The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury (Post Pt. 1)

I hadn't read a collection of short stories in a very long time and I was a little sceptical that this wouldn't meet my expectations. I wouldn't say I was an aficionado of science fiction in any big way (other than being completely enamoured with the David Tennant era of Doctor Who) so upon realising Bradbury is a leading light in the science fiction literary realm, my hopes were slightly dashed.

 

But they needn't have been. Whatsoever. I loved it. I loved the idea of the Illustrated Man; a mysterious being with the most intricate and elaborate tattoos, each a vignette of what could be.

Bradbury's style is stark. There's a great dearth in detail and each story is stripped to the bare minimum - ironically in contrast to how vivid and complex the sight of the Illustrated Man is supposed to be.

This doesn't detract from the reader's enjoyment at all. The greatness lies in Bradbury's ability to haunt you long after the story ends. Some really chilled me, others made me think of the potential inevitability in his words. What happens if technology advances to the point where it can think for itself? What if we become so disconnected as a society that we can't see what it is right in front of us? What if we become so blinded by striving for the greater good, that we fail to realise the greater good is actually something rather sinister?

In particular, I loved "The Veldt" - a sinister tale of a children's playroom or 'nursery' with a mind of its own - and "The Last Night of the World"- a short retelling of a day in the life of a couple who learn that it is their last.

The dystopian, futuristic and outer space themes in the book really reminded me of 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust' and Bowie's excessive glam rock era. The idea of a fallen idol, who lived too fast and came to warn Earth of its impending doom really fit in with Bradbury's work.

 

As each story is so different and unrelated from one another, wouldn't it be interesting for The Illustrated Man to be re-made, each its own mini-film or short, directed and produced by a different person? Each completely different in terms of interpretation and style. A different cast. Different score.

I'm thinking a lot of the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - I know there's only the one director in that case (I think Terry Gillam would be very apt!), but the idea of changing the actors for a single character is an interesting take; so a series of mini-casts would be endearing. I heard there are plans to re-make The Illustrated Man but this was circa 2007...

 

One of my next posts will be on a few connections I thought of between the stories in 'The Illustrated Man' to other literary works and film.

 

Father! Father! Burning Bright - Alan Bennett (Book Review)

I bought this book via eBay on a whim, having already purchased 'The Lady in the Van' - which I've yet to read but will post about soon! I've been a bit of a dilettante when it comes to Alan Bennett. The History Boys is one of my favourite films and the play really hit home with its portrayal of education fostering the ideal of learning for the sake of (and only for the sake of) passing exams; but I've actually yet to really delve into his exhaustive works.

 

I've been pretty swamped with Uni work of late  - my final year project deadline loomed over me this week, and so whenever I needed some light relief, I whizzed through 'Father! Father! Burning Bright!' It really helped that this book was so dinky for being pocket-sized amongst hefty textbooks and the two packed lunches I had equipped myself with for the day's library session!

Midgley is a schoolteacher, facing the inevitability of his father's impending death and the frustration of him not actually.. well dying.

 I won't say much as this is such a short read, and anything else would be an unnecessary irritation of a spoiler. I will say that Bennett's infamous and expert handle on satire is unapologetic, stark and completely funny. I found myself stifling a small laugh every time I realised how blatantly Bennett calls people out on their prejudices, however harmless and benign.

 

Adapted from the TV film "Intensive Care" (starring Alan Bennett), the story moves swiftly from one scene to the next - and without warning, much like as if you were watching it on television itself.

It's rare that I find a book which will strike me as funny (in that I would actually laugh aloud), with 'Submarine' being the strongest contender (a recommended read!). This has prompted me to read more from Bennett - and possibly re-watch The History Boys. (Exam-time is approaching fast after all!) I've been wanting to read "The Uncommon Reader" for a good while now, though the ever increasing height of my "To Read" pile is warning me otherwise!

Are you an Alan Bennett fan? What are your recommendations?

 

Here is the first of 9 parts to BBC 2's "Intensive Care" via YouTube. (Link active at time of posting).

 

Gregory's Girl Vs. (500) Days of Summer

"I’ll tell you something - and not a lot of people know this. We are clinging to the surface of this planet, while it spins through space at a thousand miles an hour. Held only by the mystery force called ‘Gravity’. A lot of people panic when you tell them that, and they just fall off. Don’t stop dancing or you’ll fall off." 

My go to feel-good film. Everything from Gregory's gawkiness to the grainy 70's camera brings a home grown, comforting quality to the screen.
 

Gregory's Girl is un-film like. It could easily be one of those special edition episodes of Grange Hill, with this week honing in on the unassuming Gregory.

• Although it's a tale of unrequited love, it's devoid of the usual, protracted teenage angst. Gregory completely and unashamedly indulges in being in love - and he's no reason to believe it's anything but.

• Stills from the films could easily be used in a 70s live-action comic strip. Cue speech bubbles.
• Scottish accents.

This was originally going to be a post reviewing Gregory's Girl, and one of the points was that Gregory's character is a fore bearer for the boy in love with the notion of love - best and most recently depicted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt in (500) Days of Summer. Thinking about this for a moment, I realised there were more parallels between the two films.

Gregory and Tom

Both are in love with the idea of love. Both project their hopes of happiness on one person and in both cases, it ultimately falls flat. The big difference is that in (500) Days of Summer, Tom allows these hopes to consume him, with everything else in his life paling in comparison. Gregory, on the other hand, is the opposite. Although guilty of the same thing, he's more resilient for it. He's happier for it. Nothing - not even the discouragement from his friends and family - dampens his spirits.

"A lot of boys and girls think their lives will have meaning if they find a partner who wants nothing else in life but them. "That’s not healthy. That’s falling in love with the idea of a person, not the actual person. I would encourage anyone who has a crush on my character to watch it again and examine how selfish he is. He develops a mildly delusional obsession over a girl onto whom he projects all these fantasies. He thinks she’ll give his life meaning because he doesn’t care about much else going on in his life."

 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt

The Little Sister

Words of wisdom come from a world-weary, younger sister. The older brother, the character assumed to have the experience if not the answers is the fool in love, the source of much exasperation for the little sibling. Growing up doesn't necessarily mean getting wiser. In fact, you become all the more foolish. And in Gregory's case, there's nothing too wrong with that - again you can actually be happier for it.

  ... & the ever present pessimistic friends

Oh ye of little faith. Always on hand for a sarcastic quip, a stark reality check and light relief which fails to provide the intended pick-me-up our milksop protagonist may sorely need but definitely doesn't want.

Playlist:

Bay City Rollers: I Only Want To Be With You

The Courteeners: Not Nineteen Forever

Oasis: The Girl In the Dirty Shirt

Bobby Vee: Rubber Ball

Mumm-Ra: She's Got You High

Oasis: She's Electric

Arctic Monkeys: Fluorescent Adolescent

The Searchers: Sweets for my Sweet

The Beach Boys: Help Me Rhonda

The Wombats: Here Comes the Anxiety

The Turtles: Elenore

I Give It A Year - Film Review

"It’s no good pretending that any relationship has a future if your record collections disagree violently or if your favourite films wouldn’t even speak to each other if they met at a party."

- Nick Hornby

Hearing that this film was of the same ilk as Bridget Jones and Love Actually, I was instinctively expecting something very Richard Curtis-esque. Although I wouldn't say it reaches the same comedic heights as those films, it's well worth a watch, with a more than credible cast who deliver the witty script with aplomb.

Rafe Spall and Rose Byrne lead as a newly married couple, wed after only a few months of meeting, at the concern of their nearest and dearest, all of whom are dubious of the union's longevity. Following the trajectory of the crucial first year, ex-girlfriends and suave newcomers threaten to shake the already precarious foundations of the relationship.

Above all others, I love home-grown, British films. Specifically how they celebrate the humour (both the dry wit and sarcasm, coupled with the more slapstick); the idiosyncrasies of behaviour - a scene that hit this on the nail was one which poked fun at the tedious routine of calculating (to the penny) each person's share of the bill at the end of a meal - and all to a backdrop highlighting the best parts of the country, especially the West End.  (Notting Hill, Love Actually, Bridget Jones all being prime examples.)

I was slightly nervous that 'I Give It A Year' might end up being a parody of itself, slightly overwrought with the clichés of the typical British rom-com, given the hype of it coming from the people who delivered the above films. Despite how much I love them, I think it could be quite easy to follow the same formula of these films, and translate them into a slightly different scenario with only, marginally different characters.

I can't say it was totally different - there were the generic sub-plotlines and archetypes (married characters realising their true love is elsewhere with elsewhere usually being, quite literally, right around the corner; the hapless and ever present, inappropriate best friend of the male protagonist - see Rhys Ifans in Notting Hill; and dubious characters in professional or authority positions (the vicar or priest almost always being a culprit, both in 'I Give It A Year', and Four Weddings and a Funeral).

In films like these, there aren't any special effects, grand cinematography or overcomplicated storylines to distract audiences away from the writing or acting of the cast. I've been particularly fond of Rafe Spall since watching him in 'Pete Vs. Life' (which I'm really disappointed there's not been a third series of!), though I hope he won't be typecast as the hapless, slightly awkward and gawky "non-typical" male lead, unlucky in love and life (also seen in 'One Day'). I think he's great nonetheless and especially at comedic roles. His off-dialogue murmurings were a brilliant adjunct to the character interactions and made for a really personable and likeable performance.

Rose Byrne didn't come off in quite the same way - though this is probably due to her character being obviously intentioned to be more stern and in stark contrast to Spall's. I felt that we should have wanted to be equally sympathetic to both characters, though Spall's purposely came across as more deserving. Rose's character is frequently shown as snappy, fed up and out of sync with her new husband, whereas Spall seemed a bit more helpless and determined to keep the relationship working.

There are some really funny, laugh out loud moments, and the audience loved cringing in hysterics at the 'crude but could happen' moments, or at the blunt directness of character exchanges (most particularly those from Minnie Driver and Jason Flemyng as the exasperated, bitter married couple, serving as a warning for the newlyweds of what lies in store.)

It's been a while since a film like this really caught my eye, as I (probably quite unfairly) hold them up to the same scrutiny as the more stellar Brit-rom-coms. But again, with its solid cast that also includes Stephen Merchant and Olivia Colman and its more than well written script, I came away really pleased that I had taken a chance on it!

I couldn't help but add this gem in! All this talk of Richard Curtis and British rom-coms, it was only inevitable!

Be My Baby - Ronnie Spector with Vince Waldron (Book Review)

As you'll come to notice, I am a huge enthusiast of the 50s and 60s. Like many, I'm enamoured with the music and love finding autobiographies of people who were involved in that world. I'm always intrigued to learn where people started out - usually I find they're not worlds apart from yourself; and I love hitting on a common note with someone I admire, even if it's something as random as your parents sharing the same occupation!

I originally wanted to get my hands on "Be My Baby - How I survived Mascara, Miniskirts and Madness", but since it's largely out of print, the copies I've found online are out of my price range. I was holding onto hope that I'd chance upon it in a second-hand bookstore one day -but then I happened upon this gem in a Camden bookstore a year back. I'm not sure if there is much (or any) difference between the two (both are written in cooperation with Vince Waldron), or whether my copy is just a reprint - but I think it holds!

Be My Baby is a fast paced account of Ronnie's life, from her upbringing in the Spanish Harlem, the breakthrough of the Ronettes, through to her marriage (and breakdown) to mentor and producer, Phil Spector. What immediately struck me about Ronnie is that as much as she was enamoured with music, she was equally (and probably more so) with fame. She isn't shy in coming forward about her ambitions, and once hitting the proverbial 'big time', she relishes in it, regaling in stories of riot-inducing performances and strutting about onstage. Although for the most part her story isn't an easy one, and though at times slightly cocky, Ronnie speaks with a clear head and without self-pity. She recognises in retrospect her own faults and mistakes as well as rationalising those of others, which is applaudable once you know her life.

 What I can't fathom is why nobody has yet seized the chance to produce a Ronnie Spector biopic - the story is one with her at the epicentre of the sixties, floating in and out of everybody else's world. First hand accounts of Beatlemania, touring (and eating scrambled eggs!) with the Stones and even a 'romantic tryst' with Bowie, Ronnie is to me the Forrest Gump of her era. Her story would make a good game of "Six Degrees of Separation" - Cher, John Lennon (a recurring character!) and May Pang and even Bruce Springsteen make an appearance. What's more, her story is peppered with serendipity - there are a lot of 'right place at the right time' moments that would make for a more than decent film!

 

Playlist:

The Ronettes: Be My Baby
The Chiffons: One Fine Day
The Shirelles: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
The Ramones: Baby I Love You
Frankie Lymon: Why Do Fools Fall In Love?
Ronnie Spector: Don't Worry Baby
The Essex: Easier Said Than Done
Back To Black: Ronnie Spector
The Ronettes: Baby I Love You
The Crystals: He's A Rebel
The Ronettes: Do I Love You?


In all, I would certainly recommend this to anyone interested in the era -  especially in terms of the music. (I always found another musician or person of note cropping up a nice surprise - especially the Beatles.) You really get a feel for how close knit the industry must have been back then.