Unfinished Song

Unfinished Song (Song for Marion) is one of those quintessentially British Dramedies. It will have you laughing and it will have you crying, but most of all it will leave you smiling.

Vanessa Redgrave is Marion who is dying of cancer (I told you that you would be crying). Terence Stamp is her chronically grumpy husband and they live in one of those unlovable towns in the North of England, which we have grown to love. Yes, there is a predictable quality to this film, but the fantastic acting makes it predictably wonderful.

Former Bond girl Gemma Arterton (who was also in the wonderful Tamara Drewe) plays the director of a choir for old age pensioners, the OAPz (it's more street with the z). As Marion gets sicker she has problems making the rehearsals for their entry in a choir competition...and her grumpy husband gets pulled into the group.

If you don't like a slightly sappy film then skip this one. I loved it. When Vanessa Redgrave sang True Colours...well I dare  you not to tear up. And of course we get to hear Terence Stamp sing at the end, which is wonderful. Go Grandpa!

I think the only odd part about this film is the animosity between Terence Stamp and the son (Dr. Who's Christopher Eccleston), the only offspring of this unlikely duo. He looks like a thug, but he turns out to be a real sweetie, and the script never really gives us an explanation of why father and son can't stay on speaking terms. It is almost as if a few key scenes were left on the cutting room floor.

But it is still a great film and well worth seeing. It should be out on DVD soon, as it was in our art house theatre in July, but I have been on holidays and just finally got around to finishing this post.

Cheers!

Lost in Austen

Lost in Austen- time traveling Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen and time travel...can it be done? Absolutely. And it works really well. For those of us who are perhaps a little too familiar with Pride and Prejudice, Lost in Austen is especially fun.

Jemima Rooper as Amanda Price in Lost in Austen

Amanda Price: It is a truth generally acknowledged that we are all longing to escape. I escape always, to my favourite book, Pride and Prejudice. I've read it so many times now the words just say themselves in my head and it's like a window opening. It's like I'm actually there. It's become a place I know so intimately, I can see that world. I can...touch it. I can see Darcy. Whoa...(slams book shut)...Amanda! Now...(opens book again)...where was I?

Pemberley garden in Lost in Austen

Amanda Price: I'm not hung up about Darcy. I do not sit at home with the pause button on Colin Firth in clingy pants, okay? I love the love story. I love Elizabeth. I love the manners and language and the courtesy. It's become part of who I am and what I want. I'm saying that I have standards.
Frankie: Oh, you have standards, pet. I hope they help you on with your coat when you're 70.

Lost in Austen Country Dance

Mr. Bingley: Darcy regards all forms of sudden locomotion as emblematic of ill-breeding. Hunting, tennis, rising precipitately from a chair...
Mr. Darcy: When Miss Price and I dance, sir, there shall be nothing sudden.
Amanda Price: I can't dance this sort of dance.
Mr. Darcy: Nor I. Together we shall make a shambles. But we shall do it with such authority that everyone will stare at us to learn the step. 

Wet shirt Darcy in Lost in Austen

Amanda Price: [after Mr. Darcy emerges from the water] I am having a bit of a strange post-modern moment here.
Mr. Darcy: Is that agreeable?
Amanda Price: Oh, yes. Yes.

Wickham in Lost in Austen

Amanda Price: Wickham. You are a bastard, but you are the right bastard at the right time.
Mr. Wickham: One does one's best.

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Amanda Price: Hear that sound, George? Duh-uh-uh-uh! That's Jane Austen spinning in her grave like a cat in a tumble-dryer.

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This is a lovely cheeky little bit of fun and I love Hugh Bonneville as Mr. Bennet. Gemma Arterton was adorable as Lizzie Bennet with a pixie cut and a mobile phone! And I'd love to see more of Tom Riley (Wickham). I think I liked his character the best.

So if you haven't yet seen this one it's a great bit of fun. And watch out for Tinkey Winkey. I loved that bit.

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N.B. If you are watching with younger viewers, there is one scene where Amanda lifts her skirt to reveal her "landing strip" or "standard pubic topiary" as she calls it, to Lydia. It would likely go straight by a pre-teen without registering but I know some of my readers might be sensitive to this. It's just there for a laugh and to demonstrate the cultural chasm over two centuries, but they probably could have left this out. :)

Tamara Drewe-Far From The Madding Crowd?

Tamara Drewe Movie Poster

Tamara Drewe is an interesting little film based directly on a graphic novel (read comic book) by Posy Simmonds originally published in serial form in The Guardian newspaper. A takeoff on Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd, it is a modern day version, much like Bridget Jones's Diary is a modern riff on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  Directed by Stephen Frears (of The Queen and Dangerous Liaisons), it follows a journalist back to her hometown, after she has transformed her appearance through rhinoplasty.

Image from Posy Simmonds' graphic novel Tamara Drewe

It is a rather farcical sex romp through the gorgeous Dorset countryside, so if bed hopping in films bothers you, consider yourself warned. The star is Gemma Arterton, famous for her Bond Girl portrayal of Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace.  The real stars however are the two foul-mouthed teenage girls Jody and Casey who hang out in a disused bus shelter and spy on the entire community of Ewedown. They seem to be the only ones who really know what's going on and we see the happenings in the community through their eyes. I must say that they are real modern teens so if you are offended by teen talk and behavior that hasn't been whitewashed for middle-aged viewing, avoid this one. As the mother of a 16 year old boy, I thought it was hysterical, as did my son who plopped down 20 minutes into the film and stayed for the duration.

Casey and Jody, the real stars of Tamara Drewe

I originally saw this in a small art house theatre with a group of girlfriends who appreciate the British sense of humour. It was equally appreciated by my husband and son however, so as long as you're not prudish you'd probably enjoy this one too. This film may actually send me back to read Far From The Madding Crowd as it has been ages since I've read a Hardy novel. I should also see the film version starring Julie Christie but it's from 1967 and must be looking pretty dated by now. Sounds like we need Andrew Davies again!

Update-apparently it was done in 1998 for TV starring Paloma Baeza (from The Way We Live Now) and Jonathan Firth (brother of Colin and star of Victoria and Albert). This version sounds better than the Julie Christie one!

Gemma Arterton as a modern Bathsheba in Tamara Drewe

In short, I can highly recommend this one for a weekend rental. Entertaining and not likely you'll predict how it ends! Cheers!