Wonderland (Winterbottom, 1999): Prince Charles Cinema, 6.15pm
This is a 35mm presentation from Lost Reels.
Time Out review:
A long weekend in the lives of an extended family of strangers in South
London. Dad and mum (Jack Shepherd and Kika Markham) have long since settled for
habitual resentment, their general disappointment accentuated by runaway
son Darren. They also have three grown daughters: Nadia (Gina McKee) has
resorted to the lonely hearts columns; Debbie (Shirley Henderson) is the eldest,
with an 11-year-old boy and a good-for-nothing ex (Ian Hart); the youngest,
Molly (Molly Parker), is pregnant, and blissfully happy with her partner,
Eddie (John Simm). Only Eddie's getting cold feet. Winterbottom's best film
by some measure offers an intimate, suburban panorama of London life
now. In the past, this director has slapped style over substance with
more vigour than sensitivity; here he's opted for handheld 16mm cameras
and a skeleton crew to shoot on the streets of Soho and SW1. The result
rings true in a way precious few London films have managed, so that the
experience of going to the movie in a local cinema practically blurs
with what you've seen on screen. Not that the technique obscures the
humanity in Laurence Coriat's fine screenplay, which keeps tabs on
half-a-dozen emotionally deprived lives, and endows mundane occurrences
with an unforced resonance. Shored up with a memorable Michael Nyman score, this achingly tender film makes most new British cinema look downright frivolous.
Tom Charity
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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