Mighty and Last

I've got very behind with these diary notes so this may be briefer than my normal musings on film nig

Mighty Aphrodite (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ht.

There may be spoilers below

As the official programmer for the Rialto these days, Arthur turned up with film night in a bag as usual: bottles of beer, a large pie and several DVDs and tapes. This time the programme opened with a black and white film starring Alec Guinness and written by J.B. Priestley called Last Holiday. Made in 1950 it starred a number of the well-known faces of the era including Wilfred Hyde-White, Bernard Lee and Sid James. The plot hinges on an unexpected  medical diagnosis which causes mild-mannered conventional  George to decide to spend what little time he has left "living it up" in resort hotel during which time he has a great deal of influence on the lives of a motley bunch of hotel staff and residents. The film is not quite what we have come to expect of such a plot and Priestley has injected a lot of darkness and cynicism into the mix. A very interesting, well written and acted film, I enjoyed it a great deal although (or perhaps because) it is not the cosy romcom which other writers or directors would have made it (and possibly have: I haven't seen the Queen Latifeh Wayne Wang remake). I would make Richard Curtis watch the 1950 version repeatedly.

We followed this with a return to the Woody Allen canon and one that I like but is not one of my favo

Mira Sorvino at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

urites. When I first saw Mighty Aphrodite in 1995 or 1996 I didn't like the strange device of reviving the "Greek chorus". In a subsequent viewing this became one of the things I did like about it and I enjoyed this repeat viewing. Still not one of my top ten but with lots to interest me and it certainly benefited from comparison with one of his later works which I had seen again two days before on television. This was the Anthony Hopkins vehicle: You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Again there was some good writing and acting involved and it wasn't the worst of his English trilogy...but that's really not saying much at all in my opinion. Mighty Aphrodite's Greek chorus (including F. Murray Abraham) point up the storyline's connection with the Oedipus tale. The actual plot involves Woody's fascination with how bright his adopted child is and his discovery that the child's mother is actually a prostitute and very far from a genius. The cast also includes Mira Sorvino and Helena Bonham-Carter.

Despite the Woody not being top ten, it was enjoyable and overall another great film night here at The Rialto.