Good news for Southampton’s Gay Community as a new club is about to open its doors. (more…)
Category: Entertainment
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FILM REVIEW | Diana
★★ | Diana
Officially separated from her husband, Diana Princess of Wales is out to hook herself another new man, and the one she has chosen is Hasnet Khan a handsome heart surgeon who she looks up at with her big dewy eyes and blurts out ‘So hearts can’t really be broken then?’
Full credit to actress Naomi Watts who, complete with prosthetic nose, is playing the worlds most famous woman, that she musters as much dignity as she can delivering such clichéd tosh as this straight out of a schoolgirls ‘True Romance’ story. This is from the new biopic that specifically deals with the two years of the doomed affair Diana and Khan had that ended just a year before her untimely death.
The picture painted here is of a lonely and somewhat desperate woman trapped by the restraints of her fame and constantly waging war with her in-laws and the whole Buckingham Palace machinery. She is portrayed as an innocent here, and flirts to capture Khan as if he is the only man she has ever loved. (There is not even a hint to her long affair with James Hewitt etc). Khan is clearly smitten too and soon succumbs to her charms and her wily ways but by dating Diana he starts something he knows he cannot maintain as his devout Muslim family in Pakistan will eventually pressure him to take a traditional wife.
Their two years together are an emotional roller coaster and the movie veers dramatically from showing Diana as this love struck immature girl one moment to the world crusader that she became. In the scenes of the latter, Director Oliver Hirschbiegel, just couldn’t resist in going just a tad too far in making her seem just a little too holy and self-righteous.
Of course the trouble tackling any story on such a major icon like this is that everybody has a fiercely held view on their own. Hence some of the excessive vitriol that was heaped on the movie by the UK press. This may not be a good movie but it is hardly the train wreck that so many Brits (except this one) think it is.
Based on book by journalist Kate Snell it is like, so much that was written about Diana, mainly unsubstantiated and comprised of suppositions and a lot of clever guesswork. What it seriously lacked was not necessarily more facts (god forbid) but a half decent script to replace the embarrassing drivel that newbie writer Stephen Jeffreys had penned. If only Peter Morgan (The Queen) had taken the job on!
The fact however that it was still streaks ahead of a Lifetime for TV biopic was thanks to Miss Watts. She may have been 10 years older than Diana was when she died, and an Australian, and not really looking a lot like her, but she still did a great job.
Available to buy / view on: Amazon | Amazon Prime | iTunes
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THEATRE REVIEW | King Charles III, Almeida Theatre
★★★★ | King Charles III, Almeida Theatre
Queen Elizabeth II is no more. Long live the King! Prince Charles has long courted controversy, offering his opinions about political matters, the environment and been the victim of press intrusion. How will he take on the mantel of power after a lifetime waiting in the wings, especially when the first task is to sign off a bill limiting the powers of the press? How will the younger royals react to his reign? More importantly, what will become of the nation?Mike Bartlett’s future history play about the reign of King Charles is an unusual but effective piece of thought provoking comedy. Written in a Shakespearean style with dialogue in cod blank verse and abundant soliloquys. Shakespearean tropes abound too: the whispering ghost casting a shadowy figure across the stage (Princess Diana, complete with head tilt, of course), the scheming, ambitious wife (Catherine Duchess of Cambridge) and the foppish fool (Prince Harry).
The recognisable characters of the modern soap opera family that is the Windsors are instantly recognisable yet the cast manage to give them depths and motivations that the viewer wouldn’t always expect. Tim Piggott-Smith portrays Charles as a principled man; misguided and idealistic at times but wise at others, with an underlying crisis of confidence bubbling beneath the surface. Lydia Wilson is spellbinding as Kate and Richard Goulding’s Harry, bewitched by a Republican commoner from South East London, is magnificent. Handsome Oliver Chris is a revelation as a William who is less effete than he initially appears.
Rupert Gould has managed to stage the play as a haunting piece of modern theatre that is watchable and compelling yet also informative and highly relevant to our times. This is a hilarious play that is quite an exceptional piece of theatre following on from the Almeida’s recent run of stand out pieces.
I suspect that this play will go on to huge success and acclaim and wouldn’t be surprised by a West End transfer. Now might be the time to catch it in the intimate space of the Almeida that lends itself so well to this production.
King Charles III runs until Saturday 31st of May
Buy tickets here: http://www.almeida.co.uk/event/kingcharles
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FILM REVIEW | Yves Saint Laurent
★★★★ | Yves Saint Laurent
Yves St Laurent was regarded as the most consistently celebrated and influential designer for twenty-five years. He is credited with both spurring Haute Couture’s rise from its 1960’s ashes and with finally rendering Ready-to-Wear reputable. He was unquestionably a genius and it’s no exaggeration at all to state that some of his ‘creations’ were stunning masterpieces.
He was however, a very troubled and tormented soul. An aspect that this new biopic on M. St Laurent makes a point of labouring on. As a piece of fiction the story of how this timid gentle soul who, at the tender age of 21 took over from his mentor Christian Dior to head up the Couture House is totally compelling. The year is 1957 and his first Collection as Head Designer at Dior catapulted him to international stardom. A year later he met Pierre Bergé, an industrialist who became his lover, and later his business partner after Dior had sacked St Laurent. He and Bergé set up the House of Yves St Laurent together.
The movie focuses on how St Laurent, who had always been a manic depressive, became heavily dependent on alcohol and drugs just to cope with his daily pressures. As he sought solace (and sex) in the arms of other young men, his exploits landed him in police stations and on newspaper front pages, and he was always being rescued by Bergé who saved the day yet again. The couple spilt up romantically in 1976, a fact that is not mentioned in the movie, but remained business partners until St Laurent’s death from brain cancer in 2008.
It’s a real treat to see the scenes of St Laurent at work in his Salon watching him create unforgettable pieces that were greatly influenced by his love of non-European culture. Also some of the scenes of almost debauchery when he is out partying with close friends like Karl Lagerfeld and Loulou de la Falaise when he looks like he is actually enjoying himself for a change. However fact and fiction start to really cross wires, and whilst we are expected to believed that this was a man who refused to take responsibility for anything, it’s nigh on impossible to believe that Bergé was such a saintly figure who never ever even dreamed about sleeping around or sniffing a line of coke or anything remotely bad.
The movie based on Laurence Benaim’s biography was made with with Bergé’s ‘approval’ who has always had a reputation as a control freak and in the same way he micro-managed YSL, he has obviously totally manipulated the way that both he and St Laurent are portrayed in this movie. It’s such a pity as I believe that the real truth of this remarkable and tempestuous relationship is a great story still waiting to be told.
Maybe it will be in Bertrand Bonello’s new movie ‘Saint Laurent’ currently being made now without Berge’s approval.
Fact or fiction, there were still two incredible performances from the lead actors Guillaume Gallienne as Bergé, and Pierre Niney who was completely pitch perfect as the vulnerable St. Laurent.
There was one remarkable touching scene when St Laurent arrives home, the worse for wear after an all night bender and has collapsed in the bathroom. As Bergé helps him, St Laurent tearfully confesses that he loves his new boyfriend Jacques, but that Berge will always be the love of his life. And you really want to believe that this indeed really was the case.
Available to buy / view on: Amazon | Amazon Prime | iTunes
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FILM REVIEW | Any Day Now
★★★★★ | Any Day Now
So, here’s the thing, I can be an old, hard cynical fart when I want to be – but occasionally, just occasionally along comes something that makes me weep like a baby.
This film is one of those things.
What starts out as a simple story of love and acceptance quickly turns into one of bigotry and spite – leading to an unexpected ending. Based on a true story, this is one emotional roller-coaster.
The storyline is simple, boy meets boy, boy blows boy in front seat of car, Rudy (Alan Cumming) is a low rent drag queen/singer, Paul (Garret Dillahunt) is a closeted lawyer – and these are our two main characters. Set in Los Angeles in 1978, Rudy lives in a flea pit apartment block, and when his drug addicted neighbour is arrested and sent to jail, the twosome take in her teenage son Marco (Isaac Leyva) and become the family unit they all want and need.
However, this is the late ’70s, and their family soon draw the wrong kind of attention, and then the prejudice kicks in. A biased legal system, people perceptions of gay life and children – a far cry from the current ads being run by several councils offering fostering with images of smiling gay or lesbian couples as images of happy families.
It highlights a time when it was “in the child’s best interest” to be placed with a convicted drug addict, rather than a loving same sex couple. When a downs syndrome child may be better off incarcerated in an institution rather then even consider that a gay couple could give him the love and caring he needs.
There are some lovely set pieces in the film, the loving couple Rudy and Paul portray, the stories Marco needs to sleep (always with a happy ending), his love of donuts and Isaac’s acting ability – the heart wrenching scene when he cries himself to sleep as he can’t go home.
A strong cast and crew make this one of the best films of its kind in a long time with Travis Fine doing a great job as director, writer and producer.
My advice, buy a big bag of Minstrels and an entire box of Kleenex before hitting play – enjoy the film, and the cry!
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THEATRE REVIEW | Three Sisters, Southwark Playhouse
★★★★★ | | Three Sisters, Southwark Playhouse
Three sisters are living in a vast house three thousand miles from home, longing for different forms of escape as they languish in the Middle East.
Overworked and highly strung English teacher, Olga, yearns for the romance she hasn’t been able to find, as she’s acted as the maternal figure for her younger siblings following the death of their parents. Wild and sullen Masha regrets a hasty marriage to a man she looks down on as a fool and idealistic Irina dreams of returning to England and escaping the boredom of life in an ex-pat community. Meanwhile their brother, Andrey, is failing to live up to his early promise as he contemplates an unsuitable marriage to someone brash and vulgar and is threatening to bring them to ruin with his dissipation.
Tended to by two elderly servants, they rattle around their huge property. Hard drinking, hidden desires and deceit abound as the siblings spar with each other, fend off the outside world and unwittingly welcome in turmoil and chaos in the shape of a trio of soldiers, far from their homes also, and an old family friend with issues with drink and brutal frankness.
Anya Reiss’ skilful reworking of Chekov’s classic 1901 play brings it bang up to date into the 21st century and proves what a witty and skilled observer of human nature the author was. Language and situation may have changed radically in over a hundred years but motivations and desires haven’t. The complex plot is retold beautifully and with panache.
This play certainly packs a punch with breath-taking performances, a versatile and well-utilised set and a well paced dramatic arc. Southwark Playhouse has managed to pull off an astounding piece of theatre. The cast are particularly strong with knock out performances all round.
If you’re a Chekov fan then this won’t disappoint. If you’re new to Chekov’s work then you couldn’t get a much finer introduction than Reiss’ reworking. This has to be one of the must see plays of the spring.
Three Sisters is on at Southwark Playhouse until the 3rd of May 2014
Book tickets here: http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/index.php/the-large/three-sisters/
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Independence Day Director To Take Charge Of Gay Stonewall Film
Film maker Roland Emmerich, whose CV boasts Independence Day and White House Down is to direct a brand new historical drama of the Stonewall movement.
The Stonewall film will focus on a teenager, to be played by War Horse actor Jeremy Irvine, who moves to New York, and becomes politically awakened after the Stonewall riots, which happened as a bad lash against a police raid on the New York gay bar The Stonewall Inn, in June 1969.
The Stonewall riots became known as a series of spontaneous protests, by the gay community, which often ended in violence. They are widely considered to be the beginning of the modern gay right’s movement.
Raids on the Inn were very frequent and according to reports, house lights were turned on, customers were lined up and searched, and their ID cards checked. Those who did not have ID cards were arrested, so were men dressed in Drag.
According to Deadline the gay, German film maker has been working towards the making of Stonewall for over a decade. Emmerich is a campaigner for equal rights.
Emmerich is set to start production soon. Roland Emmerich is currently working on a sequel for Independence Day.
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FILM REVIEW | Cupcakes
★★★★ | Cupcakes
The Eurovision Song Contest, which is the epitome of the true meaning of ‘eurotrash’, really owes its continuing success to the thousands of gay men throughout the world who slavishly watch the Broadcast every year with such glee.
There are few programs on television these days that are camper than this outdated competition that seeks to find a winner from amongst some of the most innocuous pop songs ever written.
When director Eytan Fox was visiting the Berlinale Film Festival a few years ago and was channel surfing in his hotel room he came across the show and something must of clicked. Hence the man who gave us intensely serious gay dramas such as The Bubble and Yossi & Jaegar decided that this should be the basis of his new fluffy confection of a movie about agroup of disparate friends trying to win what he dubbed as UniverSong.
Six motley neighbors in an apartment building in Tel Aviv each with their own hangups or quirks who don’t actually want to go public, do just that when the song they write together almost by accident, goes viral on YouTube and they somehow get chosen to be the official entry for Israel.
The oldest one is middle-aged Anat whose husband has just walked out on her and their bakery business; there is serious Dana who works an aide to a government minister just to please her orthodox father and who is paranoid at doing anything remotely frivolous. Yael was once a beauty queen and is now a lawyer and is also desperate to be taken seriously; there is painfully shy Karen who prefers to just share her life with her cybermates rather than step outside of her front door; and punky lesbian Efrat the alternative singer/songwriter who thinks such a frivolous undertaking as this competition is completely beneath her. It’s only kindergarten teacher Ofrat with a penchant for sequin drag who is really excited about accepting the invitation to compete, despite the pleas of his neurotic closeted boyfriend who’s family business actually sponsors the show.
As in a typical show business fashion the professionals who decide that as they know best, they take over and create a monstrously big production routine for the group to perform. It is a total disaster as it takes out every single nuance of homespun charm, and at the same time, completely exasperates the patience of these bewildered amateurs.
This is a fairy tale after all… literally… and they seize back the song and the competition in order for them all to win the prize, which is not actually the trophy, but mainly about them getting the lives they all really want. Even the Baker comes back. It is after all, that kind of story.
I’m still shocked that this is the work of sober filmmaker Fox, but in this lightweight, pretty colored, camp romp he shows he can be as whimsical and entertaining as the next man. Maybe Pedro Almodovar even.
Available to buy / view on: Amazon | Amazon Prime | iTunes
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FILM REVIEW | Age Of Consent
★★★★ | Age Of Consent
Age of Consent, tells the story of The Hoist, one of London’s few remaining leather bars, which opened in 1996.
It being the story of a sex club, we get to see plenty of sex, some of it quite graphic. Ultimately, though, it turns out to be not only a fascinating glimpse into London’s leather scene, but a history of gay sex since decriminalisation.
Did you know, for instance, that there were more convictions for gross indecency in 1989 than there were in 1966, the year before homosexuality was made legal for “consenting men in private”?
The “in private” part was something the police vigorously enforced it would seem, often using pretty policeman to entrap gay men and secure a conviction. Against a backdrop of leather men grunting and groaning with pleasure, Peter Tatchell talks eloquently, as ever, about the continuing battle for equality under the law; co-owners Kurt Striegler and Guy Irwin tell us all about how the club got started., and some of its regulars tell us what makes the club special for them.
There are no doubt those amongst the gay community (like James Wharton who was only recently proposing the closure of all gay saunas) who will find the goings on in the club quite disgusting, but surely the point is that we should all have equality before the law, whatever our sexual preferences, a fact that was brought brilliantly home by this excellent documentary.
I do hope it gets an official release.