Between the Pages

This book takes place in Ireland from 1910-1925. Kitty Deverill is the Anglo-Irish youngest child of Bertie and Maud Deverill, and lives in the grand but cursed Deverill Castle. The daughter of the Deverill’s cook, Bridie is Kitty’s best friend despite the differences in their social statuses, and Kitty’s vivacious cousin Celia completes their social circle. The story encompasses the drive for Irish independence, which Kitty is a staunch advocate for, as well as complications in love when two of the girls have feelings for the same man (trying to keep this spoiler free). Pretty much ignored by her father and very much despised by her mother, Kitty is at least close to her grandmother Adeline. As she grows into an intelligent and fiercely independent young woman, the political and romantic situations manifest themselves in shocking and dangerous ways.

Kitty, Celia and Bridie find themselves inhabiting different parts of the world as their lives take them on unexpected journeys, but their hearts will always belong in Ireland and at Castle Deverill.

For anyone who isn’t aware, it’s worth knowing that this book is the first in a trilogy, so if you want a story with a definitive ending you won’t find it here. Personally speaking I’m not sure I enjoyed it enough to read the next book, although I would like to know what happens. I swung this way and that during the book – I really enjoyed some parts of it but other parts moved too slowly and didn’t hold my interest. The sweeping romance did not really capture my attention as I did not warm to either of the two people involved. The other problem was that none of the three main female characters were memorable enough for me to want to root for them. They were all either incredibly naive or very selfish – one of them in particular did a particularly horrible thing, which added little to the story and could easily have been left out.

The writing is fine if sometimes a little overly-sentimental, and although it was enough to hold my interest, it was never one of those books that you can’t wait to pick up. Then again this is not normally a genre I would go for, so I shouldn’t be surprised. Overall I would have to say that while I didn’t hate it, I certainly wouldn’t be in a rush to read anything else by this author.

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I genuinely think this might be one of the most heartbreaking films I have ever seen. Certainly it’s one of the very best acted, with a truly outstanding cast.

Some years after the worst kind of tragedy affects their lives, two couples meet up to discuss events, try and understand each other’s pain and finally be able to move forward. I knew what the tragedy was before I watched the film, but I think it would have been even more hard hitting if I hadn’t, so I’m not going to reveal that here, but the details do unfold through the film.

So, except for the very beginning and very end of the film, it’s just the four characters in one room, in real time. And each character is so vividly drawn that it’s impossible not to feel for each and every one of them. Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd and Reed Birney all deserve to win every acting award going for this one. Isaacs (one of my very favourite actors; always brilliant and never more so than he is here) starts out as a polite and co-operative, wanting to be civil, whereas his wife Gail (Plimpton – incredible) doesn’t even really want to be there at the beginning of the meeting. Linda (Dowd) and Richard (Birney) are, respectively, eager to make amends and try and understand the other couple, and slightly repressed, worried about what might unfold.

Each character runs the whole gamut of emotions, and goodness I ran through them too. An hour and a half conversation between four characters might not sound like the sort of thing that everyone would enjoy but I was figuratively on the edge of my seat, and could not peel my eyes away from the screen. I also recommend keeping tissues handy for this film, as I was in tears several times throughout.

Since I watched this film a few days ago I have not been able to stop thinking about it. It’s the second film I have watched so far this year, and right now I cannot imagine that there will be a more emotional and hard hitting one. Kudos to each and every actor involved, to the writers and everybody else who worked on this. All I can say is please watch.

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I’m not really into violent films or action movies, although I do like some thrillers and I would class this more of a thriller than action. Definitely violent! I would probably have not bothered watching if it were not for the fact that Viggo Mortensen was in it – there are a few actors I will break out of my normal genres for, and he is one.

Mortensen is Tom Stall, a mild mannered cafe owner in small town America, happily married to Edie (Maria Bello) and with two children. One night two armed thugs come into the cafe with the intention of robbing the place and killing the staff and other customers. Tom single handedly fends them off and kills them, which leads to him being hailed a local hero and featuring in the press. Unfortunately, the following day two strange and intimidating men turn up at the cafe calling him Joey, and clearly think that he is someone else, and that they have a score to settle with him. For a while, we don’t know whether this is a case of mistaken identity or whether they are correct. We find out the truth but I won’t reveal it here in case of spoilers. Unfortunately this leads to further problems for Tom and his family and it is up to him to keep them all safe.

This a David Cronenberg film, so highly stylised and with explicit scenes of sex and violence – worth noting if this kind of scene disturbs you. I did enjoy it, and thought Mortensen and Bello were both excellent, with Ed Harris as one of the mystery men who turn up at his cafe after his heroics make Tom famous, both charismatic and menacing.

Overall, an enjoyable way to spend a few hours although you might want to have something a little light hearted to watch afterwards as a palate cleanser!

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I read this play in one sitting, which is not a difficult task, as it isn’t a long book. There are just four characters, and it takes place in real time – both of these points appealed to me.

George and Martha are a middle aged couple who live on a New England university campus. George is a history lecturer and Martha is the Dean’s daughter. Although they have been married for years, and seem like they would be lost without each other, they also despise each other and both take pleasure in taunting the other.

Things take a sinister turn – although you suspect not for the first time – when a young Biology lecturer named Nick, who is new to the university visits them after a party one night, bringing his naive wife Honey with him. Nick and Honey become drawn into the older couple’s private war, and become pawns in their game.

In the third act, a secret is revealed about George and Martha which goes some way towards explaining their antagonism towards each other (no spoilers here).

It’s a bleak read, and somewhat dated now. Still, I am glad I read it, and would recommend it, but I actually prefer the film version with excellent performances from Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

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A made-for-TV rom-com, starring Stefanie Von Pfetten and (surprisingly) William Baldwin, as a divorced couple who reconnect as friends and decide to try and set each other up on dates. But – of course – fate has a different plan in mind for them. Utterly predictable, but not unpleasant for it. If this is a genre you enjoy and you don’t mind knowing how it will end practically as soon as it starts, this is quite an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half. The film borrows fairly heavily from You’ve Got Mail – which in itself was a remake of The Shop Around The Corner – and it doesn’t have the star quality, or any kind of quality of those two films, but it does have a charm all of it’s own, and I quite enjoyed it on a lazy Friday night after a busy week.

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Year of release: 2017

Director: David Winning

Writers: Neal H Dobrofsky, Tippi Dobrofsky

Main cast: William Baldwin, Stefanie Von Pfetten

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This blog originally started as a review site for the books I read, and over time expanded to include film and theatre reviews. As I far prefer to do book reviews than film or theatre, I am still going to post pictures from plays/films I watch but keep my actual reviews to a minimum – basically a brief synopsis, and my general thoughts on the acting, storyline etc. (This seems to make more sense to me as lately I have been watching lots of films and not reviewing any of them!) So be prepared for an onslaught of film posts as I play catch up on those I have missed posting about previously…

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