Song for Marion/Unfinished Song.

                   Song For Marion. Film Review.

"I'm not the life and soul of the party and full of joy and guts. I'm miserable old Arthur. I've ruined everything I had and it's too late."


Arthur Harris played by British veteran actor Terence Stamp more akin to playing the arch villain is struggling to deal with his wife, Marion's cancer. Undoubtedly he loves her, this is never in question being her main carer but to a point of over -protectiveness stifling her natural energy. His relationship with his son James is frosty. It seems as if James has proved a disappointment and Marion's illness has caused a huge rift between them. Arthur is bad-tempered, the antithesis of his wife, Marion played by the renowned actress Vanessa Redgrave, held in such high-esteem by the American playwright Tennessee Williams as the greatest actress of our time.

Within the partnership, she is the life force whereas Arthur represses his emotions, coming across as a misery dampening his wife's enthusiasm for wanting to compete in a musical competition.

"Maybe I'm crazy" and "Hey, did you happen to see the most beautiful girl in the world" or "Let's talk about sex, baby" form part of the repertoire of the OAPz-an unconventional type of choir chirpy and eccentric encouraged by a charismatic Elizabeth played by Gemma Arterton.
The OAPz are precisely that-seniors wanting to sing and have fun. They rise to Elizabeth's challenge and don the necessary attire to create a rock and roll image more ageing Mick Jagger, clad in leathers with long hairpieces, strumming invisible guitars and kicking ass. What an endearing sight. Explicit lyrics extolling the excitement of sex and game for a laugh Timothy who overdoes the jive and has to be taken in an ambulance to hospital to recover!
And what about wheelchair bound Marion? She is in the thick of it agreeing to sing a solo version of "True Colours" dedicated to her grumpy misunderstood husband. After her performance everyone present congratulates her on her wonderful rendition apart from the most important person in her life. Arthur slinks off for a smoke wanting to avoid the limelight, feeling dejected. It is Elizabeth who chastises him. Rightly so.

"You have this wonderful woman who adores you and she just sang in front of everyone for you. She put everything she had into singing that song."


"Marion" is a change of direction from the earlier brutally realistic crime movies from writer and director Paul Andrew Williams (The Cottage, 2008 London to Brighton 2006 and Cherry Tree Lane 2010). It is more of a tear-jerker like Brassed Off or Calendar Girls or even The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, films of that ilk. London to Brighton was seen as his debut and  Andrew Collins  (Radio Times 7-13 November 2015) referred to it  as an "incendiary, violent, fast moving crime thriller." He took a left turn with this "almost unbearably sentimental tale of oldies singing in a choir." (Andrew Collins). He refers to the antics of these OAPs as "age-inappropriate" who provide comic relief against the "backdrop of grim reaping." His first romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette followed: Miss You Already. (2014/5) Williams co-wrote the script with Morwenna Banks.
Paul Andrew Williams.

 Terence Stamp had reservations about taking on the role, being unable to see how he could make his character work. His father provided the inspiration he needed.

When the film was released in the US it was the "Unfinished Song" with closing lyrics provided by Celine Dion from her 2013 album "Loved Me Back to Life."

"Life is a story that's all twists and turns/ All that matters is the lessons we learn."


Arthur has to build some very solid bridges with his son. He has to travel on a journey of self-discovery revealing his true colours and acting on Elizabeth's advice: "Let everyone see you" instead of hiding away like a recluse locked inside his own grief. Marion gave them all the strength to carry on which culminated in Arthur's song dedicated to her: "Goodnight my angel." As Duke Orsino bemoaned: "If music be the food of love, play on." Sing your heart out Arthur Harris!


REVIEW it.
Copyright 2014. Permission must be obtained from the author before any of this review article is reproduced.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Stranger From Lagos by Cyprian Ekwensi

Image
  image courtesy of Google images   Ekwensi was born in Nigeria in 1921. He wrote about the country and people of Nigeria-city life and life in the rural areas. Loko Towns and Other Stories was published in 1966. A Stranger From Lagos was one of the nine stories in that collection.   The writer explores the place of women in society. Lilian is trapped by social conventions. Her fiance treats her like a possession as if he owns her. It is written in third person to allow the writer's thoughts to merge with Lilian's. The protagonist is unable to speak to the stranger in public although it is obvious that there is a strong physical attraction between the two. If Lilian asserts herself she will go against social conventions (for females) and her reputation will be damaged through rife and unhealthy gossip. She will therefore be stigmatised as a loose woman. The story explores her inner conflicts in accepting these "conventions" or flaunting them as well a
Read more

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.

Image
                Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. Book Review. "Novels gave you a completely false idea about life, they told lies and they implied there were endings when in reality there were no endings, everything just went on and on and on." These apparently disparate case histories cover 1970, 1994 and 1979 involving girls who had either been murdered or had simply vanished into thin air. Private Investigator, Jackson Brodie, beautifully drawn but flawed through and through had spent 12 years in the Cambridgeshire Constabulary and before that the military police. Forty-five years of age and working on irksome or dull cases like Binky Rain and her missing cats when he becomes inundated with requests to solve three case histories of people who have been seriously damaged by crimes committed against their loved ones. "He was used to being a voyeur, the outsider looking in, and nothing, but nothing that anyone did surprised him anymore." There i
Read more

A Stranger From Lagos by Cyprian Ekwensi Final Part

Image
                                                                    courtesy of Google images Lilian uses her sexuality to liberate as well as attract the opposite sex. Ekwensi uses "wiggled." Lilian had just had her hair done and was wearing very large, loop earrings. This had been done for her lover's benefit. She was conscious of all the eyes watching the two of them. The writer uses the simile: she felt like something projected on a 3D screen for all Onitsha to view. We are told very little about the stranger other than that he was tall and good-looking. We are told he didn't feel embarrassed by all of the attention. He would ruin her reputation and he was well aware of this: he would scandalize her and then she would be left to the gossips. You get the sense that this has probably happened before. The dialogue here is disjointed. Mystery surrounds him but his desire to see Lilian is compelling: "I have wanted to see you" and he refers to his
Read more