To the Sunny Colch Odeon! …on Monday afternoon. Screening as part of the cheapo cheapo grubby fiver deal was the new John Malkovich film, Wild Horse Nine.
But first of all we had to overcome a mountain. That’s a mountain of popcorn.
It was most disheartening when rocking up at the Sunny Colch Odeon to find the entrance door stacked high with what must have been sacks full of popcorn that were at least two metres in height.
Peering behind the mythical popcorn curtain was a real heartbreaker. Whaddya mean they don’t make it themselves on site at the Sunny Colch Odeon?
That’s awful lot of popcorn to eat - or even throw around the cinema, as is the case with the Cheapo cheapo grubby fiver deal.
Whatever.
I don’t want to come across as some kind of cinema snob but a John Malkovich film doesn’t attract the usual type of audience that you get on these cheapo cheapo outings. There were a fair few studious single males dotted around the cinema.
I knew little of the film. Thinking back I think I did hear a review on the Robert Elms show at the weekend, but I didn’t make the connection with Malkovich and what we were about to witness.
Except sadly I didn’t witness that much of it. I fell asleep during the trailers, natch. That takes quite some effort, dozing off when a loud as fuck PA system blasts out the latest Marvel universe crap.
I vaguely remember seeing the British Film Board rating for Wild Horse Nine, and then drifted in and out for the first half hour or so,
Which was a shame because the bits that I did pick up on were rather captivating.
I did manage to shake off my lethargy just as the film picked up. It meant that I had missed out on most of the setup, but fast forwarded straight to the action.
This is a film where Malkovich is absolutely captivating. There’s not a lot of action taking place. It’s all about the dialogue. The scripting was superb.
It’s difficult to describe the plot, even with the barest of detail, without giving too much away. Basically it’s a bromance movie as two CIA agents go on a week’s jolly to Easter Island.
Malkovich’s character is elderly; you can see where this is heading.
It’s a rather remorseful film. There’s plenty of looking back via the dialogue rather than through flashbacks. This works incredibly well. The storytelling and use of language carries the entire film.
And then somewhere towards the final quarter or so, SHIT THE BED. Blimey it’s only the old timer Tom Waits popping up to make the most memorable of cameos.
As ever Tom Waits plays Tom Waits. But I could watch the old soak on the big screen all day. I really do miss his all too rare film outings these days.
There are a few sideways plot changes in Wild Horse Nine that you aren’t expecting. There’s a great historical narrative with JFK also being involved.
There that’s as far as I’ll go with the spoilers.
This was a great American film. I mean not a truly great American film, but something that is certainly worthy of a second watch - unlike Digger, which was absolutely shite last month.
The Stones Out of Touch sounded bloody ace as the end credits rolled two hours later. That’s something I’m not going to fall asleep to.