Love and Other Impossible Pursuits is a brilliant title for a movie; enough in itself to pique my interest, and it screens this Saturday 25th February at 8.30pm. Director and screenwriter Don Roos can’t take credit for the intriguing title of this story about life, loss and family; it’s based on a novel by author Ayelet Waldman. Interestingly, the film was released in the States under the rather more bland moniker The Other Woman.
Natalie Portman stars and is credited as an Executive Producer on this film, and puts her heart and soul into portraying Emilia, a young lawyer who falls for a married Senior Partner (Scott Cohen), and whose life takes an unexpected turn just as she seemingly gets everything she wants.
Love and Other Impossible Pursuits is a brilliant title for a movie; enough in itself to pique my interest, and it screens this Saturday 25th February at 8.30pm. Director and screenwriter Don Roos can’t take credit for the intriguing title of this story about life, loss and family; it’s based on a novel by author Ayelet Waldman. Interestingly, the film was released in the States under the rather more bland moniker The Other Woman.
Natalie Portman stars and is credited as an Executive Producer on this film, and puts her heart and soul into portraying Emilia, a young lawyer who falls for a married Senior Partner (Scott Cohen), and whose life takes an unexpected turn just as she seemingly gets everything she wants.
Filled with complex characters and relationships, and an acerbic script about the difficulties of being “the other woman” it certainly has its share of angst and melodrama - if it had a sense of humour this New York based film could have been made by Woody Allen. While there’s a tad too much self-pity the performances are good enough to draw you in, and I was fascinated to see how this messed-up mixed family would resolve its issues.
This month we’re also playing some fantastic music documentaries covering everything from thrash metal to rap, and funk and soul genres. This week we’ve got classical covered with an insightful documentary on Canadian musical prodigy and world renowned pianist, Glenn Gould. Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Thursday 23rd February, 8.30pm) attempts to break down the perception of Gould as a classical music snob and eccentric recluse. Full of archive footage and interviews with those who knew him best even those familiar with Gould’s story should enjoy a few surprises.
And don’t forget that each Monday evening at 8.30pm we’re playing episodes from director Michael Winterbottom’s hilarious television series The Trip, staring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. As I mentioned a few weeks back there’s been talk about shooting a second series of The Trip in Italy, and it was announced recently that Winterbottom has confirmed he will return to direct. At a press conference recently Coogan said the series will have them "retracing the steps of Shelley and Byron, with all the attendant pompousness and portent." I expect nothing less.
Steve Coogan fans will also be excited to hear his other news; he’s working on an Alan Partridge feature film along with mates and collaborators Pete Baynham (Borat) and Armando Iannucci (Into The Loop), to be released in 2013. Obviously Coogan isn’t sick of people yelling “a-ha!” at him just yet.
Enjoy.