|
Going
to the Rex Cinema is an experience in itself and was a perfect setting
for the 1960s based film. In fact, the Rex Cinema was actually used
to shoot one of the cinema scenes in the film, but you have to be
very observant to spot it!
The
cinema still has an organ at the front which was beautifully played
before and after by Dr. Arnold Loxam, who has been playing for over
60 years and wore some very funky Union Jack socks! It was a great
experience to sit in the cinema before the film, you could really
transport yourself back to a time before Dolby sound when films
where just composed of black and white pictures and organ music!
 |
| Arnold
Loxam plays the organ at the Rex |
The
film itself is about a 30-year-old school teacher called Vincent
Dungarven (played by Jason Merrells) who is looking for love in
his Yorkshire town. However, his mission is hindered somewhat by
the fact that he still lives with his mother, who is very keen for
him to join the priesthood. In an attempt to rebel against his Roman
Catholic upbringing he starts an affair with a girl from the local
library who is a Protestant. This act of defiance is frowned on
by the community and Vincent finds himself trapped between love
and religious duty. With a drunken brother, a controlling mother
and a sister-in-law that is attracted to him and a Protestant girlfriend
who brings her own troubles to the relationship, Vincent discovers
that life can soon get very complicated.
The
acting in this film was excellent with great performances from all
involved. However, I couldn't really say that it was entirely my
'cup of tea' as the saying goes. The audience at the premiere was
largely made up of an older generation of viewers and I think the
film perhaps appealed to them in a greater way. This was emphasised
by wave of murmurs going through the audience whenever an old looking
bus appeared or when Roy Walker's scene arrived! As one older gentleman
said to me after the film, "it was just great to see the steam
train". I can't say I'd particularly noticed the steam train
myself but there was an obvious appreciation of the older cars,
buses, trains and other vehicles. I think the appeal of this film
is probably more towards either the keen John Braine fans (which
I am not), long established local Yorkshire people (which I am not!)
or those who remember the 60s and all that came with that decade
(again, which I don't!).
I was
a little disappointed with the ending of the film too; personally
I like things to conclude fully and I didn't really think that this
film finished in a way I would have liked it to, but there were
plenty of people around me who were very pleased with the film so
it certainly wasn't the opinion of the majority.
It's
definitely worth going to see, especially if you are local to Yorkshire
and appreciate the 60s and all the styles and décor that
came with it, it was well acted and put together, but on the whole
it wasn't really something I'd go to again.
Claire's
movie score: 6/10
This
article is user-generated content (i.e. an external contribution
expressing a personal opinion), not the views of the BBC West Yorkshire
website.
|
