Hands down, my favorite perk of being a writer has been screenings. Slipping out of the office, ensconced in plush private rooms with friendly publicists hovering nearly, seeing things before everyone else–pretty sweet. Yesterday I rewarded myself for a couple of weeks sustained good work by venturing into a broiling city for a double feature. At the opener at the Sony Building, I saw Tamara Drewe, the new Stephen Frears‘ film based on a Posy Simmons graphic novel which itself is based on Thomas Hardy‘s Far From the Madding Crowd. This is a reasonably
diverting way to spend a couple hours, although I kept waiting for it to get sharper and funnier, and it never did. You can see that the ambiance of the graphic novel and the stunt of updating Hardy increased the cleverness quotient. The film’s greatest attraction is the entirely peachy Gemma Arterton as the title character. We’ve noticed her appeal before–Pirate Radio, A Quantum of Solace, St. Trinian’s)–here revealed more fully than ever before. In the nightcap, we say the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy at Magno. An excellent Aaron Johnson excels in this revealing treatment, but the real scene stealer is the customarily brilliant Kristin Scott-Thomas, who’s just the most marvelous and versatile actress.
