April Fool’s Pranks? Is April Fool a thing? April Fools’ Pranks? I really have no idea…
So last week I went to New Haven to see a play called An Italian in Algeria or something like that. Short version of the story is we never found the theater and completely missed the show. (This is why I like free shows.) Instead of wandering around aimlessly looking for a show that doesn’t exist, we watched The Ghost Writer, Roman Polanski’s arrest-aborted thriller.
I can’t say I’ve followed the tabloids all that much. I remember offhand that Polanski avoided the US ever since ditching out on a statutory rape charge or something along those lines. Whatever the crime, I doubt the movie would absolve the directory anything, but taken as an evening flick it wasn’t half bad.
Without spending much time on it, the movie is an exploration of what an unrepentant Tony Blair might do if he was being hounded by a war crimes tribunal. Alan Lang (aka Mr. Blair and played by Mr. Bond…aka Pierce Brosnan) is a former PM whose having his memoirs written for him by a ghost writer. The old ghost writer died, murdered of course, and the new ghost writer has to deal with a cagey PM, a betrayed wife, and the all accessory characters that fill out space.
In retrospect, I can sort of see the similarity with Ninth Gate, also by Polanski, and one of my favorite movies (though it’s been critically panned). All the critics mentioned the claustrophobia and paranoia of the movie and yes I saw plenty of that. Really though, I was more enthralled by scenery. The house off Martha’s Vinyard where Lang is hiding out is quite possibly the ugliest building ever constructed. It’s a genuinely hideous thing with an uber-chic interior that looks like a cross between a prison ward and M.C. Escher painting. The island itself suffers from English weather (it rains a lot) and feels more desolate that a New England vacation spot should.
The story rolls around without any really obvious non-spoiler hints I could drop. In truth, the plot is neither all that complex nor really that interesting, but Mr. Bond and Obi Wan Kenobi (the young one, Ewan McGregor) do a damn good job of keeping eyes to the screen. The ending seemed weak, but not woefully insufficient. In total, Ghost Writer is worth the time to watch, but it’s not playing on many strings so it can be hard to find in the theatre. Another DVD movie for most, I imagine.
In a close follow up to the movie, I started reading The Blair Years, the diary of Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair’s Communication Director. It’s a dense read and not exactly the smoothest narrative out there, but it’s an interesting look at the day to day operations of politicking. I suspect plenty of readers were disappointed to find out that it’s not an inside look at a grand Bush-Blair conspiracy, but I was never under that expectation. The diary, and it occurred me that it’s the first diary I’ve read since Anne Frank’s, is really more like a really slow episode of West Wing. It skips the policy discussions and sitcom drama in lieu of detailing the endless infighting and personal bickering that takes place inside any substantial and competitive organization. Overall, interesting but far too long. I’m 50 pages in and I’m not sure how thrilled I am to slog through the next 650…
Moving on to my own writing, I’ve got three or four stories out in the world. My submission to Clarkesworld was rejected, but the response came back in a record two days time. I like the efficiency! I’ve already send that story out again. I’ve got another two ideas in the works, but they aren’t even outlined yet so no details. Lots of work for the weekend!
Other than that, nothing planned. Should be quiet and stress free. Not doing anything Easter except tennis and everyone’s off and about with their own things. Here’s to getting some work done!
That’s pretty much the word. Until next time. Adieu!
