Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

- view from our seats of the stage at the Gate

This and Streetcar are probably my two favorite Tennessee Williams plays. As a playwright he truly captured a particular part of Americana and he should always be remembered and honored for his contributions to the American art landscape.

I've seen this play a few times before and loved the film version, especially the basement scene that takes place between Burl Ives and Paul Newman.

This play has introduced many to the word "mendacity" and that's a good thing. We'd all be better off in a world with less of it.

It's a bit strange watching a play set in the sultry American south performed by Irish (or English) actors that just don't seem to move the way those in the south do. Nothing wrong whatsoever with their accents but it was their movement that made me sense that something just wasn't quite right.

Maggie is a cat and cat's move a certain way. Elizabeth Taylor was a natural in the movie version and though Fiona O'Shaughnessy did an admirable job here as Maggie, she just didn't move the way Maggie from the south does... and because of this it felt a bit false.

I enjoyed the play nonetheless.

Barney's Version

Someone recommended this movie recently.

I was very disappointed...

Paul Giamatti is perfect for this part but there is nothing at all interesting or redeeming about the title character that he plays. Nothing...

Based on a book which I'm sure was once again much better than the filmed version.

Tetro

I have mixed feelings about this Francis Ford Coppola project. Set in Buenos Aires, it follows the reunification of two brothers and the overcoming of numerous boundaries that had been in place between them.

Vincent Gallo stars as Angelo Tetrocini and newcomer Alden Ehrenreich as his younger brother. Shot mostly in black and white and slowly paced, the film hearkens back to something that Coppola might have made 30 years ago. I'm not sure that black and white was the best choice but I'm not sure it hurt the film either. Vincent Gallo can be an annoying actor but his energy was somehow right for this part.

The sum of the parts is greater than the whole here as it is a very flawed film that stays with you after you've seen it.

A big twisting reveal occurs at the end of the film but this wasn't as much of a shocking surprise as it should have been.

I imagine that this film gathered more attention outside of the U.S. than within...

Liffey River

I was in city center last night and had an opportunity to stroll home along the River Liffey. The weather was California-esque, which is quite unusual for Dublin.

I took these photos just before 10 p.m. at night and you can see it's still quite light out...

ShortSpace

- left to right (Nick Ryan, Brian Durnin, Andrew Legge)

Filmbase (Arts Council of Ireland) sponsors a night of Irish-made short films on the first Thursday of each month. This month's theme focused specifically on visual effects.

The three films (The German, Of Best Intentions, The Chronoscope) were shown and the directors of each film later took questions and spoke about the making of their films and some of the difficulties they encountered with creating particular visual effects.

Quite an enjoyable evening.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane

This was Martin McDonagh's first play back in the mid-90's. I saw it in London in 1996 and remember it for it's harsh cruelties between a mother and daughter. It was refreshing to see it again and better understand some of the Irish nuances that might not have registered with me before. An excellent play as were the performances by the two lead actresses (Rosaleen Linehan and Derbhie Crotty).

McDonagh later wrote The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Cripple of Inishmaan, and The Pillowman among others.

He won an Oscar for his first short film Six Shooter and also wrote and directed the popular dark comedy In Bruges.

Though raised in the U.K., he is Irish born and it certainly reveals itself in his art. Verbose, specific, funny, and darkly entertaining.

His next film, tentatively titled Seven Psychopaths, should be released next year.

AWCD 2010-2011

My wife was the Philanthropic Chair for the American Women's Club of Dublin this past year. Here's a brief summary of her tireless work...

Enjoy.