I know London is expensive, but I never expected to pay this much for a movie ticket! At the end of one fine day walking around central London this month I stopped at my favorite UK movie palace,
Picturehouse Central, a block east of
Piccadilly Circus in the heart of London’s entertainment district, the so-called
West End. It’s a magnificent complex, carved out of a one-time famed cavernous restaurant. It has multiple floors, two cafes, a member’s bar and several floors of cinemas. I attended last year during the
London Film Festival. But then I had a pass and discounted tickets. This time I was a said member of the public (though not a Picturehouse, a Brit chain, member). I decided to
see Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s (
The Great Beauty, 2013,
The Hand of God, 2021) latest,
Parthenope. I rolled up to the ticket counter, told the clerk what I wanted and touched my card for pavement. There it was -
19.60 pounds. What?! I did a double take. But typically, when you’re stunned, it doesn’t quite register. I walked to the cinema, took my seat and enjoyed the film, with the nagging thought of how damned expensive this thing was. I vowed to check it out affer the movie. Sure enough, that was the actual price. In Canuck dollars that was $37.36. Needless to say I hesitated before seeing another movie at any Picturehouse – or any other – London cinema.
As for
Parthenope, it has its usual Sorrentino mix of fabulous images and obscure storytelling. Parthenope is the early Greek forerunner city to Naples, and a mythical character. Parthenope was said to have been washed ashore, having thrown herself into the sea after she failed to entice Ulysses with her song. Our modern Parthenope in Sorrentino’s film is played by newcomer Celeste Dalla Porta, a beautiful and stunning actress. It’s about her life’s journey from birth in the 1950s until the present day. Despite her physical allure and brainy persona, she eschews men who fall over themselves while charting her own intellectual course as a polymath. Along the way she encounters various iconic symbols (usually men) who try to influence her and present life alternatives, often representing good and evil. Sorrentino’s films are filled with stunning visuals in opulent settings. But the stories tend to the convoluted and stultifying. Nevertheless, he is one of the more creative directors working today - and working on a grand scale - something rare in 2025 cinema.
Last night I decided to watch a Netflix film, The Good House (Maya Forbes 2021) starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline. Set in bucolic north shore Massachusetts, Weaver is Hildy Good, an attractive but lonely alcoholic middle-aged woman. I didn’t know if this watchable film was more about real estate or alcoholism. I say “watchable” except I didn’t finish it. Two-thirds of the way in I’d seen enough commercials to turn me off. I’ve been a basic Netflix subscriber since rejoining Netflix and never complained about the relatively few commercials that dot films. Until last night. The ads were hot and heavy often in clusters totaling more than one minute at a time. Like watching bloody television!
