.
James Finnegan looks at some movies, old and new, which are worth a look on Netflix…
In the spirit of hope and romance, I thought we might look at some films that are a little bit quirky, but also have a resonance of ‘odd couples’ in this week’s Netflix selection.
I am going to start with a personal favourite, As Good As It Gets. It stars the great Jack Nicholson as romantic novelist Melvin Udall, who not only dislikes people intensely, but also has to deal with a number of additional OCD issues.
Continued below…
.
This makes him somewhat difficult to interact with on a personal and professional level. He has his breakfast at the same table in the same restaurant every day, served by Carol Connolly, played by Helen Hunt.
She is a single parent, raising a chronically ill son, and is the only person who can just about tolerate Melvin and his quirks.
Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt in ‘As Good As It Gets’.
Melvin’s neighbour is Simon Bishop, an artist who is hospitalised following an assault. This means someone has to mind his little doggie Verdell, and Melvin finds himself volunteered (there’s also a very amusing cameo from Cuba Gooding Jnr).
This is the last occasion where the Best Actor and Best Actress Oscars went to the same film.
Directed by multi-award winning James L Brooks, who also co –wrote the screenplay with Mark Andrus, this is witty and multiple layered love story that thoroughly deserved all the plaudits it received.
Going chronologically, next is a romcom with a little imaginative twist from the good people that brought you Love Actually, namely About Time.
At the age of 21, Richard (Domhnall Gleeson) discovers from his father, James (Bill Nighy) that the males of his family have a unique ability – that can travel back in time.
All they need to do is find a dark space, clench their fists and concentrate on the memory of a specific event in their life that they want to go back to amend the outcome.
However, it is not as simple as it would seem to change an event without there being consequences, so those involving the acquisition of money or fame do not come out very well. However, when Richard meets Mary (Rachel McAdams), there are a number of advantages.
Director and screenwriter Richard Curtis offers up an entertaining version of life’s ‘if onlys…’ that also includes the wonderful Jimmy Fontana version of ‘Il Mondo’ and great cameo performances by Tom Hollander, Lindsay Duncan, Margot Robbie and Richard Griffiths, in what was his final film appearance.
Sophia Loren.
Just to add something different to the mix is The Life Ahead, released today.
It is a touching Italian language film, telling the story of an inter generational relationship between Madame Rosa, a holocaust survivor and former prostitute, beautifully played by Sophia Loren, and Momo, a twelve year old Senegal Orphan, also played wonderfully by Ibrahima Gueye, scraping a living selling drugs on the street of Bari.
This is a different kind of love story, written and directed by Loren’s son Eduardo Ponti, but will melt your heart. Enjoy and stay safe.
