The Children Act

I'd meant to say we were at the cinema  last week, watching The Children Act with Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci. People have not been too kind to it but I thought it was very good. It deals with big themes - death, marriage, childlessness, career. friendship, religion, etc - and does it,a s far as I could see, without coming down too heavily handedly in a didactic manner. Rather, it presents the dilemmas strikingly and realistically and I found it very stimulating. I don't like to read up about a film before going so I had not realised it is based on an Ian McEwan novel. May be I wouldn't like the novel. I liked the film. Great acting from Thompson, Tucci and the young man.

Six stars for Saving Mr Banks

 

Saw the film Saving Mr Banks this week with Tom Hanks (Walt Disney) and Emma Thompson (P L Travers). I went with Eleri as it was one of those rare moments when we both think we'll like a film and we're able to get round to seeing it. Put simply, it was absolutely stunningly brilliant. This is what films should be like but rarely are - funny, sad, interesting, evocative, nostalgic, simple but compelling, telling a story. It is even worth knowing why it has the title it does.

I do not honestly know whether I have seen a film in the cinema that both made me laugh out loud and quietly cry. It's extremely rare for a film to do even one of those things. When you throw in the fact that it is about a film I know (Mary Poppins) and yet a story that I don't know (the life of P L Travers) then the recipe is a powerful one. I especially loved the moments when the Sherman brothers are writing a song and trying to get it right and because you know how it should go you get a tremendous buzz waiting fro them to work it out.

What was so funny? The hilarious way the Emma Thompson character objects to almost everything that is suggested and treats the co-writers like naughty schoolboys. So sad? Chiefly P L Travers inability to forgive herself but plenty of sadness from Walt and others too.

Seeing this film has convinced me that Gravity was very poor indeed as are most of the films that come out. Almost never do I want to see a film again but this one I would happily see again. I'd also like to watch Mary Poppins again some time.