To Moving Image!
…on Tuesday evening. On the big (ish) screen at the Loveless Hall was The Penguin Lessons, another Steve Coogan film from last year.
Coogan is working at a prolific rate right now. He seems to be everywhere - on the telly, in your podcast feed, erm, on the Loveless Hall big (ish) screen.
He always seems to play himself - or even an iteration of Partridge; but he also always seems to get away with it. That’s the sign of a good actor.
His character in The Penguin Lessons is an English teacher moving to Argentina in the Junta era of 1976 to teach a private school. A penguin is picked up along the way.
You could quite easily swap the teacher role for Coogan’s Tony Wilson in Twenty Four Hour Party People. But probably not the creepy Coogan with his incredible portrayal of Jimmy Saville.
The Penguin Lessons is shot beautifully, capturing the 1970’s landscape of Argentina. The scenes have a light touch hue about them. The screen radiates with South American warmness.
And so does the film. Not the nasty right wing Military Junta part, obvs, but the developing love story between an awkward English teacher and a penguin that is rescued from an oil spill.
This is a truly lovely film laced with metaphors. With one of the main character not being able to hold down a speaking role, the relationship between teacher and penguin somehow manages to develop along with the plot.
The soundtrack is great as well. The use of Nick Drake fits the time period and location.
There were genuine tears at the end. Nothing ever lasts forever, etc. Coogan even manages to evoke some accidental Partridge into the funeral eulogy.
What a wonderful film.
