Views for Your New Year

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Bramwell (Series 2)

There are MANY surprises and fresh guest stars in the 2nd series of this smart, gritty show starring Jemma Redgrave as Dr. Eleanor Bramwell.  Well-born lady doc Eleanor, while struggling to keep her “baby”–The Thrift (a charity hospital in London) going–is still at odds w/ her protective dad and fellow doc, Robert (David Calder).  Romance comes into Eleanor’s life (FINALLY!!!) in the form of handsome, charming Dr. Finn O’Neill.  The Irish researcher may be her equal in brains and talent.  But love is NOT easy for this pair, thanks to their conflicting natures and ambitions.  And, of course, Robert is NOT happy of his “little girl’s” choice.

 

The House of Mirth (2000)

No, this film isn’t about Brits; the characters are American (as seen through the eyes of novelist Edith Wharton and screenwriter/director Terence Davies) from the turn of the 20th century.  If you liked The Age of Innocence, you’ll definitely find this film (w/ a much lower budget) quite absorbing!  Canadian Gillian Anderson (Bleak House) lifts this movie onto her narrow shoulders and carries you away into the life of beautiful, charming, yet cash-poor, Lily Bart.  Like many singletons before and after her, New York debutante Lily likes nice clothes, having fun (vacations, theater, fine food, etc.) and hopes to marry someday.  But she MUST marry a rich man to maintain her lifestyle!

At the start of the film, Lily has an ambiguous relationship w/ a bachelor of her circle, lawyer Lawrence Seldon (Eric Stoltz).  They speak their minds to each other, but never directly confess their feelings.  One day, a maid sees her coming out of Seldon’s apartment- a VERY scandalous thing at that time.  A married friend, Gus Trenor (Dan Ackroyd), says he’ll help Lily invest her small income in the stock market, but he has more than that in his (creepy) mind.  Then one of Lily’s close friends, the worldly Bertha Dorset (Laura Linney in a wickedly fine role), turns against her.

Lily tries to stay true to herself and her personal morals.  She can’t force herself to marry for money alone.  Lily is not “world smart,” as my mom says; she thinks that people are pretty much what they portray themselves to be.  The director uses a lot of mirrors, keeping w/ the theme of appearance.  It was interesting to see Oz star Terry Kinney portray a cuckolded hubby.  Also, pay attention to the performance of Australian Anthony LaPaglia; it’s low-key, yet very effective.  The soundtrack, compiled by Adrian Johnston (Becoming Jane) sets just the right mood.

 

Miss Julie (1999)

   

Statuesque Brit Saffron Burrows (a former model; Nan in Circle of Friends) and her (shorter) co-star, Scotsman Peter Mullan (The Claim) are captivating in Mike Figgis’ film version of August Strindberg’s play.  Irish actress Maria Doyle Kennedy (one of he main reasons to see the first season of The Tudors) makes a fine contribution as well.  On Midsummer’s Eve in the late 1800s, the servants at a Swedish country estate are cutting loose w/ drinking, joking, and dancing.  The mistress of the manor, Miss Julie (Burrows), joins them in their revelry rather than going w/ her father, The Duke, to visit relatives.  This doesn’t sit well with the footman, Jean (Mullan) and his intended, the head cook Christine (Doyle Kennedy).

Miss Julie gets tipsy and keeps asking to dance w/ Jean, to his embarrassment and annoyance.  She comes into the kitchen and angrily asks why he’s still wearing his “livery” (uniform) when it’s time to cut loose.  Appearance is VERY important to Jean; he takes GREAT pride in his work for The Duke.  He’s well-spoken, has seen some of the world, and doesn’t take stuff from just anyone. 

Eventually, Christine goes upstairs to sleep, leaving the main players together.  Jean and Miss Julie basically go at it- a power struggle between genders and classes ensues.  There is also the latent physical attraction between them.  Clearly, Miss Julie is an angry, depressed young woman.  We learn that her fiance recently broke up w/ her.  She longs for change- to be free from her “cage;” a little bird sits in an actual cage in a corner of the sparse kitchen set.  In one crucial scene, Jean exclaims that HE could take her away!  Though he is of a low class, he could (in time) make her a duchess; she could never make him a duke (being a powerless woman w/o her father’s status/protection).        

More about the play:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Julie

2011 in review

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

 

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 78,000 times in 2011. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 3 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Some recent iTunes downloads

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Glen Templeton – EP

 

Only $3.99 for all songs:

When Gone Comes Back

Choosing to Believe

I Could Be the One

A Sinner’s Prayer

Devil In the Mirror

 

Chris Young – Neon

My favorite songs on this album:

Lost

She’s Got This Thing About Her 

When She’s On

You (on Deluxe edition)           

 

 

 

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

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Did you see Far From Heaven, the 2002 film starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Haysbert, and Dennis Quaid?  Not only is that film intelligent and sensitive, it harkens back to an era of beautifully-made melodramas.  The director, Todd Haynes, was influenced by the work of Douglas Sirk, the director of All the Heaven Allows, starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, now available on Netflix Instant Play.

Wyman stars as Cary Scott, a widowed mother (somewhere in her 40s) with two grown children living in suburban New York.  Her deep-thinking daughter Kay goes to Princeton and does social work in NYC; she also has a serious boyfriend.  Her jovial son Ned is finishing up college and looking toward launching his career.  The family home is spacious and finely decorated, so we know that the deceased Mr. Scott was a very successful man.

Since her kids pretty much have their own lives, Cary is feeling a bit lonely and wondering what she can do with the rest of her life.  Her best friend and neighbor Sara (Agnes Moorehead; she later co-starred on the TV comedy Bewitched) suggests she get out more to the country club.  Cary does date a bit; she spends time with Harvey, a mild-mannered older man (one of the few single men around).  But she’s still a vibrant woman, so he’s not quite right for her.

Feeling restless, she wonders if she should take up gardening as a hobby.  One lovely Fall day, she invites her handsome younger gardener, Ron Kirby (Hudson), to sit and share some lunch with her.  Ron’s deceased father had cared for the gardens of this community for years, but he has more plans for himself.  They tentatively become friends.  Within one year, Cary and Ron’s lives (and her views) will be profoundly changed by their evolving relationship.

From Here to Eternity (1953)

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I saw this film for probably the third time this past week.  (It’s my mom’s favorite.)  It boosted the careers of its stars: Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift, Donna Reed, and Frank Sinatra (who provides most of the much-needed humor and optimism).  Wow, what a cast!   The film won 8 Academy Awards; it was nominated for 13.

Young Army Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Clift) comes to a new base for his assignment.  From his first day, many of the other men bother him about not fighting (boxing) in the company league; we learn that he was quite successful at it, aside from one (tragic) event.  Sergeant Milton Warden (Lancaster) tells the others to leave the guy alone.  Warden, who’s admired as a great soldier, likes Prewitt, though he calls him “hard-headed.”  Prewitt, no matter what insults or how much punishment he’s given, says he’ll never box again.

She’s not that into you…  but give her time!  Yes, that’s petite Donna Reed (post-It’s a Wonderful Life).  She plays “Lorene” (real name: Alma), a somewhat jaded dance hall girl who Prewitt wants to get close to.  Though he wants a relationship, Alma is hesitant because she wants to keep working to secure her future.  Reed, who’s character is tough and independent-minded, won Best Supporting Actress.

Warden has his life complicated by his intense attraction to Karen (Kerr), the wife of his boss, Captain Holmes.  Like Alma, Karen is more than what she appears to be- sublimating her great loneliness and sorrow by behaving scandalously.  (Above: Kerr and Lancaster share one the most famous kisses in Hollywood film history.  Sigh…)

To her surprise, Karen falls deeply in love with Warden, a simple man who’s content to be a humble soldier.

There is more to romance in this story; there are serious issues that arise.  The jovial Private Angelo Maggio (Sinatra) is bullied by the racist Sgt. Judson (Ernest Borgnine).  Maggio and Prewitt were great friends though opposite in temperment; they have fun and get into trouble together.  But there is a sense of foreboding throughout much of the film, as is fitting-  the story takes place on the island of Oahu just a few weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor.