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Liars, Cures, Comedy and Suits
Nov. 20th, 2019 09:11 pmLast week, I went to see The Good Liar. Pretty much the only thing that made me want to see it was the fact that it stars Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, and pretty much the only thing that made it worthwhile was seeing them giving stellar performances (though Russell Tovey was also really good). It kept my interest throughout, and it was great to see two protagonists over 70, holding their own in a tense thriller. But it was unnecessarily brutal and violent in places, in my view, and I didn't think there were enough clues earlier on to make the reveals at the end satisfying. There was also a massive info dump towards the end, with way too much piled on in too short a space of time to be effective. So, a mediocre film, massively elevated by two tremendous central performances. McKellen and Mirren deserve much better writing!
Last week, I also read The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh, which is ostensibly about a family trying to stay safe in a post-apocalyptic world, isolated in an abandoned hotel. It does well with providing an immersive setting without too much exposition, but still giving enough of a sense of the girls' lives to be effective and disturbing. There's more to the story than meets the eye, and the metaphorical aspects become apparent slowly. I found it absorbing, though I wasn't sure what the overall takeaway was supposed to be, since the ending felt very nebulous.
The highlight of last week, though, was seeing Tim Minchin on Thursday, which was glorious. The show was funny and poignant and clever and irreverent and, musically, so impressive. I loved the songs and I love the rambling talky bits in between. He trod a fine and interesting line between acknowledging and revelling in his privilege, and successfully dissed the audience several times. I got a sing-along for my favourite song (Woody Allen Jesus) and several new numbers, of which I absolutely loved Lonely Tonight, which talked about resisting temptations offered on tour away from loved ones. My only criticism was that it was difficult to make out all the words when the full band came in on some of the songs, which was a shame, because it's really the lyrics that make a Tim Minchin song. Well worth waiting 15 months for!
Then, last night, we went to see a stage production of The Man In The White Suit, which was - very silly. It was fairly entertaining overall - the set and staging were excellent, with impressive quick changes, ingenious backdrops and fold-away rooms, and a funny bit with cardboard cutouts of people chasing across a painting of the town. I also liked all the music - they managed to fit in several songs within the context of the story. And it's a fun plot. But the cast spent the whole production shouting for no reason, which made the whole thing a bit stilted, and some of the dialogue was very clunky. Still, mostly quite fun.
Last week, I also read The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh, which is ostensibly about a family trying to stay safe in a post-apocalyptic world, isolated in an abandoned hotel. It does well with providing an immersive setting without too much exposition, but still giving enough of a sense of the girls' lives to be effective and disturbing. There's more to the story than meets the eye, and the metaphorical aspects become apparent slowly. I found it absorbing, though I wasn't sure what the overall takeaway was supposed to be, since the ending felt very nebulous.
The highlight of last week, though, was seeing Tim Minchin on Thursday, which was glorious. The show was funny and poignant and clever and irreverent and, musically, so impressive. I loved the songs and I love the rambling talky bits in between. He trod a fine and interesting line between acknowledging and revelling in his privilege, and successfully dissed the audience several times. I got a sing-along for my favourite song (Woody Allen Jesus) and several new numbers, of which I absolutely loved Lonely Tonight, which talked about resisting temptations offered on tour away from loved ones. My only criticism was that it was difficult to make out all the words when the full band came in on some of the songs, which was a shame, because it's really the lyrics that make a Tim Minchin song. Well worth waiting 15 months for!
Then, last night, we went to see a stage production of The Man In The White Suit, which was - very silly. It was fairly entertaining overall - the set and staging were excellent, with impressive quick changes, ingenious backdrops and fold-away rooms, and a funny bit with cardboard cutouts of people chasing across a painting of the town. I also liked all the music - they managed to fit in several songs within the context of the story. And it's a fun plot. But the cast spent the whole production shouting for no reason, which made the whole thing a bit stilted, and some of the dialogue was very clunky. Still, mostly quite fun.
