Film: Lady Bird

Well, this week's midweek movie was Lady Bird! Excellent.. despite the hype, and the Oscar nomination for Saoirse Ronan, I never had seen it.

So, this is a coming-of-age story. She attends a Catholic high school in Sacramento - Lois Smith is the kindly principal. Her love interests (wow! most kids in my school would have killed to have one, never mind two) are Lucas Hedges and - on a darker note - Timothée Chalamet. And we follow her through the final year of school, the trials and tribulations of burgeoning adulthood, romantic relationships, friendships, schoolwork, and a fractious relationship with her mother. And to top it all, she's navigating college applications..

Happy to report that it's excellent. Pacy and brilliantly written, it's consistently entertaining. I don't know whether they mentioned when it was set - but Hand in My Pocket is on the soundtrack. (Goodee, it's too long since I heard that!) And given that Timothée Chalamet is taking a (nominal) stand against mobile phones, I have to think it's set a few years back. Anyway, that song is perfect for the sparky tone.

It's funny - it's also touching, and feels true. Saoirse's character changes direction as frequently as any teenager, and you really care for her and the people she loves. Highly recommended, if you come across it - nothing terribly dramatic happens, except in the sense that everything she experiences is dramatic and exciting to her. As it is in all our lives.

I was very excited about Saturday - The Old Vic has taken to streaming shows live in camera (so, played to an empty theatre). And coming up next is Three Kings - a one-man show with Andrew Scott! Showing from Wednesday to Saturday, it replicates a live theatre show, in that you have to attend at the scheduled time - so the only show I can make is the Saturday matinée. For which I snatched a ticket asap! Caveat - despite the different ticket prices, the view is the same for everyone - it's just a question of how much of a donation you feel like making. They're supposed to send me a Zoom link, shortly beforehand - oh, and these are non-transferable, you can only use the link on one device. But boy, do I love Andrew Scott.. 

Sadly, it was supposed to take place last week, but he's been in hospital (neither serious nor Covid-related, we're assured!). So it was rescheduled to this week - but they just informed us that it's now postponed to an unspecified date, as he's still not feeling well. Watch this space.. blast. At least it frees me up for Meetups - so I've booked my first meeting in months with London Social Detours. This one is a chat about Elizabethan times, along with a short film.