Review: Mark Kermode - The Little Cinema, 9/12/13

Mark Kermode returned to the stage with The Good, the Bad and the Multiplex to take us into the belly of the beast and ask: what is wrong with the movie industry - and what can we do to make it right? Below, Henry Heffer shares his views on the show...

I was not previously a fan. But I am now. I’m sure Kermode would call that enough of a review. However, once again Toppings and The Little Theatre Cinema have put together a very understated but brilliant event that avoids mass appeal and hits its truly interested audience. This is refreshing. So, because they are unwilling to promote these events to a wider market, I feel it necessary to give them a little assistance. Everyone who lives in Bath should be checking the blackboard outside Toppings for the latest events. Also the Movie posters and programmes outside The Little. This should become a ritual for all Bathonions.

The reason I enjoyed this event so much, was because I felt genuinely included in the joke and the discussion. Kermode clearly understands, that in order for people to listen to his opinion, he must be willing to listen to theirs. He really gave the time to the questioners and engaged well with them on each point made (even during his long book signing). By the end of his short but detailed talk, the audience felt confident and bubbly, thanks to his inviting nature. Oh yes and he is promoting his new book Hatchet Job- Love Movies, Hate Critics.

Quite extraordinary really, I never realised how much I actually liked this man. Although, film criticism has only recently become a passion of mine. My feeling before, was a similar one to the late Bill Hicks who very rightly said ‘we all walk to the beat of our own drummer, I think a quick perusal of my video collection can prove this’. No way should anyone suggest what I might like, or should go spent 120 minutes of my life watching. But Kermode never feels like he is ordering, just quite passionately imploring. To his fans, including my Film Studies graduate friend, who gave me the spare ticket to this event, he is held up as a real cinematic guru. A guru, in the most literal sense of the word, for when you have been involved in the world of film for the last 50 years, you tend to know the outcome before it happens. For example, I have only been reviewing films for the last five and I can tell you that 50 Shades of Grey, is going to make my feel inferior, whilst at the same time, damaging my retinas.

However, this is not what film criticism is about! Kermode kept repeating the golden rules, for reviewing a film.

• Stay to the end of the film
• Describe the film accurately
• Be open minded
• Do not write anything that you would not say to the Directors face

The last of these rules seemed particularly poignant to me. One, because I would love to get to the level where I am able to speak my criticism to the Directors face. And two, because I have never been afraid to give me opinion to anyone, including ‘famous’ individuals. My reviews for this year’s Bath Film Festival can be seen online, along with others who have taken the time to watch and review the films, so that you may feel more involved. All in all, I believe them to be well balanced.

Since last night I have begun listening to his podcasts, agreeing and disagreeing, here and there. The bottom line is that Kermode is witty, unashamed and passionate. All of this, I'm sure, you fans will know already, but this comes as a revelation to me. Unfortunately, this does mean I am going to have to up my game, massively. Lets hope that I am not tempted into being crude or offensive when it is not necessary, in order to achieve this.   

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