Anna Karenina

On [Orange] Wednesday, I went to see Anna Karenina. I haven’t read the original Tolstoy novel, but I saw the trailer a while back and I’ve been looking forward to its release ever since. For all Keira Knightley irritates me sometimes, I liked her in Atonement and so I decided if she was under the direction of Joe Wright again, I should give her a chance to curb her pouting and concentrate on acting. When she does, I think she can be brilliant. Plus, more importantly, it looked as though the film was going to be visually spectacular and like nothing I’d ever seen before. Which is always good.

I wasn’t let down – the filming was pretty amazing. I don’t want to get into the realms of sounding really pretentious, but when you’ve spent the past two years studying Greek theatre modules in which the word ‘metatheatricality’ was used, on average, about seven times a lecture, it’s difficult not to think about the extraordinary use of sets. I’m not sure if ‘metatheatre’ is technically the right word as the film, being a film, isn’t a play…even though they do make it look like a play by shooting most of it in a dilapidated theatre. The point is, it constantly refers back to its status as a work of fiction. The sets are changed around right before your eyes, undermining the realism of the story. The movements are at times very dance-like and rehearsed and even the everyday process of putting on a coat is made into a ballet-style movement. And then there’s the all-important ‘viewer becoming the viewed’ thing. Or maybe it would be ‘viewed becoming the viewer, becoming the viewed’? I dunno. Basically, there comes a point where you’re watching Anna as she is watching an opera in a theatre, but then she becomes the object of gaze when the rest of the audience turn on her. It’s all very clever.

I also thought the costumes were pretty stunning, although Keira Knightley could wear a bin bag and make it look like couture Chanel. Poor Jude Law doesn’t come out of it looking so fresh – an epically receding hairline and drab clothing is not the best combination. It also seems that Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s blonde perm and dodgy tash was a good look in those days, but things change. To be fair, I was pleasantly surprised by his performance as Count Vronsky. I think he’s brilliant in Kick-Ass, but the most recent thing I saw him in was Chatroom – probably one of the worst films ever made. I suppose that’s not his fault, but by association he had gone down in my estimation. Now he’s redeemed himself again – he portrays his character with old-school charm and seems extremely mature and stately for his 22 years…I guess that goes with the territory of marrying a 45-year-old woman.

However, at the same time, I can’t help but resent his character for his part in Anna’s downfall. Yes, you can argue it was her own fault, and it was to an extent, but to be fair she did take some persuasion. She was reluctant to cheat on old baldy at first and when your husband shows basically no emotion it must be hard to ignore golden-haired man-gods who want a bit of hanky panky. Jude Law’s character, Karenin, is almost stoic in his attitudes – he’s described as a ‘saint’ and someone who, in his work as a statesman, is invaluable to Russia. He obviously has extremely high morals and respect for society’s rules, but he lacks passion and maybe this is what draws Anna to the Count. Even when he finds out about the affair, all Karenin can do is crack his knuckles and walk off - he hardly even seems angry. He’s a person who does the ‘right thing’ rather than following his heart, the total opposite of Anna.

So, Karenin gets all the sympathy and some would say rightly so. But spare a thought for Anna, basically shunned by society whilst Aaron Taylor-Johnson is allowed to swan off on his horse as if he wasn’t a part of the scandal. He is sensitive to her situation, but it’s not like he has Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter popping up and having a massive go at him is it? Anna is the one who’s targeted. But I suppose that’s the whole point – to highlight the hypocrisy in attitudes at the time.

A theatre is a place of spectacle and of judgement. At the time, it was a place to watch drama, but also an opportunity to show your face in society, saying the right things and being seen with the right people. Performance was not solely limited to taking place on the stage, but was a part of the everyday life of the upper classes, and if you didn’t fit with the norms of this performance then you were shunned. I think that’s what Tolstoy highlighted in the novel, and Joe Wright brilliantly captured in his unique vision. I really enjoyed it and it's definitely worth a watch.

California, Here We Come

From the title of this post, you may be under the impression that I'm about to embark on an exciting trip to America. Unfortunately this is not the case, but on the upside, I have rekindled my love for the OC. When I was on a recent work experience placement and therefore facing the shocking hurdle of waking up before eight, I encountered many things I'd forgotten about since those dark days in third year when I had to make it into uni for nine o'clock - the morning dew on the grass, the chorus of birds singing...and the reruns of season two on Really. I already had this and season three on DVD, but they were on a shelf in my room gathering dust after a few years of neglect. Catching snippets of it on TV reminded me how much I love it and so this prompted me to buy the boxsets of one and four. You can pick them up pretty cheaply now so there was no excuse.

Over the past month or so, I've been working my way through (standard episode with breakfast) and I'm about halfway into season four now. Watching them in quick succession as opposed to having to wait an excruciatingly long week for the next episode has given me a bit of a different view to when I watched it on TV the first time round. You pick up on some of the nuances which make it so good - running jokes about how Ryan and Marissa definitely aren't funny and 'salting' each others' 'games', the writers' use of particular pieces of music to signal certain things (Imogen Heap's Hide and Seek for example - if you hear the opening lines of 'wheeeeere are we...what the heeeeell is goooooing on?' you know someone is about to be injured/die) and how the characters develop over the four series.

I maintain that season one will always be the best. Even though I find Marissa really annoying, and Ryan is stuck in his slightly irritating tough guy image, it's the original and therefore a classic. You're introduced to the Seth/Summer relationship, it has some engaging extra cast members (Anna, Oliver Trask) and it's the first time that you get an insight into how much of an incredible father Sandy would be. Literally, anything that goes wrong, Sandy's response is 'I just wish you'd talked to me'. You know how on Mean Girls they say that Gretchen's hair is so big because it's full of secrets? My theory is that there is a reason for Sandy's extraordinarily large eyebrows - the bushiness conceals his abundance of morals.

Season two is also up there, a highlight being the mall episode. For me, that particular one has an 80s teen movie feel to it - it's very Ferris Bueller, which is always a good thing. I didn't find Lindsay that bad a character the second time round, and I always liked Zach and Alex, but my favourite addition to the cast was Ryan's brother Trey (who incidentally recently starred in Prometheus...not bad for an ex-con). Ryan's background means that it's easy for the writers to introduce his family members into the Newpsie bubble and have them wreak havoc. In fact, Trey caused so much trouble that it led to what I think is the best ending of any of the seasons. I won't give it away, but let's just say it went off with a 'bang'. Ok maybe that has given it away slightly...my bad.

In my opinion, the OC changes quite a lot in season three, and this initially made me resent it slightly. Marissa has changed schools and so you get another influx of new characters who I didn't particularly take to, but on the other hand, you are also introduced to Taylor Townsend who I think is a brilliant character (and it seems the writers did too as she returns permanently in the next season). Again, fast forward to the end and there is another dramatic finish involving a death. In my opinion, the death of this particular character should mean that season four is improved (harsh but true), although I'm not sure it does after all.

In season four, it seems to move from being a drama series with comedic aspects to laughable in a not so good way. The story lines become ridiculously far-fetched and this is clear from the outset...Ryan has resorted to cage-fighting on his nights off, as you do. It's all a bit weird. Take for example the episode where Ryan and Taylor fall off a ladder and into a coma, where they enter a parallel universe in which neither of them exist. Or the episode where Che (who grew on me so much the second time round, genuine comedic genius) takes Seth on a psychological journey into the woods so that he can discover his 'spirit animal'. This is the episode I just finished watching, and for all it's brilliant, it seems pretty incongruous with the feel of seasons one and two. This doesn't necessarily mean that it's a lot worse than them, it's just...different.

What I like about the OC is that for all it is a bit of light relief - a bit of a trashy teen drama - it's genuinely really funny with mostly engaging, dramatic story lines. The writing does seem to change tack over time, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing, it just means that for me, the experience of watching seasons one and two, and to an extent three, is different to that of watching the fourth. Anyway, this is all a bit of a moot point as everyone knows the real reason why anyone watches it is for Seth and his 'Coheny Cohenisms' (see below). Get me an invite to Chrismukkah at the Cohen household and I would be a very happy lady.

The Edinburgh Fringe - Part 2

During our short stay in Edinburgh, we came across a few Scottish stereotypes - loads of bag pipes, a guy dressed as Braveheart, and a ridiculous amount of kilt shops. At first, it was a bit of a joke - obviously it's expected that you'll see a couple of places catering for the kilt-wearing individual, but we stumbled across the first explosion of tartan within two minutes of our arrival. Soon, we realised just how many there are - we were walking past three kilt shops, a whisky shop, two more kilt shops, a shop selling decorative tins of shortbread and haggis...it felt a bit like the big chase in a cartoon where the background is just on a loop.

I couldn't believe that so many of them could stay in business. Maybe I'm just naive, but I didn't think anyone actually bought any of that stuff, apart from genuine Scottish people who need kilts for weddings and big Scottish parties full of other Scottish people wearing kilts. Apparently not. Later, we were sat by an Australian tourist who was clearly loving the traditional attire. She was dressed in a tartan waistcoat and flatcap combo... pretty bold.

Anyway, whilst we embraced the Scottish cliches (not the haggis), we were keen to experience the eclectic nature of the festival. The atmosphere was amazing. The town was bustling with visitors and locals, as well as street performers and people promoting their own shows. We'd only booked a couple of things to see before we got there, so it was difficult to know where to start - when people are throwing leaflets at you and making every single show sound brilliant it can be quite overwhelming! Amongst other things, we chose some great Jazz a cappella and a musical open-mic comedy piece set inside a pub. Really, it was just a room made to look like a pub, and they didn't have a real bar, but I reckon one of the older women in the audience had downed a couple of whiskies before the show. She didn't really have a concept of personal space and kept touching the actors - one was targeted in particular, poor guy. She was a bit odd, but the music was brilliant.

My personal highlights were the two shows we'd booked for the evenings. On our first night, we went to see Simon Amstell's newest stand-up show, Numb. I've been a fan since the Popworld days, but I've only ever seen one recording of him doing stand-up. I'd mainly the seen him presenting Buzzcocks or more recently in his sitcom, Grandma's House, so I was hoping he would live up to my expectations. He definitely did. 'Awkward' is a word often used in reference to Simon, but I don't feel like it's put on or that he plays up to the label, it's just genuinely what he's like. His comedy is self-ridiculing, self-analytical and personal. You come out of the show feeling like he's laid himself bare, but somehow managed to make it hilarious rather than uncomfortable. At the end my cheeks were aching from laughter and I'm even more of a fan now than I was before.

On the last night, we'd booked to see the Blues Brothers. It was such a good way to end our time at the festival - the Brothers and their band were amazing, they cracked out all the classic tunes and the moves to go with them. As Jake and Elwood became sweatier, the trombone player's shirt was getting increasingly more undone, and the audience were getting more and more into it. The 50s moves were coming out and everyone was on their feet. For an hour, we were transported to a rhythm and blues club in Chicago and it was so much fun.

I've never been to Edinburgh before, but I loved it as a city and the Fringe was incredible. For just over three weeks the whole place becomes a hub of creativity, providing hundreds of venues for people to showcase their talent. You have the opportunity to experience so many different things and I can't wait to take advantage by going for a lengthier visit next year.

The Edinburgh Fringe - Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to head up to Edinburgh for the end of the Fringe. It was a spur of the moment thing, a friend and I decided that after being home for two months, we needed some new surroundings and so we went ahead and booked a little trip. There's nothing better than a last-minute break, and this made it really exciting, but it also meant that because we didn't have that much time to plan ahead, a lot of the places to stay were either extortionately expensive or completely booked up. We ended up taking a bit of a risk, but it paid off.

We stayed in a Snoozebox, described on its website as a 'temporary hotel' (if you're interested, take a look here) which moves around to cater for different events. There's photos on there too, so we had an idea of what to expect, but we weren't quite prepared for how much it would live up to the latter part of its name...

On arrival, we struggled to find it. Now I'm the first to admit that my map reading skills are shocking, but even I could tell we were in the right area, and seeing as it was described as a 'village', we didn't think we'd be able to miss it. But we did. Eventually we ended up asking in a nearby restaurant and were told that two other girls had been in looking for the same place, so that was promising. Luckily, the guy was really helpful and pointed us in the right direction - he told us it was located in an 'old derelict car park' just around the corner. It definitely didn't say that on TripAdvisor.

When we eventually arrived, the hotel had an interesting decor from the outside....it looked a bit like a prison. I quite liked this though - as a big Prison Break fan I was prepared to play the role of a female Michael Scofield if necessary (the difference being if we wanted to leave we could just walk out instead of going through the whole origami birds fiasco). The inside of our room was literally tiny. I was expecting small and box-like, but more of an IKEA flat-pack furniture box than a cereal box. I don't know how the photographer managed to make it look so deceivingly big, that was some impressive work.

The sizing was a bit of a shock at first, not because it was an issue but just because we weren't expecting it. On further inspection, it had everything we needed and more (how they managed to fit a flat-screen tv in there I do not know, good shout Snoozebox people) with a wet room the size of a wardrobe and ridiculously comfy beds. It was cosy, felt safe, and was in a great location for the station - by the end of the festival we'd grown stupidly attached to our new home and didn't want to leave. The one thing I will say is make sure you are totally comfortable with the person you're staying with because there is no room for modesty....the hole in the bathroom door acting as a handle makes sure of that. Also, because all the plumbing is portable (at least I'm guessing that's the reason) it can make some really dodgy noises. Like, scary, grinding noises every time you turn on the tap. But Michael Scofield wouldn't care about a few rickety pipes, would he? I'd definitely recommend booking into a Snoozebox if you ever get the chance, its little quirks are what made it such a brilliant place to stay.

After the accommodation I'll just say a quick word on where we ate. My friend and I like food a lot (tragically, the Great British Bake-Off is currently the highlight of our week), so it was important that we found somewhere nice. After reading about it on the internet before we left, we came across this amazing veggie cafe, Henderson's, on our way to one of the venues (website here). I think the fact we went back there twice in the space of two and a half days speaks for itself - they had a huge selection of amazing salads, hot meals and very importantly for me, soup and freshly-baked bread. I have a thing about soup. I became really lazy with cooking in the last year of uni and basically lived off it thanks to the 2 for £3 deal at Tesco, so I like to think that makes me a bit of an expert. It doesn't, it just means that I know my Moroccan chicken from my puy lentil and vine-ripened tomato (the first one has chicken in, the second one doesn't). Anyway, my point is that Henderson's soup, like everything else we tried, was really good, so you should definitely eat there if you get the chance. They also had a deli upstairs where you could get things to take-away so even if you don't have the time to sit, you can still grab a sandwich or salad.

Food and shelter is important, but the real reason we went to Edinburgh was to experience the festival, and that's what I'll talk about in part 2.

Time

I've just begun this awkward but exciting new chapter of my life. After living as a student for the best three years I could have hoped for, I've suddenly found myself back at home with no studying left to do. Ever. It's really, really weird. Rightly, my life is very much geared around job-hunting and seeking out the 'e-word', that all-important relevant experience. When I meet up with friends, we fill each other in on which applications we're doing and any progress which has been made, at the same time as trying to convince ourselves the summer isn't over by drinking a lot of iced frappuccinos. But these topics of conversation can get boring, and we know it. We listen to ourselves becoming these obsessed people who can't seem to talk about anything else, and it's slightly worrying.

One of my good friends always says the thing about employment is that when you have a job and therefore money, you don't have as much time to enjoy it. So, I feel like for now, whilst it is difficult to relax into it, I should try and enjoy the free time that does come my way. I'd like to use this blog as a means of sharing some of the ways I fill this time - some of the things I watch, read, eat and listen to, a few of the places I go and things I do - to review and recommend them (or not as the case may be). It could be anything from a day out, to a couple of hours spent watching a film, to a three-minute song (hence the ingenious title). Hopefully this will help me embrace some of the free time I do have at the moment.

I've really enjoyed writing on my tumblr account (which can be found here), but recently my posts have become longer and longer, so I figured I may as well finally start a regular blog - hopefully people will enjoy reading it too. And I promise the next one won't be so self-indulgent, it's hard to write an introductory post without banging on about yourself too much!