Two Fillums

Chris took me to see two films over the weekend - well, it's an opportunity to sit in the dark scoffing piles of popcorn and drinking gallons of diet coke without feelings of guilt, so who am I to say 'no'?

The first, on Saturday, was 'Atonement' at Streatham Odeon. Well, I say Streatham Odeon but it was in screen 8 which seemed like a two mile walk round twist and turny corridors so I suspect the actual screening room was somewhere in Crystal Palace. Anyway, I'd not heard anything about it and haven't read the book so I went with an open mind. It was ok, nicely shot and some very nice scenes (such as the long, apparently single shot that took in the sweep of a retreating army on the Dunkirk beach) but it didn't tweak the heart-strings or the brain.

The first half of the film gradually started annoying me, the set-up scenes taking too long, the jumping back and forward in time, Keira Knightly's overly clipt (as opposed to clipped) accent grated. Then there were the war scenes which were less annoying but the hospital bits dragged a bit. I'm being quite negative, aren't I? I don't mean to be, I didn't dislike it, but I doubt I'll get the DVD. I might get the book, though.

The power really came at the end with Vanessa Redgrave playing the girl from the first half all grown up and old and dying of cancer. The shocks came thick and fast but I won't say what they were in case you haven't seen it. And a long close-up of Vanessa's face as she talks was wonderful. My first thought was, 'she used to be beautiful' as I gazed on the lined and wrinkled face and my second thought was 'she still is beautiful'. A powerful and unafraid performance. Well done.

The second film was on Sunday lunchtime at the Brixton Ritzy, John Waters' 'This Filthy World'. Oh so subtley different from the film the previous night..

It's a film of one of his speaking engagements or solo shows where he just talks for nearly 1 1/2 hours, an excellent raconteur with a rude tale - nay, filthy and vulgar tale - for every situation. But it's not just a series of expletives, it's well constructed and intelligent. I couldn't help giggling like a loon at some of his observations and tales of his films and people he's worked with. It's an endless stream of one-liners that I'd love to repeat here but I've forgotten most of them. The best line for me was when he overheard a little child talking to its father, 'Dad, why's Mom crying' and the Dad replying 'Because you're such as asshole'. It doesn't have the same impact as him saying it but the incongruity of it makes it the perfect opening line for a future film, as he himself noted. Go on, go and see it if you can - you'll be rolling in the aisles - or buy the DVD when it's available.

Something I was touched by was that he always referred to Divine as Divine and never as John or Frank or Herbert or whatever his birth-name was (I have no idea). Even growing up, Divine was Divine and that says a lot about Divine, about John and about their relationship. He's clearly maintaining the mythology around Divine but who cares?

A final observation - why are there so many adverts and trailers in films these days? I always finish the popcorn before the film starts...