Just For Lookin' Thru

The Northcott Theatre Company perform the UK premiere of Tennessee Williams’ 'The Notebook of Trigorin,' a free adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s 'The Seagull' to an almost exclusively white and grey haired audience. Why does Chekhov not appeal to the under 55s, or is it that tragedy appeals only to the worldly wise? Chekhov’s play about human fragility and the impossibility of people relating to each other in an equal and meaningful way is a depressing premise. However, despite the gloomy subject matter there are touches of intentional comedy. Mme Arkadina, a successful dramatic actress, clings to her youth and glory, and fears the decline of her powers. She is unable to recognize – or she resists – the talents of her son, Constantine; he has youth, vigour and a passion for writing ... and the whole of life ahead of him. He merely reminds her of her age. Liz Crowther plays a sprightly Arkadina although the choreography has her skipping around the stage at times which is in...

Unrelenting, gratuitous violence in the mould of spaghetti Westerns, this film provides superb tension throughout, with touches of dark humour. Largely silent, with close focus on minutiae, it’s an acute visual experience but also a philosophical treatise on the meaning of life, or lack of it, and the role of chance. Western lovers will enjoy the abandoned and wrecked pick ups in a circle with corpses strewn about, not a rifle deal gone wrong or a wagon train ambushed by pesky red Indians, but a Mexican drug deal. The lone figure who comes upon this scene is not cheroot smoking Eastwood but a capable, resourceful and monosyllabic ex-Vietnam veteran who keeps one step ahead of his pursuer, the psychopathic assassin who wants to recover the cash. The Coen brothers drive the narrative along, providing the expected markers of stalking movies: laconic, indestructible assassin Chigurh (Javier Bardem) and his fearless and confident prey, Llewellyn (Josh Brolin), working towards t...

Covert assistance doesn't get much PR so this seems to be an American propaganda film demonstrating how the US funded the defeat of Russian troops in Afghanistan during the eighties, whilst making the point that after sales service is non-existent at US inc. Congressman Charlie Wilson is persuaded to visit the refugee camps in Pakistan and is converted to the cause of the Afghan people fleeing occupation. More than simply a tale about Wilson’s realization that civilians suffer in wartime, this could have the subtitle, ‘Americans love guns.’ Wilson manages to persuade various committees to supply money which provides anti-helicopter weaponry and the chaps get very excited about these big tools. He is, however, unable to persuade them to provide any cash for schools or hospitals once those Ruskies are whupped. Iraq war anyone? West Wing scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin delivers a rapid fire script which, with mumbling, is sometimes hard to follow but it’s nicely acted. Hanks is bel...

Shame runs right through this redemption story, the filmed adaptation of the bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini. The central character, pre-pubescent, aspiring writer Amir, is not an easy boy to like, and he disappoints his father, (an apparently shining example of the chivalric), because he is not a manly boy. Amir’s doggedly loyal young friend and servant, however, is a moral barometer, a knight in the making, saintly and ballsy by turns. The opening credits use fabulous graphics and atmospheric music to create a sense of the eastern exotic and conjure up childhood tales from 1001 Arabian nights – Amir is a storyteller after all – but the film is strongly realist. The Russians invade Afghanistan, Amir escapes to America with his father, and they must adapt from their ancient code of caste rules and family honour to consumer culture. Twenty years later, he returns to war torn Kabul, in the grip of the Taliban, his time of revelations. Wholly masculine, apart from ca...