Macrolog
A Productive Day Today
Met Eoin the Film Student this morning for a free preview of Dirty Pretty Things at Buena Vista’s screening room in Fairview. I remember when it used to be the Grand Cinema, back in the day. I only recall actually going there once, to see The Jungle Book with my mum all the way back in 1985. I don’t remember the film at all, but I do remember the noise - I was only a kid myself, but boy did noisy kids annoy me - and the floor was so sticky, one could catch flies with it. I don’t think we stayed long. I was never much of a Disney lover, even at that age; I remember another time leaving Peter Pan half way through because I was bored stiff.
The Grand closed down for good in the early 90’s; the marquee was removed and the space below was renovated, first as a stationery suppliers and more recently as the headquarters of online.ie. I’d always assumed that the actual cinema was no more, never having noticed before last month the big blue ‘Buena Vista’ sign over the door that was the original street entrance. Quite observant, aren’t I?
Walking inside and upstairs to the auditorium, it seemed like nothing had been changed since it was last open to the public, what with the tatty decor and the olde-time concession stand; certainly Buena Vista haven’t really done that much to make it their own, bar some promotional cardboard cut-outs and a quite large, furry replica of Sully from Monsters, Inc. flanking the screen. Eoin and I had gotten there early, or at least before most of the film critics. This was a screening for the press, after all. Although since nobody bothered to check us for any proof of admission, anybody could have waltzed right in.
It must be said, I did feel somewhat like I was intruding on a meeting of some secret society, what with all the people with their notepads and pens at the ready, looking across to see John Kelly chatting away with his fellow critics and cultural pundits and whatnot. It was an interesting, enlightening experience.
As for the film, well maybe I’m prejudiced, but when you’ve seen one gritty urban British drama, you’ve seen them all. It doesn’t really have anything to distinguish itself, and although it’s trying to explore a sensitive contemporary issue - namely the immigration ‘crisis’ - it comes across as heavy-handed, reliant on sensationalism and littered with lazy cliches. What’s more, the overly dramatic nature of the script, particularly the dialogue, clashes badly with the gritty setting and visuals. One is left to wonder whether we are seeing the reality of immigrant life in Britain, or merely a poetic licence of it. That being said, it is watchable, it doesn’t overstay its welcome and the lead performances of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Audrey ‘Amelie’ Tautou are magnetic. I can’t help but wish, however, that I could see them in a better film.
Afterwards, we headed into town to hang out for a while. I finally got my hands on a digital camera, and a very nice one it is too. (I haven’t really gotten around to using it yet, but I’ll bring it with me when I go out to Howth tomorrow morning and see what I can do with it.) We also spent the best part of an hour perusing the ground floor shelves at Hodges Figgis, where I used up the last of my gift vouchers on Glamorama and The Cheese Monkeys.
And then I bade Eoin farewell and went home. A productive day it was.
Wed 22 Jan 2003 at 22:56 ·
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This is the personal website of MacDara Conroy, a twenty-something journalist, editor and all-round creative type living in Dublin, Ireland.
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You are reading A Productive Day Today, a Macrolog entry by MacDara Conroy. It is filed under Generalia, and was published in January 2003.
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