Film: The Worst Person in the World

Tonight, fancied film again - and I was delighted to see that the Prince Charles had resurrected one I'd never had the chance to see! The Worst Person in the World is a Norwegian film about a woman searching for an identity. Looked beautifully quirky. It's interesting how much keener I was in this than in the higher-rated Anora - where the young son of an oligarch falls for an American prostitute and his family sends in the heavies - could have something to do with the age of the protagonists: they just look too young in that! The Worst Person in the World looked much more relatable to me.

It was on at 6.15 - an in-between time, where I could eat before or after. But it would have been a bit tight for eating before, so I headed straight to the cinema. We were delayed on the bridge, as a fire engine in front of us turned around awkwardly - and then, just as we left Aldwych, the driver announced that our next stop would be the last! Blast - Aldwych would've been closer; I could have got off if I'd known in time. Never mind, I could walk it as fast as go by bus from there - and I still made it in time. Bought my ticket at the counter - they hadn't sold out. And hey, noticed fliers for The Hideout there! Cool, I hadn't realised they'd left some..

The screening was upstairs - the one with the comfy seats.

Well, I was right - this is a cracker of a film! You know, describing the plot afterwards, it occurred to me that not very much "filmworthy" happens. She dithers about what to do for a career, flits from lover to lover, can't decide on having kids.. that kind of summarises the plot! But she's very likeable - delightful, in fact - and haven't we all been there? (Well, I have.) The guys she dates are lovely too.. I found myself very invested in the story of what happens to her, and to the men in her life.

There are only a couple of "altered reality" scenes - one where she stops time, leaving the guy she's living with and going to find this new, exciting guy - lovely shots of people halted mid-motion for this: and the second is when she takes magic mushrooms. And woah, that's a trip.. By and large, though, we just follow her on an odyssey through a very attractive-looking Oslo: in summer evening sunlight, in snow, it's made to look so gorgeous. 

And as she lives her life, she goes through all the aforementioned - love affairs, career changes, angst. And it's so realistic it must be autobiographical. It's not all sweetness and light - there's rejection, there's loneliness, there's death. One conversation made me weep. It's just a very - true - film. Three years old now! I'm so glad I got the chance to see it at last. Very highly recommended - caveat, there's nudity, there's explicit sex, there are sexual references - and of course, magic mushrooms. You have been warned..

Afterwards, to Bella Italia of course! where they seated me despite me having no reservation. I just made it in nice time - they close at 10, I was there before 9. They're obliging here though - after 9, they seated a party of eight with no reservation! warning them that they'd have to eat fast.. The meal was as delicious as always - and yet again, I had a voucher code for a free starter. Something of a downer was put on the evening towards the beginning of the meal, when I picked up on the messages I'd missed while at the cinema, and discovered some from the bank, alerting me to fraudulent transactions on my card! Phone reception was so bad I had to wait till I got home to sort out the ordering of a new one, but I did manage to get the old one cancelled. And I have to say, the bank couldn't have been more efficient, or more helpful. (Oh, and yes, I could pay for my dinner - I always carry a few different ones.)

And I just squeezed in the time to collect an Amazon parcel, and to shop briefly, on the way home. So, a successful evening..

Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again - and with the film listings finally out, for Saturday it's Small Things Like These, where Cillian Murphy plays a man living in rural Ireland of the 50s. Unfortunately, he finds himself living beside a Magdalene Laundry.. determined to do something to help the inmates, he runs up against the implacable head of the institution, Emily Watson. Yes, and it isn't so easy to speak out if you're depending on the self-same institution to educate your little girls, in years to come.. and in those days, a religious education was the only choice. Showing widely - I'm seeing it in the Omniplex.

Having vowed never again to take a flight as late if I can avoid it, for the return leg to London I'm shunning Ryanair, and going Aer Lingus, who fly 2.5 hours earlier..

The next three days in London promise to be musical ones! The next two days back, I'm with TAC - first time in a while. On Monday, I'm going to see the Fibonacci Quartet, for the Kirckman Concerts at King's Place.

And on Tuesday, I'm seeing The Definitive Rat Pack tribute act, at Boisdale of Canary Wharf.

And on Wednesday, I start a new run of Meetups with Over 40 Living the Life, for The Magic of Motown tribute show, at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

Next Thursday, I'm back at Watkin's Occult Bookshop, first time in ages - this is for a talk from the author of a new book - on Book Curses! Eating afterwards at Bella Italia Cranbourn Street again!

On the 15th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) for The Glorious French Revolution at the New Diorama Theatre! Eating beforehand at the nearby Greene Man, which is a Greene King pub, so good food should be had.

On the 16th, back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies, yay! This walk is Baker Street and its Quirky Surrounds.

As is becoming something of a habit, afterwards I'm joining Movie Roadhouse London (The Hideout's sister group) for a film! This time, it's Gladiator II, at Picturehouse Central, with Paul Mescal replacing Russell Crowe as the gladiator who shows Rome the error of its ways, and a return by Connie Nielsen.. seems I mistook who was whom, and her son is actually the aforementioned Paul Mescal, by Russell Crowe! So yes, he IS his son.. Denzel Washington also shows up as a slave that wants to overthrow Rome. Directed by the very bankable Ridley Scott.

On the 17th, I'm back with the Crick Crack Club! This time, it's Queen of Between, with Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, and it's at the British Museum again - which means I'd better leave a huge chunk of time for queueing!

And on the 18th, I'm headed to Reykjavik, in Hampstead Theatre.. which, ironically, UITCS went to last week..