I had it in mind to go to Lift to the Scaffold (Ascenseur pour l' Échafaud) today. It's showing in the British Film Institute and the Renoir - the BFI is closer, so that was the venue of choice. Now, the BFI usually shows, on the film listings page, when a film is a quarter, half, three-quarters sold out. Unfortunately, not on this occasion. Well, with three showings today, and more during the week, I thought I was ok. Just as well, at 3pm, an hour before the showing I wanted to attend was due to start, and just as I was about to leave, that I thought to check - the showing was mostly sold out! Knowing how there tend to be last-minute runs, and that it would take me more than half an hour to get there, I booked quickly, before leaving.
The platform indicator at West Brompton is still wrong. Funny, that! It showed that the next train was going into town. It wasn't. Still, the train after it was, so that wasn't the problem. I did think it odd that the first train waited for a couple of minutes at the end of the platform before advancing. I knew there was something up when the next train, the one I was waiting for, waited there for more than five minutes! I've never seen them do that before. And, given that there was a ferocious, bitterly cold wind, it was not appreciated!
The train made an unscheduled stop before pulling into the next station, Earl's Court. I was now beginning to worry that I wouldn't make it in time, despite leaving in what should have been plenty of time. (And having booked a ticket, too!) When we showed no signs of moving from Earl's Court, I began to get suspicious. The driver told us that we were at another red signal - the second since I got on, one stop back. I got out my phone - luckily, it was getting a signal (Earl's Court station District Line platforms are above ground), and I soon found, on Transport for London's website, that there was a signal failure at the next stop, Gloucester Road, and that no trains were running from Earl's Court to Embankment, which was where I needed to go.
No announcement had been made to that effect, and inwardly cursing, I made a quick mental calculation. The Piccadilly Line runs through Earl's Court too - I checked, and no delays were reported. I could change at Green Park, and take the Jubilee Line to Waterloo, walk from there. So I made a run for it, calculating that I had already lost fifteen minutes to this unreported delay! As I dashed to get off, the driver announced, in a slightly bemused voice, that we were still being held, and there must be congestion up ahead. "More like a signal failure!" I muttered, startling a woman I passed. I did think about making my knowledge public, but decided the last thing I needed was a whole crowd of people heading the same way I was..
It wasn't too long before I caught a Piccadilly Line train, and we moved quickly, but I was clock-watching the whole way. I changed at Green Park, got caught up in a huge group of people. Not very fast moving people. I was beginning to despair, especially when I realised that this is the station with the long, long walk between Piccadilly and Jubilee Lines. Anyway, I said I'd keep going. I eventually arrived at Waterloo, and legged it as fast as possible, to arrive, panting, at the BFI box office at 4.05. The guy obligingly took my postcode instead of making me show my card for ID, and directed me upstairs. Of course, I didn't get my reserved seat, but at least I got in! They have a latecomers policy at the BFI that, if you're within the first 10 minutes of the film, you can get in, but only if they can put you in a seat where you won't have to push past anyone - so at the end of a row. More than 10 minutes late, you are denied entry at all.
Ok. Phew. This is film noir at its finest. The first film by Louis Malle, it has a legendary score by Miles Davis, who apparently recorded the whole thing in one night while watching the film projected on a wall. It is said to have made a star of Jeanne Moreau. It's also said to have given birth to "cool". Having seen it, I have to say - I believe them. This is cool that isn't pretentious. Cool that is effortless. Nearly every shot is iconic. The casual cigarette dangling from the mouth, the droopy eyes, the chic cars. And what's more, it's a terrific story.
The plot is basically this - a man, a veteran of the Algerian war and the Foreign Legion, is having an affair with his boss's wife (Jeanne Moreau). They are madly in love, and conspire to kill her husband. He is to do it, at the office. The killing is well planned and made to look like suicide. Unfortunately, he forgets a minor detail that could incriminate him, and returns to fix things. The building supervisor, thinking that everyone has left for the day, shuts off the power just as our killer is making his way upstairs in the lift. He's trapped! More than this, this is in the 50s, he has no mobile phone, and she has no way of knowing what's happened to him. Spends much of the film wandering the streets in the rain. And he's left the keys in his car, just across the road - so a young couple take it for a joyride. For the rest of the film, he has very little control over what happens - doesn't even know anything about the events that will prove so momentous.
The plot is clever, convoluted, and ironic. I actually gave a little clap at the final twist, it's so pat. You could not devise a better story. Lovers of crime stories will love this. Lovers of jazz will love this. Francophiles will love this. I ordered this on dvd as soon as I could, when I got home. Run out and see it, if you get the chance. I have seen a great many films in my time - 53 in the last six months if you count on the blog, and that's just in cinemas (I got asked that in an online survey today) - and while this isn't my favourite, it is right up there as one of the greatest films I have ever seen.
Wow. Anyway. I was hungry when I came out, and decided to head for La Piazza, on Villiers Street - an Italian I know well and that I haven't been to in a while. I tend to feel like eating out when I've been to something truly great. I was lucky enough to get the last table, and had a very nice meal. Funnily enough, this place gets a lot of negative reviews, but if you read them, it's mainly down to the service. True, there is one blonde server who is absolutely terrible. Luckily, I got the other one!
Coming out, I got the District Line from Embankment - which was full of police, for some reason. Anyway, there was an announcement when we got to Earl's Court - severe delays due to signalling problems. On the lines running through Hammersmith - mercifully, that didn't include me..
Tomorrow's film is one I'm looking forward to. Hunger (2008) is showing in the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and I missed it when it was first released and haven't had a chance to see it since. Steve McQueen's first feature as a director, it stars Michael Fassbender as the Republican hunger striker Bobby Sands. Supposed to be terrific..
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