Films: That They May Face the Rising Sun & The Turning

I'm back in Ireland for the weekend again. Film-wise, yesterday I saw That They May Face the Rising Sun, based on the last book, of the same name, by John McGahern, set in rural Ireland in the 80s. Yes, showing in the Omniplex..

Busy as usual - but mercifully, meeting no traffic - I made the cinema as the ads were showing. I was a little dubious about whether I'd enjoy this - but I'm delighted to say, as much as Perfect Days, earlier in the year, this is a slow film, made by people who have the knack of slowness. Not in quite the same way, mind - in that film, quite little happened. In this film, there's a constant coming and going - but it's in the form of a small army of neighbours, visiting our protagonists. He (Barry Ward) is Irish, and a writer - so probably autobiographical, at least in part. She sounds German. Familiar faces include Ruth McCabe and Sean McGinley.. Catherine Byrne shows up as the love interest of our writer's uncle!

So yes.. basically, this couple have moved from London back to Ireland for a quiet life - it's not stated, but I assume he inherited the farm they don't really work. He's a writer, she's an artist. The author moved back to live in Leitrim, where I assume this is set - it isn't specified; it's actually filmed in Connemara. (Striking lack of rain, I must say.) And they're friendly with everyone, it seems - people call to see them constantly. Most of the film is taken up with their visits - quite a medley of characters. The story unfolds over the space of, I suppose, about a year.

Far as I could tell, it was authentic - I remember cottages like the one where Patrick lives, I remember my uncle behaving very much like Bill, the socially awkward, uneducated one. I remember them saving the hay. The neighbours depend on each other, as in any rural place, of course - and while there's a festival atmosphere whenever someone visits from London, there's perhaps a bit of suspicion too - certainly, the only time our protagonist loses his serene demeanour is when a former colleague of his wife's visits, and caricatures Bill as being like a peasant farmer in a Dostoyevsky play! He gets a sharp reply about what has led Bill to be as he is..

It's an absolutely charming film, with long shots of them enjoying the sunshine, saving hay.. neighbour's visits are rarely for anything in particular, apart from the sheer pleasure of each others' company. Mind you, it's telling how much local news they miss by not going to Mass..! Ah yes, very much a film of its time - the country's attitude to religion would undergo a sea change in the next 20 years..

Very highly recommended - I was pleasantly surprised.

Last night's horror film on TV - seems to be becoming a thing - was The Turning, a remake of The Turn of the Screw, where a young governess (here, Joely Richardson has a cameo as her mad mother), comes to take charge of a little girl, only to find the girl's brother there too, having been expelled from boarding school. And yes, he's as unpleasant as you might imagine - the only other person living in this vast estate is the cold housekeeper; the parents were killed in an accident, some time ago. However, the children might have some entity of malign intent working on them - the ghost of the groundsman still seems to haunt the place, with evil intent. Or.. is all of this just the governess' fevered imagination..?

Oh Lordy, they shouldn't have bothered - they bash you over the head with the supposition of the governess' madness, and not even the jump scares are scary. What you might call a phoned-in film.. I shouldn't have bothered either, particularly as I have a vague feeling I'd seen it already, although I can't be sure. Anyway, I was too tired afterwards to blog..

The next two days in London, I'm ticking theatrical boxes - both in Delfont Mackintosh theatres, and both, would you believe, cheapest from the official source! Tomorrow, I'm finally getting to see Player Kings, depicting the relationship between Falstaff and Hal from both parts of Shakepeare's Henry IV, with Sir Ian McKellan as Falstaff. Looking forward to it - I love Shakespeare adaptations. That's in the Noel Coward Theatre, and I'm paying a little extra not to sit in the slips, so I get more legroom.

On Tuesday, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) to see Opening Night, a musical with music by Rufus Wainwright. Before it closes! That's at the Gielgud. Mind you, I'm beginning to hear bad reports..

On Wednesday, back with The London Horror Book Club - they're doing a book I think I'll like - well, I certainly was interested in the free sample, so I bought it. It's The Fifth Child, about a couple living in domestic bliss, having four children, and all is sweetness and light.. until the fifth arrives.. This will be in The Prince of Wales, Drury Lane again. A few months since I was last with them. I have started the book.. just need to find the time to finish it!

And on Thursday, back with London Classical Music and Theatre Group, for the opera Lucia di Lammermoor in the Royal Opera House. My sometime companion from UITCS is coming too, and suggested Balthazar, just down the road, for dinner beforehand.. new venue to me, I'll give it a go!