Yet another review

I feel that this blog is morphing from a travelogue to a film review. Never mind flexibility is the spice of life. It just so happens that since returning from holiday we have watched four of the current top films.

Last night we visited the newly opened Everyman cinema in York. This was housed in the vast old Odeon just outside of the city walls. It had been very sympathetically refurbished into four cinemas, however I thought that the split nature of the space meant that it did not have the same edge or vibe of the Everyman in Leeds.

The small cinema was though very comfortable in the modern style with sofas instead of stalls. We had ventured as far as York to see the UK opening night of Lady Bird the hotly tipped Oscar nominated film starring Saoirse Ronan. It is a coming of age story portraing an eighteen year old girl in her last year at a catholic high school in Sacramento. In particular it shows the moving relationship between mother and daughter within the context of the family dynamic.

It was a good film, time passed quickly, the subject was interesting and the acting strong. In my opinion though the acting and the breadth of the subject was not in the same league as Three Billboards. I thought that Ronan’s portrayel was sensitive and nuanced, however for me it did not have a memorable power. Laurie metcalf as her mother though is superb, channelling he love into frustration and angst. I wonder whether Ronan looked a little mature for the role. Having said that it was a subtle take on the conflicting emotional forces of an eighteen yaer old. A very good film, but not a great one.