Playwright
Conor McPherson’s horror film tucked into a love story, “
The Eclipse,” had its first screening before an audience on Friday afternoon. The newly refurbished (by Milton Glaser) Visual Arts Theater in Chelsea was packed with admirers of the Irishman’s work, most recently “The Seafarer” on Broadway featuring
Ciaran Hinds as a visitor with a suspiciously sulfurous whiff. In “The Eclipse,” part of this year’s
Tribeca Film Festival, Hinds plays a widower volunteering at a writers’ conference in his hometown, Cobh, on the Irish coast. As Michael Farr he has visions from the beyond, boxes with a famous and full-of-himself author played by
Aidan Quinn, and has a tender romance with a novelist he chauffeurs about town. Haunted by repressed emotions, he is a grown man who cries. McPherson clearly loves the supernatural, deploying blood-dripping ghosts to great effect in this surprisingly shlock-less, deeply satisfying movie. The director and stars were present for a Q & A. Fellow filmmaker/ playwright
John Patrick Shanley (he wrote the stage play, movie script and directed the excellent “Doubt”) asked McPherson about this preoccupation. “We’re all part of the universe so why wouldn’t we see ghosts?” was the reply. Others remarked at McPherson’s peaceful way of dealing with death, and with grief.
Liam Neeson chatted with the filmmakers as the audience left. Let’s hope he too found solace in viewing this fine film, which as yet has no distribution. Not for long.
Still charmed by this movie’s sweet music mixed with bits of the macabre, I was whisked away east on 23rd Street in a ric-taxi festooned with Delta Airline logo from a company called Bicytaxi, a perk of the Tribeca Festival making me feel, they think of everything. My destination was the Blender Theater in Gramercy Park for
Lou Reed’s experimental, heavily electrified, ear-splitting hour-long riff with the young musicians
Sarth Calhoun and
Ulrich Krieger—and veteran
John Zorn. As people filed out, overcome by the noise, others stayed on somehow sated by the vibrations. Warhol acolyte Brigid Berlin was among the latter, as was I. After years of being a big fan, after the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival’s celebration of Julian Schnabel’s concert documentary of Lou Reed’s romantic work called “Berlin,” I remain awed by this artist’s riskier side.
When you think of getting a home theater system for your house, you don’t even think of getting new furniture. You just think that your present couch is comfortable and will be the best.
Posted by: Home Theater Seating | June 05, 2010 at 02:08 AM
Still charmed by this movie’s sweet music mixed with bits of the macabre, I was whisked away east on 23rd Street in a ric-taxi festooned with Delta Airline logo from a company called Bicytaxi, a perk of the Tribeca Festival making me feel, they think of everything.
Posted by: home theater seating | September 27, 2010 at 02:05 AM
We just signed up for Netflix and I stated expanding my film selection by watching more independent films. I wish more of the obscure films could be play instantly on your computer
Posted by: Furniture Stores | October 06, 2010 at 09:27 AM
I took 1 st loans when I was not very old and this aided my relatives a lot. However, I require the small business loan also.
Posted by: PETERSEN27Amparo | July 23, 2011 at 12:30 AM