There are murky waters, literally and figuratively, in THE LESSON, a languid tragedy of manners about family dynamics and career neuroses. At its center are Liam Somers (Daryl McCormack), a brilliant literature tutor struggling to complete his first novel, and the subject of Liam’s Oxford thesis, the revered writer, J.M. Sinclair (Richard E. Grant). To… Read More »
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD
Armando Iannucci, a man possessing a preternatural gift for telling serious stories with a puckish twist, has taken on the classic Dickens tale of David Copperfield, and infused it with sparkling new life while remaining true to the original’s spirit. After all, despite his sometimes cloying sentimentality, Dickens spared his readers nothing when describing the… Read More »
THE HOURS
THE HOURS begins with a suicide, a famous one at that. Virginia Woolf with a fierce deliberateness puts a heavy stone in her pocket and walks into a river. We see her head duck silently into the water and then her body floating delicately away, pulled by the current with a gentle urgency. By the… Read More »
MUCH ADO ABOUT SOMETHING
The piquant documentary, MUCH ADO ABOUT SOMETHING, takes on the question of who actually wrote Shakespeares plays and poems. Now, I am of the opinion that in the final analysis, it doesnt really matter. The works speak for themselves and whether they were written by the Bard of Avon or not, they still glimmer with… Read More »
Cary Fukunaga & Mia Wasikowska Revisit JANE EYRE
Revisiting a classic is always a tricky business, but the latest film adaptation of JANE EYRE takes some daring chances in telling Charlotte Bronte’s much loved story of a plain governess and her love for her dashing, if difficult employer. During my talk with them on March 2, 2011, director Cary Fukunaga and star Mia… Read More »