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Read, Watch, Write

@read.watch.write

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and realisation numero uno is a timeless one: consistency is 🔑 I’ve undoubtedly been in a bit of a reading / media slump for the past 18 months but 2022 will have a new story IJN. It feels like the time to change absolutely everything, so bear with me while I experiment. Stay tuned my people ❣️ by @read.watch.write
2
5 years ago
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(⭐️⭐️⭐️.5) Now this is possibly the most confused and intrigued I’ve ever been watching a film, which is perfectly on brand for 2020/2021. For those who are fans of Charlie Kaufman (or who have read the original book by Iain Reid) the mind-bending style of the film won’t be shocking – see Kaufman’s Being John Malkovich, or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The story opens by following a girlfriend who is going to visit her (rather awkward) boyfriend’s parents for the weekend, but is ‘thinking of ending things’ with him. As the couple drive through the snowy night to his parents’ remote countryside home in a suffocatingly small car, an intense sense of both misery and impatience lingers. When they finally arrive to his parents’ house, time seems to both speed up and slow down in a painfully awkward night – aging his parents several decades throughout the evening. It reminds me of how time feels in a dream, not linear but rather just always happening somehow. There are several layers and messages baked into this that I could decipher but honestly I don’t want to spoil it. When you Google the title of this film, the second most popular result is ‘I’m thinking of ending things explained’, so don’t take it personally if you feel like you don’t quite get ‘it’ (whatever ‘it’ is). To me, it is simply one of the ways Kaufman tries to illustrate that life is essentially whatever we want it to be; moments in time are essentially neutral, and we ascribe meaning to them and to what they mean about us in turn, based on our own history and experiences. By the end you are left questioning whether the girlfriend, or anyone else in the film, was actually ever there at all. In summary the film is honestly quite strange; but as a fan of the weird and wonderful, I think that’s what keeps you hooked. Apologies for the cryptic review, but I do recommend, even if just for the experience of sheer bewilderment that follows! by @read.watch.write
7
5 years ago
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(⭐️⭐️.5) In Normal People, Marianne and Connell, teenagers from the same small Irish town, are the darker version of the typical ‘on again off again’ friends turned lovers (turned friends again? Hard to keep up). Over the years, we are taken through the expected mishaps, mind games, and miscommunications of their adolescent romance. Sally Rooney’s writing style is plain and direct; there are no dreamy scenic descriptions, and matter-of-fact descriptions take the place of metaphors and innuendos. It’s refreshing in some ways, as it reads a little more like a screenplay if anything, keeping you focused purely on the emotion and drama, but it does take a while to get used to. Whilst the book started promisingly for me, the ‘a-ha’ moment never came. This may be down to reading a book that’s very popular (with a BBC-Hulu series to match!), or simply because I got to the end and found it rather unsatisfying that certain aspects remained unexplained, and therefore quite random. The relationship between Connell and Marianne is toxic teenager 101, and is reminiscent of some sort of ‘Skins’ fantasy where love is meant to be tortured, sometimes unrequited and altogether awkward. Connell is the popular sporty type from a working class background, and Marianne is the wealthy, bookish, super-smart outcast often bullied by Connell’s friends. Whilst this dynamic changes a few times as they progress through school and university, it never quite feels like there is a real moment of atonement or justice – it simply ruins the both of them in different ways. If you don’t mind being constantly frustrated by your protagonists, then you may actually enjoy it. Would recommend for a plane ride or a commute read if you have a spare few hours, but other than that, not quite my taste. by @read.watch.write
1
6 years ago
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Don’t you just love when you see that one of your favourite books is going to be adapted into a film? Finally, the places and characters you saw in your head are going to be brought to life. It does, however, run the risk of not living up to your expectations, especially if cuts are made to your favourite parts of the story… I’ve pulled out 4 of my absolute favourite adaptations that I’ve been thinking about recently – Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (which became The Handmaiden in film form), and of course, The Godfather by Mario Puzo. My favourite has to be Fingersmith/The Handmaiden, because the original novel as published in 2002, was set in Victorian England, so the film adaptation by Park Chan-wook (one of my favourite Korean directors) to Japanese-ruled Korea was quite the gamble, but very very well done. And you don’t have to take my word for it – it was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival and won a BAFTA! Swipe to see the characters in action! What was your favourite film adaption? (this is a judgment-free zone) by @read.watch.write
4
6 years ago
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Atlantics (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) Set in Dakar, Senegal, Atlantics follows the story of teen lovers Ada and Soulemain, and the various socio-political conflicts in their respective communities. Ada is already betrothed to the older, more wealthy Omar, and Soulemain is one of many unpaid construction workers trying to survive. Beyond just a love story, Mati Diop uses the supernatural to address modern-day corruption, the migration crisis, and the cultural politics of getting married. The dialogue is entirely in Wolof, giving us an authentic sneak peek into the many tensions at play; the desire between Ada and Soulemain as forbidden lovers, the discord between Ada and her family, who wish her to marry the rich and stable Omar; and the frustration of the unpaid construction workers towards their employer. The arty cinematic visuals and the sounds of the city draw you in to Dakar, immersing you in the city as the film goes on. I was doubly impressed to find out that the film premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival as Diop’s debut feature film, also making it the first film directed by a black woman to win an award at Cannes! All in all, this is one of @netflixfilm’s stellar international features so definitely one to watch. taken in Netflix by @read.watch.write
0
6 years ago
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20 by 20. It seems we’ll have nothing but time this year, so I’m setting a challenge: 20 books by the end of 2020. I would include films and plays but God (& Netflix) knows I could probably smash that record in one weekend at this rate. • • Join me and share what’s on your list to read this year! by @read.watch.write
4
6 years ago
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Modern Love, edited by Daniel Jones (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) Modern Love is a stunning collection of essays that have been sent in over the years to the @nytimes ‘Modern Love’ column, since it started in 2004. Beyond just stories about wins and losses in romantic love, people also share their stories of love in friendship, motherly love, and self-discovery. • • It’s fantastic because it is vulnerable, hilariously honest, and affirms our shared humanity: we all like someone a bit too much sometimes, we all lose people we love, we all make silly mistakes. ‘The Five Stages of Ghosting Grief’ was definitely the funniest, telling the tale of the morning after the risky text, and ‘You may want to Marry my Husband’ was the most touching, as a wife with terminal cancer seeks a companion for her husband. I highly recommend, for even the most jaded. Check out the podcast on @wbur and the TV series @modernlovetv, both based on the NYT column! by @read.watch.write
6
6 years ago
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welcome! Read, Watch, Write is a curated selection of (mainly) book, theatre and film reviews. That’s it - very simple. enjoy! by @read.watch.write
4
6 years ago
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