Film: God's Creatures

Yesterday, the very last decent thing on locally in mainstream cinema was God's Creatures, at the Omniplex again, in which Emily Watson plays Paul Mescal's mother, in an isolated Irish fishing village on the Atlantic coast - the local canning factory has a name "? Atlantic Sea Foods". And so, off I headed to the earlier showing - again, mostly full, but it is the smallest screen they have! A couple arrived slightly after the start of the film, and proceeded to chat away - I was very glad when, after a couple of minutes, they left. I guess they found it boring.

I didn't - you can't go wrong with Emily Watson and Paul Mescal. So, he arrives suddenly, having disappeared to Australia some years before. No warning, no explanation - as his sister remarks, "so, it was the shite weather and the lack of jobs!". Or words to that effect. He claims homesickness - unlikely, if you ask me, and I do wonder why he left - nothing more is said about it. Anyway, he catches up with his childhood sweetheart (Aisling Franciosi) .. it's not much of a spoiler to say that next thing she's accusing him of rape, and his adoring mummy - terrified he'll disappear again - gives him an alibi. Which is, of course, a lie..

It's a quietly powerful piece, brilliantly acted. And, unlike other recent films set in Ireland, they have, indeed, pretty shite weather - until about the last scene, I think. There's a very clear gender divide in this community; the men perform the jobs on the water - apart from the publican; the women - all that appear in the film, anyway - work in the factory. (For a male boss.) Emily Watson's husband (Declan Conlon) has little to say to her, his dad - who seems to have dementia, and whom she has the job of looking after - slaps her. The woman who ends up accusing Paul Mescal of rape herself lives with an abusive husband. She's the one who mentions the film's title, musing that all men are the same - "we're all God's creatures in the dark".. It's not a happy place for women to start with - and, true to form, the men tend to rally around him, the women around his accuser. Apart from his mum, who then finds herself ostracised. Something's gotta give..

Recommended. Unless you have a low attention span - like that couple that left early. As for the rest of us in the cinema, I noticed a couple of groups up the back who took a while to leave at the end. Wonder whether they knew the place or people, and were looking for them in the credits.. or perhaps recognised the situation? Who knows..

Couldn't blog last night, I had to be up early for the Tesco delivery. Now, I have an old friend, Vicki, in Cork, whom I usually go down to see once a year, staying the night - usually at Christmas, but she was too busy for me last Christmas. So we've arranged for me to go and stay tonight, coming back tomorrow. (Just when the first storm of the season starts! Typical.) Now, that realistically means I can't fly to London before Thursday - but with nothing unmissable on Friday, I'm flying back that day instead. I checked on my holiday request, and it looked approved..

On Thursday, I might think of Plan 75, showing at the Belltable as part of the Japanese Film Festival - people aged 75 or older are given the option of assisted suicide, with free burial, and a $1000 grant to do with as they please.

I definitely have to be back in London for Saturday though, when I'm booked on another walk with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners! This one is A City built by a Genius - Wren's London. And as of now, he's scheduling walks I haven't done for days I can make them! Very cool.. because I do love his walks. And lunches.

Now, my boss suggested - quite a while ago - that we might have a jaunt to the head office in Tel Aviv on Sunday! I hadn't heard anything since, though - so I finally asked him. He confirmed that it won't be until at least next month now - wants to get the latest release out. (Just as well really, with all the unrest over there.) So I'll be in London next week. And in fact, that day, I finally found something good to do - London Herstory Guided Walks is doing Movers & Shakers of Marylebone! Great to be back with Mandy again.

However, there isn't honestly much coming up on Meetup - so, for the 19th, I've booked For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide.. at the Apollo. I have a front-row seat in the Dress Circle - now, I seem to remember ridiculously tight legroom, here - so I'm at the end of a row, and Seatplan says it'll be OK if I lean forward..

On the 20th, I'm with TAC for a talk on Arab & Islamic Roots of Europe's Architecture, at St. Mary Magdalene Church.

Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend. On the 24th, back with Up in the Cheap Seats for The Secret Life of Bees, at the Almeida - no seats left in the stalls, when I booked! Seatplan made me wary of the cheapest seats, so I'm in the next bracket up..

And on the 25th, back with Over 40 Living the Life, for dinner at the Greenwich Yacht Club again. Well, it was good last time - good food, cheap prices, good company. Four of us going so far - I'm sure there'll be more!