Film: Me Before You

At last! Again, tv finally provided me with a film I hadn't seen, wanted to see, and had time to see. At least, I thought I hadn't seen it. Well, I said I'd give it a shot - it was Me Before You, in which Emilia Clarke takes a job as carer for a young paralyzed man, forming the proverbial unlikely bond, and tries to get him to change his mind about killing himself. Charles Dance plays his father, Joanna Lumley shows up in a rather excellent cameo at his girlfriend's wedding! (Yes, she abandoned him for his best friend.) Apparently she's the bride's godmother.

I thought Emilia Clarke was familiar, for some reason - turns out, of course, the reason is Game of Thrones! I never watched it. Funny how it's wormed its way into all our consciousnesses. Anyway, stick with the initial scenes, where she grins incessantly - it might be annoying, but she does it less later on, and it does contrast nicely with the maudlin demeanour of her patient. The dialogue is unusual enough that you can tell it's based on a book - and gee, it turns out to be rather a sweet, if stereotypical, story! with him teaching her as much as she manages to teach him. Quite compelling - and the chemistry between the leads is great. One of the most watchable films I've seen in ages, in fact - and very moving, as the story reaches its climax. Highly recommended.

Tomorrow - well, Up in the Cheap Seats watched Hymn tonight. Of course, I couldn't make that time, so will be watching on my own. It's live-streamed from the Almeida, until tomorrow, so the only show I can make is tomorrow's matinée. And I'm glad I took the organiser's advice to book early, as the last one sold out - this one did, too! (As I learned from last week's Graham Norton Show, where one of the stars of the play was a guest. And proved himself an excellent dancer.)

And on Sunday, the same group is watching Angels in America (Part 1 - Millennium Approaches), a National Theatre production. Again, would you believe it, not at a time I can make - they're starting early, but it's very long. Well, this is one you can rent at any time, and watch on demand for three days after - so I've rented it. Hey, it's cheaper than your average NT production..