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PeterS47
Reviews
The Homecoming (1973)
Men behaving badly.
Pinter, understandably, elicits rather polarising opinions. His plays in general and The Homecoming in particular, are, at once, both transparent and opaque. You see perfectly well what's going on but have only the vaguest idea why or to what purpose. It's rather like trying to read shadowy shapes in the dark, where no two people see the same thing.
The Homecoming is often described as a play about toxic masculinity, of misogynism, which it undeniably is on a superficial level. But there's more to it than that. Importantly, it's also a play that contrasts the strength of one woman against the weakness of several men, where only Ruth (Vivien Merchant) emerges with any dignity.
Wilderness (2023)
Take off was good, the journey somewhat bumpy but the landing was terrible.
One of the chief criticisms I have of this drama series is that it's impossible to root for either of the two central characters. As an act of revenge, scheming Liv, played by Jenna Coleman, literally gets away with murder, by framing her unfaithful, lying and pathetically weak husband. He appears to have no redeeming features so it's difficult to feel much sympathy for him, as he gets himself into ever deeper water. Liv, on the other hand, displays a cold, ugly, scheming streak that makes her equally unlikeable. About the only character I warmed to was the female detective who saw through Liv, declaring "I see you." Nevertheless, Liv got away with it whilst her feckless husband was banged up for 25 years. If you're hoping for a plot twist at the end, where justice is done, forget it.
The Nest (2020)
The rise and fall of a narcissist
Jude Law plays the part of Rory, an ostensibly successful trader, who lives in the US with his American wife and two children. Not content with a lavish lifestyle, he drags the family back to London, "...our 4th move in 10 years" explaining that his ex-boss had asked him to return to head up an operation that would make their fortune. Only it's later revealed, in the presence of his wife, that he wasn't asked back at all.
This was the first lie of many, spoken by this controlling narcissist, manipulating his wife into a course of action much against her will. The lavish lifestyle continued in the UK for a while but Law's ambitions were clearly built on sand. The family ran out of both money and goodwill. Law, in a scene near the end, was forced to walk home from a restaurant, having been ejected from a taxi because the driver realised he was unlikely to get paid (his wife having left the table and taken the car in disgust at Law's continuous lies).
The final scene, around the breakfast table at dawn, was the moment that Law realised the game was up (disregarding his declaration to the taxi driver about "pretending to be rich"). This was, for me, the weakest part of the story. Given Law's long-term modus operandi of both self-deception and the deception of others, I felt we needed some stronger evidence of his contrition and willingness to change. We we were left to draw this conclusion when his daughter took his hand, in an apparent act of love, pity and forgiveness, and led him to a seat amongst them at the table, a family (re)united.
The Noel Diary (2022)
Not my usual sort of film choice but...
I enjoyed it immensely. Perhaps I've been watching too many realistic but bleak films recently and was feeling receptive to something a little heart-warming and positive. As an antidote to gritty realism, this worked a treat.
Those reviewers who hated it for one reason or another - cheesiness, infidelity, cliché, the ending, etc - are missing the point. It's not a reflection of real life (thank God) and that's why it works.
"The Noel Diary" left plenty of clues about what it was about e.g. The screening of "It's a wonderful Life" - the ultimate feel-good Christmas movie - which the three of them watched together. Yes, even the dog enjoys a good movie (another clue right there).
I Care a Lot (2020)
A bit of a curate's egg...
On the face of it, there wasn't much to like about this film, given the subject matter and unpleasant lead character who displayed few redeeming qualities. All the more surprising then that I, along with most of the people who gave it one star, watched through to the end. The film therefore passed its first test: to be entertaining enough to hold the attention to the denouement - the wish to see what happens next. It had a structure - a beginning, middle and end. It had competent acting with Pike and Dinklage adding dimension to their respective characters. But that's about it I'm afraid on the positive side. The story was fairly risible in execution but the cast worked hard at keeping the beast alive if not exactly kicking.
Stockholm Östra (2011)
Well paced with sympathetic acting and direction..
I enjoyed both the acting, which was under-played and empathetic from the leads and the direction which was in no hurry but, nevertheless, was far from languid. It was an interesting tale that explored the human condition and its many contradictions, especially where love and loss are involved.