixed crowd (generally – I have only been there twice) as far as both age and apparent
social status goes. There has been a very marked older crowd though. You know,
hair done, pearl earrings for the ladies, gents wearing jackets and cravats. My
own personal prejudices would have made me think that they were not the kind of
people who would choose to watch very avant-garde works about sex, drugs,
addiction at all, much less give standing ovations at the end of it. You learn
something new every day I guess. And to be honest I rather like the idea of
this ephemeral thing that unites the
audience – and, once the show begins the actors - that overcomes age, social
class (whatever that may be) and background and unites everyone almost inside a
work of art. I guess I would have to say it is this thing is the main magic of theatre. The story unfolding in front of
you and us getting caught up in it just feet away from the goings on, transported
by the actors and our imaginations… It was magical enough – for me - to be part
of the audience but now trying to walk through the looking glass over to the
other side has thrown up a whole new philosophical debate inside my head (and
my life). In this context the timing of people places and things was very opportune.
I could sum
the plot of the play up in one single sentence. Emma (Denise Gough) has rocked
up to a rehab center one fine night. All she needs is a letter to say she is OK
to go back to work. Ok, maybe a little detox wouldn’t go amiss either. But
that’s it really. She has no deep set issues or kinky shit she needs to sort
out. No need to talk to the group; surrender to a higher power or any such
nonsense. She’s savvy. She knows what’s what. She’s different – or is she…
Now, minor
spoiler as far as the plot goes (soz, but I would find it INCREDIBLY hard to
write an accurate review otherwise ),
Emma is an actress. Rest assured, this is more than an excuse provided by the
writer for her drug and alcohol habit, or indeed a potential danger for when
she leaves the center. I mean, to be absolutely honest with you I would love to
be able to watch the play again – I actually might. The aim of the play, apart
from expressing a real love for the craft of acting, is to explore multiple
realities. The stories we tell ourselves versus the version of us we willingly
– or often unwillingly and unwittingly – show to others. What better way to do
this than to use a craft where the practitioner needs to actively live multiple
lives and be multiple people. A strange
thing to be payed to do, especially in a world where being one single person
can already be quite complicated…
The beauty
of this play is though that it doesn’t batter you with these very heavy themes.
They sort of seep in, you only realize they were there when you sit back, think
about it, and realize they have already seeped into your brain. Because the
stage design is just so totally amazing, so completely mesmerizing that it
comes with a warning about strobe lighting and total blackouts in the
auditorium. You will get literally nothing about it out of me. It is one of THE
most visually striking THINGS I have seen in my life and you absolutely HAVE TO
experience it cold. And that’s basically that.
This play
will sit in your head for a while. There are wonderful insights into the world
of acting, sure, but also wonderful reminders of what it is like to try to be a
million different people in one day. Of being utterly sure one is unique when
actually one is (actually or metaphorically) one in a long line of actors /
actresses who look just like you trying to stand out via the tiniest little
nuances. It’s weird and the description may make it sound sad, but in a funny
kind of way it’s also liberating…
In short,
come take a shot of the magic. This batch is particularly strong…
You will
have noticed I have a penchant for real life stories. I am not going to go over
it again and again. But what I possibly love the best about this kind of true
story is when art and real life come together and touch. I don’t know, we don’t
have enough art in our real life I reckon, even though real life is more
artistic than one might think. I was attracted to Dear Lupin principally because
it’s the story of father-son duo Roger and Charles Mortimer as brought to life
by real life father and son duo James and Jack Fox. I had very little knowledge
of the book and the story it told but honestly just wanted to see how and if
the real father son relationship bled into the performance, and how. Well it
does. And it’s adorable.
But before
we get to that bit let us back track for two minutes and take a look at the
story – the real life story – that started all of this. Because be it a film or
be it a play, it all begins with a good yarn…
Roger
Mortimer is a racing journalist. He has a wife and three children and they live
a reasonably comfortable if slightly eccentric life in the British countryside.
Most life events chug along as normal and expected, but there is one notable
exception. Charles, Rogers oldest and
most wayward offspring. Over the years Roger desperately tries to keep
Charles (a.k.a. Lupin) from going off the rails but never judges or condemns.
He does this through a collection of around 150 letters written throughout the
years that Charles makes into a book after the death of his father. It is this
book that we can now watch as brought to life by James and Jack Fox at the Apollo
theatre today.
I won’t go
into the details of the story. Yes the story is quite a yarn but not in a
Mission Impossible, fast trains and explosions kind of way. Nor is it even like
Motherf**ker in the hat, as reviewed last week with the raw emotion on constant
and unabashed flow. It is a very, very British tale of emotion of equal
quantity hidden under mannerisms and understatements. And yet Roger clearly has
a way with the written word and Charles is completely candid in telling the ins
and outs of his rather tumultuous life so it only takes a very small amount of
reading between the lines to see the enormous amounts of affection flowing
between the father and son. It’s definitely a touching affair throughout. But
don’t worry – you will be laughing out loud a lot more often than wiping away
any tears…
The performance
itself is quite a brave one on many levels. In the first place, this is a
matter of storytelling as much as it is acting – there are no re-eanctments of
scenes from the letters, but the letters are read (quoted rather) explained and
the bare bones of it sketched out by the two man cast who support the story
with vigour, talent and ease throughout. James Fox embodies the middle aged
English gent of a certain era to perfection so it is a joy to see his
quicksilver acting talent shining through in the little moments on stage. Jack
Fox , our main narrator – as in the book – is both an engaging storyteller and
clearly set to do great things in the world of acting but although the
technical prowess and bravery is only one side of the performance that touched
me.
It is no
great spoiler to point out that the play follows Roger Mortimer all the way
through his life to the point his health fails and he passes away. Judging by
the alternating hugs and hand-shakes between father and son while they were
taking their bows it is as emotional a moment as I imagine it to be – especially
for Jack I would imagine. He must, after all, watch his own father die very
convincingly on stage in front of an audience for the entire run. THAT is what
I call brave.
Dear Lupin
is a warm and wonderful story for parents and offspring of all ages, for the
good and the wayward alike. Ok so it doesn’t have bells or whistles. It has, in
its stead, a heaving mass of talent, emotion and love – and don’t forget a simply
cracking yarn… You want to catch this one before it ends. No really, you do.
Yeah. Yeah I know. I should take one darn date and stick to it. Not just post updates willy-nilly whenever I feel like it.
But this play... It gave me a serious case of the feels. It made me think and write a lot of stuff... More to the point it's closing on the 20th of August.
I simply had to get the word out there. You have to check this one out.
I just want
to give you a heads up – this may turn into a play review blog at some point. Oh
I still watch films. I will still be uploading film reviews for a while yet. I
have several “ready to go” just in case as we speak. There will be more, from
cinemas, from DVDs and from the past, like last week. But this whole theatre
thing is just… Acting is just… I don’t know man. It’s changing me. It’s
altering me as a person and it’s doing it in the best way possible. I’ve never
spoken to you guys - though goodness knows I have almost begged you to comment
and talk to me – but the stats all tell
me you’re out there though and that you keep coming back. It’s been a good few
years for at least some of you so you know, I consider y’all friends. So I
don’t mind telling you all of this. I don’t know, there are moments, or indeed
entire days where I feel the exercises, the work, the plays and the playing
shakes loose and shakes out bad stuff that have been clinging to my insides for
years. I don’t know man, this is a very
strange time in my life. But I love the journey and am on and can only imagine
it leading somewhere good.
I got into
writing all of that because watching The Motherf***ker with the hat was so
cathartic. The play is unashamedly big and loud, tackling heavy subjects like
addiction, betrayal, relationships that are breaking down and love lost and
found, the play storms onto the stage from the first minute, laughing, crying,
howling and stamping its feet. And the conviction is such, the characters are
so real and the story so gripping that from the first moment, you as the
audience members get swept up in the whirlwind of emotions it portrays…
Our hero is
Jackie ( Ricardo Chavira). He has just come out of prison and is on the way to
kicking his alcohol addiction. He lives with his girlfriend Victoria (Flor De
Liz perez), with whom he has been together since 8th grade, he has
just found a job… In short, Jackie’s finally on the home straight – or so it
seems… Until he gets home one day… And there’s this hat… What follows next is
Jackie’s attempts to get his life back under control. Because if he loses it…
Well he may very well loose it for good…
Ok, I’m
going to try and write the following analysis with as few spoilers as possible.
But be warned, I may miss a trick. In which case I apologise.
It is
interesting to watch Jackie go through several different types of betrayal . First
there is the betrayal on the romantic side. Well, it’s horrendous and it’s painful
but we have all been there, right (well,
quite a few of us have)? It’s one of the main reasons a relationship receives a
blow. Sometimes the relationship heals, sometimes we move on, but at least
we’re kinda ready for it…
What we
are, more often than not less ready for is betrayal from our heroes. The people
we set up in our heads as examples. This can be one of many things, it can
either be your celebrity idol you meet one day and turns out to be a complete
jerk or someone in your life that you idolise and hold on to in some way and
you wake up one fine day and realise that this person was only human, just like
you. And do you know what; they may not even be a particularly nice human. That’s
normally to be expected, after all it’s a distinct possibility with humans… But
where does that leave you if they are the person you modelled yourself on for
any amount of time? If you turned into something unpleasant without noticing
it, that’s definitely one problem… It can feel like quite a kick in the teeth
though if the person you were imitating was in fact a complete front…
Now if I
told you that the play tackled issues like this in the context of addiction and
prison, and that it does it in two hours without a single recess, you may be
forgiven for thinking it would be incredibly heavy and hard to watch. It’s not.
The play expertly points out the absurd and the right out hilarious in the potentially
“heaviest” situations. And if those aren’t quite enough for you, there is Julio
(Yul Vazquez) . While he is clearly there for comic relief, he still
successfully walks the line between the serious and the hilarious. On the night
I watched, in some scenes practically every line he uttered was greeted with
laughter. And yet he was never, ever “absurd”. He was just what the otherwise
quite heavy and emotional content of the play needed.
I have so
much more to say about this play. It definitely did NOT receive six Tony
nominations for nothing… I haven’t even got round to Alec Newman who was
awesome but whose character I can’t really mention (I mean I can but you know,
it’s tricky) for plot twist reasons. Then there is the scenery and how the
transitions take place on stage between scenes but I want that to come as a complete
surprise too.
In short,
this is one of the most powerful plays I have seen in a very long time. And as
I write this review it has just under a week left at the National Theatre in London
with the run ending on the 20th. I’d say don’t miss it.
Kayıtlar
