Past Lives

I have always found the concept of past lives or alternate universes quite comforting; the idea that somewhere another version of me made connections I missed, or missed connections that I made, and took a different path in life.

Past Lives is a beautiful film that explores this idea and links it to the Korean concept of In-Yun, the belief that even the most casual of connections between people in our life is destined by relationships shared in past lives.

The film is an honest and thoughtful grown up love story, showing that reality is not a fairytale and destiny is malleable as we change and grow. Chance and circumstance shape our lives as much as fate, and every misstep, choice taken and decision made leads us to the person we are today.

The best films of 2022

I’m sure I say this every year but wow, 2022 has been a good year for films. I found it so hard to cut my list down but for what it’s worth here is my Top Ten, in no particular order:

Aftersun

My favourite film of the year. It is a personal, beautiful, original masterpiece. I adored it, even if I did make me sob my heart out.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

I was lucky enough to attend the UK premiere at London Film Festival and it was altogether one of my most enjoyable evenings of the year. Watching this riot of a murder mystery set on a billionaire’s private island with a full audience was just a delight. It is laugh out loud funny, clever and twisty, with a full house of hilarious performances from the ensemble cast and some brilliantly unexpected cameos.

Bones And All

Now, this is a coming of art cannibal road trip love story but keep reading! It is gory and shocking in places but more than that it is human and beautiful and everything else you would expect from Luca Guadignino who made the wonderful Call Me By Your Name.

The Banshees of Inisherin

I might start a petition that Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson have to make at least one film a year together.

Top Gun: Maverick

I wrote a longer post about this back in May, so suffice it to say I absolutely loved it.

Decision to Leave

A Korean noir thriller, this has to be seen for the most beautiful and creative film direction (from the brilliant Park Chan-wook) and cinematography plus captivating performances.

Triangle of Sadness

An absolute blast of a film, funny riotous gross out and clever. It could be argued that shooting arrows at the super-rich is a bit obvious but when the arrows are this sharp it is a joy to watch.

The Wonder

Florence Pugh is an absolute wonder. Her performance was the highlight of the otherwise slightly disappointing Don’t Worry Darling and she excels again in this, a weird and disconcerting story of a starving girl in post-famine Ireland.

Elvis

If you’re looking for a subtle exploration of the phenomenon of Elvis Presley, this is not the film for you. Baz Luhrmann brings his usual ‘more is more’ style to the subject and Austin Butler is a perfect lead man.

The Worst Person in the World

I absolutely loved this Norwegian comedy drama about finding and losing yourself in your twenties. It is smart, poignant and funny and deserves a lot more attention than it got.

My favourite film of the year

I’ve been meaning to re-ignite this site for months and months and it’s slightly surprising to me that the film that has finally motivated me to do so isn’t a low-budget Scandinavian arthouse film but in fact Top Gun: Maverick.

I was anxious about a sequel to one of my favourite films of all time. I know the original is flawed but it’s an eighties classic and I have great memories of watching it with friends on mornings after big nights out, all lying around eating bacon sandwiches, drinking pints of diet coke and yelling “I feel the need, the need for speed!” in unison. So when I heard Tom Cruise was making a sequel, I felt sure it would be a cringeworthy disaster. I was very wrong (this doesn’t happen often, mark the date in your diaries).

Top Gun: Maverick is a modern classic. I’ve read some reviews saying it’s better than the original, and my nostalgia tells me that’s not true but as a piece of filmmaking it is certainly slicker, less clunky dialogue-wise and (marginally) less problematic when it comes to its depiction of women. I hear from various ‘young people’ that the action scenes in Top Gun are “slow”, “boring” and even “pathetic” but Cruise’s insistence that all the cast took part in an aviator bootcamp this time around seems to have paid off because the action is truly gripping and absurdly exciting.

It is incredibly unsubtle (at one point Maverick quite literally throws the rulebook in the bin) but, let’s be honest, we’re not here for subtlety and you’ll be punching the air and/or welling up even as you see every plot twist coming and recognise every moment of emotional manipulation. The way it mirrors and links to Top Gun could be seen as lazy filmmaking if done badly, but it digs into a deep-felt nostalgia for us eighties kids, and in one particular instance is extremely moving.

As always, Tom Cruise acts as if his life depends upon it - you can see every brain cell and muscle working - and yet somehow it works. He *is* Maverick and his charisma is bulletproof.

While you’re here, I’m launching a monthly newsletter in July. Sign up, why don’t you? You definitely want more of my ramblings about art, films and anything else interesting I’ve seen or done, you know you do.

The things that are getting me through 2021 so far

I mean, at least January is over, right? But February always feels like a long month to me, which is why I try and book a holiday this month most years. Ha! Obviously there is no hope of me being in Australia/Thailand/Mexico this February so I need things to distract me. This is what is getting me through 2021 so far:

TV

Call My Agent is a fabulous French comedy drama about a Parisian talent agency which has the dual function of being hugely entertaining and making me focus on the subtitles so I can’t doomscroll my way through the evening (Netflix)

WandaVision is smart, funny and a must for all Marvel fans (Disney+)

Below Deck will always be my favourite reality tv franchise and one episode a week isn’t enough (Hayu/Amazon Prime)

It’s A Sin is the best tv programme I have watched in months, maybe even years. I have already waxed lyrical about it on instagram and my love is all-encompassing.

When I’m not watching tv, you will find me:

Baking, which gives me a great sense of calm with an added bonus of tasty carbs to eat afterwards.

Clambering onto my peloton for a twenty minute ride, preferably with my favourite instructor Cody, whose playlists (Britney, NSync) and general cheeriness are an excellent and positive way to start the day.

Listening to either (a) Arlo Parks’s new album Collapsed in Sunbeams which is just gorgeous or (b) Elis James and John Robins’s podcast (BBC Sounds) which is funny and thoughtful and very comforting.

Drinking. Good riddance to Dry January.

What I'm looking forward to in 2021

Happy New Year!

For the sake of this blog, let’s pretend everything is going to get back to normal very soon and cinemas and galleries will be open before too long, so I can tell you what I’m looking forward to this year in terms of culture…

FILM

Obviously, quite a few of 2021’s most exciting releases are films that have been postponed from last year, amongst them No Time to Die and A Quiet Place II but I am also looking forward to Nomadland, Promising Young Woman and Last Night in Soho. Fingers crossed I can see them in a cinema rather than on my sofa.

Films I saw at the London Film Festival (on my sofa) which are due for release this year and which I highly recommend are Limbo, Ammonite and Supernova.

ART

Exhibitions I’m looking forward to include Paula Rego, Yayoi Kusama, Michael Armitage and Lubaina Himid, as well as the Liverpool Biennial, which I am really hoping to be able to travel and see.

TV

The Pursuit of Love, The North Waters, Conversations with Friends, Line of Duty series 6 and A Very English Scandal all sounds as if they’re worth looking forward to.

BOOKS

The reading part of my brain seems to have been switched off for the past couple of months but top of my list is Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart.

The best films of 2020

What a year. I don’t want to use the word ‘unprecedented’ but I think 2020 saw the least number of visits to my local Curzon Cinema since it opened in 2016. My heart breaks for small independent cinemas which have been yoyoing between open and shut as the government changes the rules and the film studios refuse to release any big money-spinning films.

Anyway, I did manage to go to the cinema in January, February and March and all of my favourites of the year are from that period. Not a single film I’ve watched at home has made it onto the list which reflects the delay of big films until next year when cinemas reopen. In no particular order:

Jojo Rabbit - I read a stinking review of this from a critic I respect and normally agree with, but I absolutely loved it and I think that Taika Waititi is one of the most interesting mainstream filmmakers working at the moment

Uncut Gems - I am a little reticent to recommend this because it is basically a two hour heart attack on screen. It is so tense and stressful and I thought it was absolutely fantastic but I really never want to watch it again.

Rocks - an absolute standout British film. Funny and heartbreaking, I would recommend it to everyone.

Parasite - oh where do I start with Parasite? It’s just so brilliant and unexpected and stylish and shocking and clever. The best film of the year by a country mile.

True History of Ned Kelly - not for everyone, this one, which suffered from opening a few days before lockdown in March. It’s a stylised violent adaptation of the story of Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, directed by Justin Kurzel who also made Macbeth a few years ago (which I loved) and Assassin’s Creed (which I very much didn’t).

London Film Festival was mostly online this year and I really enjoyed a few films which will be released in 2021. Keep an eye out for Herself, Ammonite, Supernova and particularly Limbo.

What I've learnt in 2020

I need silence. Not all the time, but more than I’ve had this year.

Fresh flowers in the house are now a non-negotiable.

There aren’t many things about my ‘normal’ life that I don’t miss. I’ve heard people talk about reassessing their priorities and making changes after an enforced break from normality, but it turns out I love the balance I had in my life. I miss friends and family, cinemas, galleries and restaurants and I also miss making the choice to stay at home all weekend in my pyjamas.

I haven’t used a handbag or worn heels since March and I can’t see me ever buying either again. (This is blatantly untrue but humour me.)

I need to get up and exercise in the morning, or I spend longer thinking about it during the day than I spend doing it.

I am very much a ‘start a project with great enthusiasm then lose interest halfway through’ type person, as illustrated by a half-knitted hat currently lying on the sofa and the pile of summer clothes on my bedroom chair which have almost made it into storage for winter.

I spend far too much time thinking about food.

There is no maximum number of episodes of Below Deck that I can watch in a row, and no maximum number of times I can rewatch Schitts Creek from start to finish.

The year so far

Well, we’re nearly halfway through 2020 and frankly the less said about that the better. Who could have predicted six months ago that I’d be slightly in love with a 22 year-old footballer who took on the government and won and that my idea of a big night out would be sitting in my garden with two friends around a group of tables borrowed from my parents.

Anyway, once a culture vulture, always a culture vulture, so here are my highlights of the year in arts so far:

Books

I have read a lot this year and particularly loved Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, Long Bright River by Liz Moore, Royals by Emma Forrest, Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton, The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, The Confession by Jessie Burton, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and, most of all, Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. My attention span is shot at the moment and I am struggling to concentrate on The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel but I know once I get my mojo back I’ll be sucked in and devour it.

Films

I cannot WAIT to be able to get back to the cinema to watch something new and there are great releases ahead but so far my favourites of the year have been Uncut Gems, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, Too Rabbit, Parasite, True History of the Kelly Gang. All of these are now available on streaming services and I highly recommend them while we wait to get back to the big screen.

Art

There were a few great exhibitions on in London before lockdown started including Picasso on Paper and Lucien Freud’s self-portraits at the Royal Academy, Hedda Sterne at Victoria Miro, Ruth Asawa at David Zwirner, Radical Figures at the Whitechapel, but my heart is broken for all the shows planned (and in some cases already installed) for the spring. I am hoping exhibitions such as Artemesia Gentilleschi and Titian at the National Gallery, and Lynette Yiadom Boakye, Yayoi Kusama and Zanele Muholi at Tate will be extended once they are allowed to reopen.

Your culture fix - what I've been doing this week

Finding comfort in repeats - my attention span is slowly getting back to normal but in the meantime, I’m finding myself watching all my favourite things again. Grey’s Anatomy from the very beginning? Hell yes. With sixteen seasons, this is a rather long-term project but I’m enjoying the youthful pre-surgery faces of the regulars and the dreadful roll-neck plus bootcut jeans fashion. Fleabag, This Country, Derry Girls and Succession were my favourite shows of last year and I’m engrossed in them all all over again.

Mastering sourdough. I honestly could not be prouder of myself for baking this loaf. The greatest achievement of lockdown, without a doubt.

Discovering David Sedaris. I’m very late to this but his writing is so clever and brilliant and sharp and comforting.

Little things I'm appreciating in lockdown

As we move into our 777th week of lockdown, I’m starting to appreciate the small stuff, like:

Coffee. I only drink one cup a day and it’s become a habit but I enjoy it so much now that I’m not throwing it down my neck while running out of the door or checking my emails.

Podcasts. I don’t want to listen to true crime or news but John Robins and Elis James discussing which member of the Queer Eye Fab Five they’d need most help from? Yes please. 

My Hermes and DPD delivery drivers. They have both been delivering my parcels for years, know me by name (shut up I don’t have a shopping problem) and are unfailingly charming and cheery.

Harry Styles. Unexpected but true. I love his latest album (do the young people even say ‘album’ any more?)

My slippers.

Your culture fix - what I've been doing this week

In case you were wondering what an arts addict doing solo lockdown is doing with her time…..

Prince and the New Revolution’s 1985 concert is available for streaming on youtube (just search for Prince) and watching it was probably the happiest two hours I’ve had in lockdown. Sorry to friends and family who may have thought that my video chats with them should have brought me more joy than Prince. I love you but… well, it’s Prince.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Barber Shop Chronicles, the latest production shown from National Theatre at Home, and I’m really looking forward to A Streetcar Named Desire which will be streamed from Thursday and stars Gillian Anderson.

Taika Waititi is reading Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach for charity, with an all star cast including Meryl Streep and Chris Hemsworth. It is bliss. Find it here.

The sixth and final season of Schitt’s Creek is heavenly but then you knew I’d say that (on Netflix).

Normal People is beyond wonderful but then you knew I’d say that too (on BBC iPlayer).

I’ve unintentionally been reading books solely by female authors recently, the best of which have been Where The Crawdad Sings by Delia Owen, The Confession by Jessie Burton and The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel. I am setting aside one day this week to read Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld which has just popped up on my kindle. I am a mad fan of Sittenfeld’s writing and her latest is a fictionalised story of the life of Hillary Clinton if she hadn’t married Bill. So far up my street it’s basically living next door.

Curzon Home Cinema is providing joy and new releases of smaller films that may have been missed in blockbuster season. I loved The Assistant and Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy and I’m looking forward to watching The Whistlers this week. BBC iPlayer has just released a tranche of classic films including Citizen Kane, Bringing Up Baby and Top Hat so half of me is praying for a rainy afternoon to get stuck in.

I am following Laetitia Maklouf’s instructions from her book The Five-Minute Garden to the letter, and my garden is looking all the better for it. My real life garden boss (hi mum!) had better be impressed when she is next allowed to visit.

And finally, my lovely friend Natasha put me onto Hobbs House Bakery where I finally managed to order some flour so I’m going to get back to the sourdough baking today. Such a lockdown cliche.

Your culture fix - bank holiday weekend

If, like me, your mood is a bit ‘this is ok I can cope - I miss my friends - I never want to leave the house again - I can’t wait to go and eat any old shit in any old cafe - why am I running every day - why isn’t my sourdough as good as the one that person on Instagram I don’t know made’, here are a few suggestions for bank holiday weekend distraction…

Antony & Cleopatra will be online to watch from 7pm on Thursday for a week. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo, it got great reviews and I’m looking forward to it. Search National Theatre at Home on youtube.

The London Original Print Fair is online this week and it is well worth a browse through the exhibiting galleries’ viewing rooms. www.londonoriginalprintfair.com

The Eddy, the new series by Damien Chazelle (director of La La Land and Whiplash) about a struggling jazz club in Paris, starts on Netflix on Friday. I haven’t seen it so it may be rubbish but with Chazelle in charge I’m sure it’ll look great either way.

Tiny joys this week

This week I’m focussing on the small things, the little daily joys, to stop all this *gestures vaguely* becoming overwhelming:

• planting stuff in the garden and checking every morning that it hasn’t been dug up by the bastard foxes

• waking up to Lauren Laverne on BBC6Music playing at least one absolute banger every single morning

• signing up to a free trial of Disney+ so I can watch The Mandalorian and discuss it with my nephews

• adding toasted pumpkin seeds to homemade slaw for maximum deliciousness

• swooning to the Normal People soundtrack on Spotify

• feeling endlessly overwhelmingly grateful for technology

• rewatching Schitt’s Creek for the 777th time in preparation for season 6 arriving on Netflix next week

• finally feeling that I have the brain capacity to tackle Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light

• learning to identify the birdsong that wakes me up at 5.30am rather than just wanting to shoot the birds

Your culture fix - TV this week

The TV adaptation of my favourite book of recent years - Normal People by Sally Rooney - starts this evening. All episodes are also on iPlayer if you fancy a binge. I am absolutely loving it, it is one of those rare adaptations which lives up to every expectation.

I am also really enjoying Run, on Sky Comedy, starring Domnhall Gleeson and Merritt Wever and written by Vicky Jones, and produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Grayson’s Art Club starts tonight on Channel 4 and I will definitely be watching as Grayson Perry encourages us to get our creative juices flowing and talks through how he creates his art.

Museums in Quarantine on BBC4 gives us a tour around currently closed galleries and exhibitions, including Tate Modern’s Andy Warhol exhibition which I didn't get to see before lockdown.

On Apple TV, you can watch Chris Evans starring in his first TV role as a father defending his son from murder charges in Defending Jacob. The first three episodes are online, with more to follow weekly, and I am gripped.

Alternatively, if all your brain can cope with is comfort viewing, I can highly recommend repeats of Schitt’s Creek, Parks & Recreation, Brooklyn 99, The Great British Sewing Bee, The Repair Shop and The US Office.

Your weekly culture fix

Watch Tamara Rojo in the English National Ballet’s production of Broken Wing, the story of Frida Kahlo, from Wednesday 22nd April, here.

Watch the brilliant Run, written by Vicky Jones and produced by Phoebe Waller Bridge, on Sky Comedy.

Catch up on Quiz, the story of Who Wants to be a Millionaire cheating scandal, on ITV Hub.

Don’t miss the TV adaptation of one of my favourite recent books, Normal People by Sally Rooney, on BBC iPlayer from Sunday 26th April.

Have a virtual wander around Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul here.

Get inspired by the Sarabande Foundation’s Inspiration series, including talks by Grayson Perry and Molly Goddard, here.

Lockdown Art

London Original Print Fair will be online from 1st May for the whole month.

Immerse yourself in the masterpieces of the National Gallery here

Get a tour of Tate St Ives collections here

Discover the UK’s art here

For more online tours, check out Google Arts and Culture

Listen to some great art podcasts while you’re out for your daily exercise:

• The Great Women Artists - Katy Hessel interviews artists and curators celebrating women artists

• Talk Art - Russell Tovey and Robert Diamont interview artists and collectors about their work and passion for art

• A Piece of Work - Abbi Jacobson (from Broad City) explores everything you want to know about modern and contemporary art 

Get creative!

• Follow @isolationartschool on instagram to view masterclasses from artists including Quentin Blake and Jonathan Yeo

• Take one of Pascal Anson’s drawing masterclasses, learn origami or improve your food photography via BBC Arts

• Learn the techniques of the old masters on youtube

Support artists:

• Follow #artistsupportpledge to buy prints, drawings, paintings and sculpture from artists whose exhibitions, residencies and commissions have been cancelled and postponed as part of this brilliant circular initiative

Lockdown Cinema

I miss the cinema hugely, particularly as the last couple of weeks would have seen the release of two of my most anticipated films of the year - No Time To Die and Promising Young Woman - but there are some options for keeping abreast with current cinema at home.

Sky Store have new releases which would currently be on in the cinema, including Emma, Military Wives, the wonderful Portrait of a Lady on Fire and The Invisible Man.

Curzon Home Cinema is doing a great job of keeping small arthouse films on our radars. I thoroughly enjoyed The Truth and am looking forward to Who You Think I Am this week.

Alternatively, if like me your concentration is shot and you can mostly only cope with films you’ve already seen once (comfort viewing is THE BEST), check out Secret Sofa for an immersive home-based experience - https://www.secretcinema.org/secret-sofa - or use the long evenings at home to catch up with some classics. I have Some Like It Hot, Rear Window, When Harry Met Sally and all of the Captain America films lined up for the next few weeks.

Lockdown Theatre

Tonight, I’m going to watch It’s True, It’s True, It’s True by Breach, a gripping dramatisation of a 1612 rape trial brought by the gifted painter Artemisia Gentileschi. Find it here until 30th April.

The National Theatre has been showing some of their ‘greatest hits’ each week on Thursday at 7pm on youtube (you can pause the show for a few mins to go outside and clap for the NHS!). This week is the brilliant Twelfth Night production which I absolutely loved when I saw it live. Link is here.

If you missed out on tickets to see Fleabag in the theatre, you can watch it here for a small donation. Highly recommended.

And check out digitaltheatre.com for some brilliant plays including The Crucible starring Richard Armitage which is a barnstorming production which I loved.

Arts in Lockdown

Well, here we are. Day 21 in the Lockdown House. I hope you’re well. The only things keeping me from total insanity are my friends and family (although its debatable whether my family are helping or hindering my mental health), my daily state-sanctioned exercise, my nightly Quarantini Time and the arts. I miss galleries and the cinema but I realise that really is a first world problem, and with a bit of research, I’ve found some amazing and creative online projects to scratch the cultural itch while I can’t get out.

It is well proven that taking part in creative activities improves our wellbeing and mental health. A study, carried out by UCL in partnership with BBC Arts, found that the brain uses certain cognitive strategies to manage emotions while carrying out creative tasks. This means that the activity itself can be effective in various ways, acting as a tool to:

• distract us from stress

• give us mental space to contemplate and reassess problems 

• build confidence and self-esteem

It was also found that skill level isn’t important and just taking part in activities such as singing, painting, writing and dancing is helpful in regulating negative emotions. Trying something new is particularly effective as the mental effort of learning distracts us.

I believe that less active engagement with the arts also improves our wellbeing, so over the next weeks I’ll be posting some great stuff I’ve found online for you to watch, listen to and take part in.

Let me know if you find anything you love.

Stay well x

My perfect weekend

Friday afternoon at the cinema. I’m normally very picky about what I’ll watch but right now I would sit down for two hours in front of any old shit as long as I’m at the Curzon or Picturehouse and not on my sofa.

Friday evening dinner with old friends at a restaurant where I feel comfortable and I love the food. Wagyu nigiri at Takahashi. Campari spritz and crostini at Polpo. French toast with matcha ice cream at Shackfuyu. Truffled Baron Bigod on toast at Darbys. Everything at Lupins. 

Saturday afternoon at The Stoop watching my beloved Harlequins. Preferably winning but either way I miss the walk to the ground with my dad, the drink in the bar before the match, the joking with the people who sit around us and the sheer joy of watching sport with a crowd. 

Saturday evening dinner at my best friend’s house. Curry, bbq, takeaway, whatever, just sitting around, eating drinking and laughing. 

Sunday all day in my brother’s garden with him, my sister in law, her family, my parents and my nephews. BBQ, trampoline, ridiculously competitive cricket, wine.

Then the following weekend in Suffolk doing our usual circular walk involving fish and chips at The Bell, doughnuts from Two Magpies Bakery, sausage rolls from the Black Dog Deli, and oysters at The Anchor. 

By the weekend after that, I’ll be done with human contact for the month and want three days of personally mandated lockdown.

What’s your perfect weekend?