24.3 C
Byron Shire
March 27, 2024

Cinema Review: Hamstead

Latest News

Splendour 2024 cancelled

It's offical, Splendour in the Grass 2024 has been cancelled.

Other News

Richmond Valley Rail Trail grand opening

The latest leg of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail opened in style on Saturday, with hundreds of two-wheeled travel enthusiasts spinning along the newly opened 13.4 kilometre section from Casino to Bentley.

A seasoned bard

Guy Kachel had an idyllic entry to the world of music. Born in Tamworth, he was raised on the banks of the Peel River. The landscape was a fertile ground for his imagination. Seeing this rustic world change, as Tamworth developed into an inland city and friends grew to sometimes troubled adulthoods, provided insights for the artistry that later powered his career as a performer.

Roller derby rocks the Cavanbah Centre

The Red Kennedys have once again dominated the Northern Rivers Revolt Roller Derby Tournament held at the Cavanbah Centre over the weekend of March 16-17.

Splendour 2024 cancelled

It's offical, Splendour in the Grass 2024 has been cancelled.

Breakfeast, Bluesfest weekend

Victoria Cosford Oh to be a cow with a four-chambered stomach system! Farmers’ market, Bluesfest long weekend, a spot of...

State of confusion

If any of you watched Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, you would know that it was a...

It might stretch the plausibility test, but this movie of charm and hope comes as welcome respite from the daily gormlessness of uncivil society. Topical, too, for our state government, in dealing with those who have pitched their tents in Martin Place in protest at the widening gap between privilege and struggle street, has hurriedly passed legislation that virtually makes it a crime to be homeless. Not that Donald (Brendan Gleeson) is actually homeless.

He lives in a shed in a corner of London’s much-loved Hampstead Heath, but he is under the pump from the suits and developers who want him gone. Across the road lives Emily (Diane Keaton), an American widow whom the film’s costume department insists on dressing as Annie Hall, with scarves and beret. You would have to be particularly slow on the uptake to not think from the start that they will end up together, but it’s not the destination but the journey that matters. Since the death of her husband, Emily’s busybody friend in the downstairs apartment, Fiona (Lesley Manville), has been trying to set her up with a new bloke. When Emily accepts the offer of James (Jason Watkins) to be her financial adviser, Fiona believes that her mission has been accomplished. But Emily strikes up a close relationship with Donald.

It is odd that their paths should never have crossed before this, both of them having lived within a stone’s throw of each other for years. Robert Festinger’s script is unbothered by the anomaly, so we needn’t be either, and director Joel Hopkins is primarily concerned with getting the odd couple together as smoothly as possible. Compensating for a romance that is a tad bland, Manville’s sugary bitchiness and Watkins’s laugh-out-loud portrayal of the self-deluded suitor lift proceedings above the ordinary. Striking a blow for the outsider against the establishment is a worthy theme, but Donald and Emily are not exactly down and outs and their fate might seem a bit twee to the ghost of Karl Marx, near whose grave they picnic.


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

We just love him!

If you’re over 50 you might not be a fan of Tom Jones, but you can bet your mum is. If you’re under 40 you might not even know who he is, but your grandmother probably wet her pants at the mere mention of his name.

Peter Garrett gives Bluesfest the nod

If I say the words ‘US Forces give the nod’, I can pretty much guarantee that you will hear the unmistakable voice of Peter Garrett ringing in your ears. Your head may even start to bob up and down a bit. 

Save Wallum finalist in NSW 2024 environment awards

The Save Wallum campaign has been named as a finalist in the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Environment Awards 2024. The award ceremony will be held in Sydney tonight, and Save Wallum spokesperson and ecologist James Barrie will be attending with Tegan Kitt, another founding member of the group.

New report highlights gaps in rural and remote health

The second annual Royal Flying Doctor Service ‘Best for the Bush, Rural and remote Health Base Line’ report has just been released. Presenting the latest data on the health of rural and remote Australians and evidence on service gaps, it identifies issues in urgent need of attention from service providers, funders, partners and policy makers.