Herself

 Seen at the Academy Gold Cinema, Christchurch

Cecil going solo again - all this week in fact.

Cecil says: Watching ‘Herself’ in a Christchurch cinema surrounded by people I don’t know and with Bea thousands of miles away, I suddenly found myself thinking of Bruno Ganz in ‘Wings of Desire’ (Himmel über Berlin). I felt like I was watching over both the action on the screen in front of me, taking place in Dublin, with a young single mother who has escaped from domestic violence, and over the people in the audience around me: all locals so in on the tradition in this cinema to have an ice cream as you watch the movie (I think I was the only one not licking a cone among the 30 or so watching with me). And, as usual, I was the very last to leave the room, having seen all the credits, putting the film to bed somehow but learning more about the main writer, actor and producer, Claire Dunne, and getting a nice list of the music that made the soundtrack.

But, like Bruno Ganz the angel looking down over Berlin, I did get involved in the film. Dunne has created a scarily believable scenario and a very empathetic character in Sandra, who struggles with flashbacks, traumatised kids and social services.

The film is definitely not all doom and gloom, though. There’s a message in there on the kindness of strangers (something of which we must all at some point in our lives have had a taste), of community working together to achieve things, and above all of resilience and perseverance.

The girls playing Sandra’s daughters do a fantastic job. How much do you need to coach a 3-4-5 year old girl in the traumas their characters have gone through to get them to act so accurately? Or do you just get them to imagine something like your most precious toy being thrown away or broken by someone you don’t like?

The other actors are peripheral really, and most of their faces unfamiliar to me, though I did recognise Harriet Walter playing the doctor who is so generous to the needy Sandra, and she played her part well, too.

I did wonder what Bea would have made of the plaintive ballad sung by Sandra towards the end. Bea tells a good tale of her friend and her backpacking days in Ireland and almost groaning at yet another pub with a local getting up to sing their favourite heart-rending song. So, strangely enough again, I became Bruno Ganz the angel at that point in the film, and was thinking of Bea instead of getting inside the heart and soul of Sandra.

Overall, I do recommend Herself. It’s not a cheery light-hearted flick; it’s more gritty with a serving of humour and hope. And I look forward to what Claire Dunne has up her sleeve next, both acting and writing.

****

I, Tonya

Seen at the beautiful Midland Theatre or Astor Theatre, Ararat, VIC

Cecil says:  I only vaguely remember the Tonya Harding ‘incident’. I

think at that time, I was in a kind of anti-American bubble

where an apparent squabble between two US ice skaters didn’t much matter to

me, and I was pleased neither of them got gold at the Winter Olympics. So it was

quite interesting to see the story told 20 odd years later. 

Harding is a self-confessed redneck (spoken via the

contemporary ‘interviews’ which flick on and off as the

story from the 1990s unfolds), and at one point we are shown a bedroom poster of

Ronald Reagan, suggesting these were working class Republicans. So it felt

like no coincidence that this is precisely the kind of family that would have

voted in Trump in 2016, which felt like the reason anyone would make this film

now.

None of the characters we focus on are attractive or evoke

sympathy in any way, really. The only mitigating theme

running through the film, and certainly Harding’s obsession (understandably), was that of the

snobby judges in US ice-skating preferring the middle class

clean-cut girls Harding was competing against, however talented Harding

herself was. Again, this is the kind of ‘rigged’ system, that led to Trump

being elected,

The domestic violence was graphic, and continued on from

maternal violence in Harding’s youth. It was hardly a

comfy upbringing, and no doubt made her the creature she was.Right at

the end, there is footage of the real people being

interviewed, and you can see how well cast this film was,

with Allyson Janney especially good as Harding’s Mum (I loved the gasps from

the mainly middle-aged audience in our country cinema when Janney first utters the ‘C’ word…).

Funnily enough, having also seen a documentary on Tonya

Harding just a day after seeing the film (again, no coincidence surely), I

would say if anybody was badly-cast it was *** in the role

of Harding herself. In real footage of Harding at the time, she comes across

much more as a little teenage brat than in the film. ** is almost too well-built

and robust in face and body to match the real Harding.

But overall, this was an interesting film to see in the

context of 2018 America. Not a film to enjoy as such or to feel much

identification with the characters – not for me, anyway– but worth seeing

nonetheless.

***

Bea says:  

Coming from a family of keen ice skating watchers (my mother was a fan of Peggy Fleming and at home we always watched any kind of ice skating, both on TV and when we could get to them, live events), I do remember the Tonya Harding incident; and both Tonya and Nancy are about my age, so I was vaguely interested, at the time and now, as they are my contemporaries.  Tonya didn't come out of this very well at the time, and the film doesn't really change that perspective, other than the insight that she didn't really fit the mould of the perfect, middle class, well behaved, thin, (white) girl who wins figure skating championships; although the film shies away from using this as an excuse; Nancy Kerrigan was, after all, from working class stock herself.

More of an insight into Tonya's behaviour is (if true) the abuse she suffered at the hand of her mother and then her boyfriend/husband, although again the film shies away from portraying either of them as all bad.  The real poignancy is the talent Tonya possessed; the excitement of her triple is palpable in the film - what a shame she (allegedly) threw it all away.  Her talent and commitment - that she trains hard and well is in no doubt - was well presented in the film; as was the fact that this particular sport does not place a visible value on this and instead values presentation.  

The film is a great example of the docu-drama genre; I enjoyed the interview/events sequences, and particularly the "real" footage at the end.  Allyson Janney did a star turn as Harding's mother, showing her own talent, and versatility - Cecil and I have been a fan of her for a long time now (since our West Wing viewing days).  Without her though, I am not sure how strong the cast would have been.  The costume designer also did a very good job of recreating the kinds of styles (both clothes and hair) actually worn by ordinary people in the 1980s/90s, and avoided my pet hate - stylised (rather than real life) 80s or 90s clothes with hair and makeup clearly of the current time.

An interesting watch, particularly if you like documentary style films, family drama, Allyson Janney - you don't necessarily need to like (or be interested in) ice skating to take something from this film.

***1/2

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