The Invisible Woman

2013 - Dir.: Ralph Fiennes - 1 hours 51 minutes
Shown at The FeckenOdeon on April 25th, 2015
Ralph Fiennes may be the director and star of this handsomely mounted tale of the private life of Charles Dickens, but it's Felicity Jones who makes it fly. She plays Nelly Ternan, a young actress of indeterminate talent who captures the author's eye and heart, but wrestles (philosophically, morally, practically) with the idea of becoming his mistress. Abi Morgan's insightful script takes its lead from Claire Tomalin's book of the same name. At the heart of Nelly's dilemma is a gender inequality that Morgan's screenplay lays bare; the progressive "freedom" from marriage that Dickens and cohort Wilkie Collins (Tom Hollander) merrily espouse is a liberty for men only. 
The invisibility of the title appears to allude to Nelly, whose status in his life Dickens never really acknowledged, but Morgan and Fiennes show us that as the wronged wife, Catherine was also invisible, and so was Nelly's drawn and haunted mother, who considered it her duty to stand aside and let the great author have his high-minded, tortured way. 
The film is certainly based on fact. Dickens was forty-five when he met Ellen (Nelly) Ternan and she was eighteen, slightly older than his daughter Katey. Nelly Ternan was clever and charming, forceful of character, and interested in literature and the theatre. Dickens referred to her as his "magic circle of one". Matters came to a head in 1858 when Catherine Dickens opened a packet delivered by a London jeweller which contained a gold bracelet meant for Nelly with a note written by her husband. The Dickenses separated that May, after 22 years of marriage. Nelly left the stage in 1860, and was supported by Dickens from then on. She lived in houses he took under false names at Slough and later at Nunhead, and is thought to have had a son by him who died in infancy. Dickens left a legacy of £1,000 to Nelly in his will on his death in 1870, and sufficient income from a trust fund to ensure that she would never have to work again

The Straight Story

1999 - Dir: David Lynch - 1 hour 47 minutes
Shown in FeckenOdeon 2 on 17th April, 2015
DAVID LYNCH
This is the most unlikely film to be directed by David Lynch. Mr Lynch is known for his surrealist films and has developed a unique cinematic style. The strange and, in many cases, violent elements contained within his films have been known to "disturb, offend or mystify" audiences. Nothing in this film is likely to do any of those things. His earlier work includes “Eraserhead” - a horrific and disturbing film involving the death of a child and inner demons. He achieved mainstream success with “The Elephant Man” which, while still dealing with a difficult subject, had a message of compassion. He then saddled himself with filming the un-filmable in the form of an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic “Dune” - a massive flop. Then there was the strange “Blue Velvet” which started off with a severed ear and went on to psychopathic rape… and then there was “Twin Peaks” for television… and so it goes on. Everything Mr Lynch has done is disturbing, shocking, even revolting… and then in 1999 he decided that the story of Alvin Straight was “what I fell in love with next”. No sex, no violence, no guns, no grossness - and it’s fantastic. 
ALVIN STRAIGHT
It’s not often that a film is so faithful to the events that inspired it. It’s a fact that Alvin Ray Straight, was a WW2 veteran who lived in Laurens, Iowa. Just as the film depicts Mr Straight travelled 280 miles on a 1966 John Deere riding lawn mower to visit his 80-year-old brother Henry who had recently suffered a stroke and who lived in Blue River, Wisconsin . At a top speed of 5 miles per hour, the journey took six weeks. The event happened in the summer of 1994 when Alvin was 73 years old. Mr. Straight could not see well enough to get a driving license so he decided his only option was the mower. Setting off in early July, he towed a trailer loaded with gasoline, camping gear, clothes and food, and arrived at his brother's house in mid-August. Henry Straight recovered and moved back to Iowa to be closer to his family. Alvin died in 1996.
RICHARD FARNSWORTH
Mr Farnsworth, who plays Alvin, was a stuntman who first appeared in movies in 1937. He worked, mainly in Westerns, for many years and was one of the industry’s most respected (and mostly uncredited) performers. When David Lynch offered him the role, Farnsworth had no idea who he was. Farnsworth did not like violence or swearing, and Lynch assured him that there would be none of that in the movie. The lead role was a rarity for a man his age - 79 at the time of shooting. He was married for 38 years to Maggie and following her death took up with an airline stewardess 35 years younger than him. He was nominated for an Oscar for this role in 1999 but sadly, unable to cope with the pain of bone cancer, he committed suicide in 2000.
FREDDIE FRANCIS
A distinguished British cinematographer and director, Mr Francis was 82 when he made this film. He completed the shoot in just 23 days. The age and infirmity of the main actor made precision and speed essential but the result is beautiful. This is his last film - but he lived to be 90.