Kermode & Mayo’s Take - Alice Troughton, The Lesson, Dumb Money & Expend4bles

Episode Date: September 22, 2023

More Mark, more Simon, more mindless natter – and some movie reviews for good measure! This week’s episode sees Simon sit down with director and Take diehard Alice Troughton, who’s in the studio to discuss her film debut ‘The Lesson’, a mystery-thriller about an aspiring young writer who accepts a tutoring position at the estate of his literary idol only to become ensnared in a web of family secrets. Mark also offers his thoughts on the film, along with reviewing ‘Dumb Money’, Craig Gillespie’s star-studded dramatisation of the David-and-Goliath, real events, which saw a group of savvy Redditors game the stock market, making a mall video game store the world’s hottest company in the process; and ‘Expend4bles’, the fourth instalment of the Stallone and Statham-helmed franchise, which sees the team assigned to stop a terrorist organisation smuggling nuclear warheads that will ignite a conflict between Russia and the US. High-octane indeed. The Box Office Top 10 and What’s On are covered as usual. Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are ad-free!): 11:36 Dumb Money Review 22:38 Box Office Top Ten 35:29 Alice Troughton Interview 52:11 The Lesson Review 58:44 Laughter Lift 01:00:17 What's On 01:05:00 Expend4bles Review You can contact the show by emailing [e-mail] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts To advertise on this show contact: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Yes. Yeah. I just like your t-shirt. Oh, thank you. Sorry. That was going. You get a t-shirt, you think, well, this is quite nice, but it doesn't have the softness and warmth and charisma as an old rail-town botless t-shirt. Exactly. And bearing in mind how old the rail-town botless are. Yeah. I mean, that's been through the wash a few hundred times. I would say. Doesn't that give it character in charge? It does. My favorite t-shirts, I've got three exotic t-shirts, the Atomagoyan film. And they were, what's, is it called Fruit of the Loom? Is that what that?

Yeah, they're a label. They were a label, right? I still be a label. Well, as far as I can tell, those things must be made out of crypto-nites or something completely indestructible. Anyway, on the reassurance thing, last week, I said that I had left my coma-domeo water bottle on the train. Yes. And, you know, I said if somebody found it, then they can keep it unless, of course, it was a trumps porter in which case, drive yourself about the head with it.

Anyway, so I went into the breadline cafe, which is just by chairing cross-dation to get some breakfast for us, reading so I always get very early training. Case, the train is delayed and I ordered my breakfast, my tea and my... This is one of your eating days. On my eating days, yes. And the guy behind the counter is a man of very few words. He put the tea down, put the breakfast down.

And then without saying anything, went, you just gave me your flask back. He just put the flask and I went, oh, did I leave it here? Didn't say anything to walked off in the kind of idiot. So this is basically, I got it back, got it back. And you can get your flask by going to our website and clicking on I Want a Flask

or going to the breadline cafe and saying, did I leave a flask? Actually, and the thing about our t-shirts, which are fantastic, is more of a merchandise conversation. But it'd be nice if they were weathered because they look fabulous and pristine, but the colors are vivid. Yes. And the lettering is clear and concise. But I think we ought to batter a few. And then we could charge like a 10 pound premium. Remember when there

was a thing about hand battered by Mark Kermot? The hand battered sounds different. That sounds like you know, like a hand. No, but it battered. It sounds like you're doing it, you know, like batted Mars Bar or batted. I was with somebody the other day who did indeed have... It was in Shelland, and they did indeed get a deep-fried Mars Bar, which I've never actually seen before. Really? Yes. And they said, would you like some? I said, no, absolutely not under any circumstances.

Well, I like some of that, but they were having it. It was very good. Do you remember when... There used to be a thing about stonewashed genes? Yes. And there's an effort when somebody puts stones in the washing machine or something. That's not a good idea. No, of course it's not. That's going to just destroy the washing machine. Unless you've got an industrial machine, presumably with industrial stones, and then you can get industrial genes. But that's not how it works. That's not a stonewashed thingashed things doesn't happen because they're, because they've been washed with stones.

It's just that they're a bit distressed. Where does the word stone come into the process? I don't, well no, you can't really be washed with stones, can they? I don't know. It doesn't make any sense, really? Apparently. Yes.

How? Or you can, oh no, so right. So, or you can use sandpaper or polymers stone, but that means like what you actually, but that's not, you don't put no, so right. So, or you can use sandpaper or polyamistone, but that means like what you actually, but that's not, you don't put it in a machine. You would get a stone. Americans do that, do they? Oh, well, there we go.

And we have, we have a loyal audience in America. So, let's not be rude about Americans. A lot of Americans in this country listen to this show. So, we think they're super smart people and maybe they just have stronger dishwashers, uh, washing machines. Put them in the dishwasher with some stones and pebbles and see what happens. Don't try this at home.

But that, yeah, so it must be, but obviously don't do it, but it must be stones in the washing machine. No, I don't, you can't put stones in a washing machine. It would destroy the washing machine. Also, there are some t-shirts which, when washed a lot, they fade, like this is faded. There are some in which the lettering just comes off or they just fall apart.

I don't know what the difference in the process is, but this has done fabulously, just, you know, looking a bit, there's a line in a Douglas Adams book which is about him meeting a rock star who had a jacket so distressed it was crying in the corner. Sounds like a classic Douglas Adams class. It does. Anyway, thank you for downloading this podcast. Sounds like a classic Douglas adabler. Yes, it does. Anyway, thank you for downloading this podcast.

This is Take One. Take Two has already landed. Don't worry, it'll get better. In Ground, not sure about that, to be honest. In Ground, adjacent to this podcast, Take Two is already there waiting, tempting you, luring you over, showing you a bit of leg. I'm saying, try Take Two first, because Take One is a-

It's very traditional. Take one is traditional. Take two is hello. Did you know, hello? There is a story, is it true that Victorians used to put socks on a tablecloth, so I think that went down to the floor? Because they didn't want the table to show you a bit of ankle. Is that true? It must be a myth, right?

That can't be a real thing. You would think so. It's probably made up by Edwardians. I wanted to put down the story. To disparage the myth story. Those who had come before. Very good. So we are Victorian and take two is Edwardian.

And then take three is kind of the Elizabethan. Is Elizabethan more racie? I think so. It's more contemporary. What are you doing later, by the way? I'm going to be reviewing some films, including Don Money, which we will have a guest for Don Money next week, The Expendables. It's actually The Expend Forbels.

The Expend Forbels. So I'm seeing it written down. So it's The Ex, but spendables with the four, but in this thing, they've put the, it's the expend four balls. They've got it wrong on this script. It's the expend four balls, you know, like S7 and, and a fan four stick.

It works on a post to difficult for the party. Difficult to the thing. And also the lesson with our special guest. Oh yeah, Alice Troutner, who's coming in a little bit later on, very interesting conversation. Big fan of the show, Steve. Who you are? Yeah, yeah.

Excellent. You'll find in the Edwardian take-to, very, very exciting. Very, very exciting. Thanks. He's very, very, very exciting. Also, we have our weekend watch list, we can not list. Hamza to Wamsa, something, something, something.

Take it or leave it, you decide. I always see, I'll find them. Ha ha ha. Take it or leave it, you decide. That's copy to follow, is it? Ha ha ha. Which, I'll write, okay, fine. Take it or leave it, you decide, which is a very, very excellent feature

where you've seen something and you think we should see it as well and then Mark watches it. Yes. In this case, wasn't particularly grateful, but there we go. Pretentious. Mark, I got it last week. 18, Mark 17. I am 100 percent certain. Yes, that's 100% certain. Okay, not 99 right unless you pass through 99 and get to 100 the only angry late event you are more of which later more of which later. So I think well, it's going to score an equalizer here and one frame back is inspired by dumb money. It's a further viewing of finance movies. And that's in take two. Anyway, you can spot us via Apple Podcast or head to extratates.com for non-fruit related devices. And if you are already a Vanguard Easter, as ever. What? No, it's just, I'm just trying to find a new way of saying we salute you because

I was listening to the show driving back from Cornwall the other day And when it got to the thing and I said it in the car and the good lady professor her indoors like rolled her eyes went really How many times a day does the good lady professor and all's roll her eyes would you say? Well more more times and I go Professor and all's role arise, would you say? Well, more times than I go, dear, slow down a bit and too late says Dr. Keith, three T.E. L.T.L. I enjoyed the reference to getting off at Redfern last week.

Yeah, she rolled her eyes at that. Can I just say, and I think her opinion of you went down. I'm just reading things that people send in. Just so you know, in Edinburgh, we call it getting off a market because the central station is wavily. And in Aberdeen, we refer to jumping off at Stony, where Stony Haven is the last stop before the city, as well as being a delightful harbor town that also invented the pneumatic tire and deep fried Mars. That would go, it's like we planned this.

Not that those things are related to keep up the good work and down with all the bad stuff. Thank you, Dr. Keith. Dear pulling out and last minute, may I be the 94th person to point out that I heard a similar phrase in Liverpool in the late 1980s. There, to leave the train one stop before Liverpool Lyme Street was to get off at Edge Hill.

This has clearly been around at a very, very long time. I didn't know any of this until last week. This is completely new to me. And an email from Cameron Rahman, long time listener, first time emailer in your podcast of the 15th of September, regarding the practice of getting off at Redfern. Simon said, I think it's officially sanctioned by the Pope. I'm sure you'll be getting a deluge of correspondence of biblical proportions to correct. Yeah, exactly. I did in fact predict that that will be the question. Cameron says, as a Muslim and sometimes theologian,

for the benefit of any listeners who fear divine retribution, I'd like to point out that this practice is widely considered to have been condemned in the Bible. Genesis 38, 8 to 10. Go ahead. And Judah said unto Onan. I did. OK, we're going there.

Well, let's see, go in unto thy brother's wife and marry her and raise up seed to thy brother, and only knew that the seed should not be his. And it came to pass when he went into his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord, wherefore he slew him also. Without regard to brother Maynard and the holy hangroned man too. But what a line that is, that's not a very good line, King James

Bible, and the thing which he did, this pleased the Lord, wherefore, he slew him. Which is particularly brilliant because everyone always talks about the wonderful poetry of the King James Bible, and you should read it for the, you know, for the eloquent work play, the thing that he did. That's the way to play what I wrote. Or interpreted by some as punishment for disobeying his father. Most scholars view this passage as meaning that it's a sin to get off at Redfern. The current papal view on this was confirmed by Pope Paul VI in his 1968 in cyclical human eye, Viteye.

Uh-huh. Quote. Similarly excluded in, Vaitai quote, similarly excluded in, similarly excluded is any action, which either before, at the moment, I can't believe I'm reading this out, at the moment of or after, sexual intercourse is specifically intended to prevent procreation, whether as an end or as a means,

these teachings aren't followed by most churches, adds Cameron, most notably the Holy Church of Widowtainment, who's ruling is now considered to be the final word on the matter, up with blue head feminists, which of course means full support for female reproductive rights, yours Cameron Raman. There you go.

Very good. Correspondence at Cavanamayah.com. Why don't you do something Mark, like, I don't know, review a film. Done money. The film is directed by Craig Kulesbih who is going to be our guest on next week show. Obviously, we're in strange times at the moment with the way everything's working with strike. So, you know, sometimes trains will arrive on platforms at different times. So a lot of directors getting their moments in front of the microphone. Exactly.

As we'll discover later on This is the story the true story of the GameStop short squeeze. It's based on a book called the anti-social network by Ben Mezrick I should say in some of the anti-social network was a chapter in Hatchet job, which came out many many years What a what a fine book that is what exactly written the film is written by Lauren Chica Blum and Rebecca Angelo Exactly. The film is written by Lauren Chica Blum and Rebecca Angelo. The director Craig Gillespie is probably best known for itonia, which you and I both liked. And did you, who did you interview for itonia? Was it Margot Robbie? It was Margot Robbie. Yes, she was also a producer on that. Yeah, absolutely. So this starts off with Seth Rogan as gay pockin, who is a super rich chief investment officer of Melvin Capital.

And he's trying to sort something out in his super rich house and he discovers that the attempt to short the gaming store GameStop is backfiring spectacularly. It's backfiring because Keith Gill, played by Paul Deino, aka Roaring Kitty on YouTube, has managed to convince his YouTube viewers that the GameStop stock was undervalued and therefore to buy it. So big hedge funds trying to run it into the ground by selling independent retail investors known in the trade apparently has a dumb money. Buy stock causes the price to go up and causing people like Melvin Capital's profits to plummet. It became a new story because it caused havoc on the markets. It also became seen as a kind of David and Goliath story, a battle against corporate interests, big greedy capitalists,

versus just people on the ground buying stuff because they can. Whole thing ended up in a congressional hearing. Here is Gabe Plotkin preparing to testify online. I'm here testifying today today far removed from my background. I grew up in a middle-class family in Portland, Maine. My dad was a grocery store executive. Maybe leave that part out. Part about my dad?

The executive part. Okay, okay. I went to a public high school. I studied hard and got into Northwestern. Punk, a good college. I can't say I went to Northwestern. To a lead. Oh, that's true. All right.

Upon graduation, I did not have a job. Today, I am married with four children. Hey, where do you plan on doing your testimony? Here. In front of your wine collection? I mean, this is, I don't have that big wine collection. Yeah, it's huge. And actually, while they were having that conversation,

a member of his staff walks past his wonderful kind of decking outside. So that's the kind of tone of it, sort of, you know, satirical and comic book based on a true story. There are clearly similarities to the big shorts, which I think is probably how most of us first found out what shorting was anyway, because I had never heard of it before, like I had heard of the GameStop story, because it was quite a big new story.

This is easier to follow. Partly because it is a fairly straightforward, big, rich guy in lavish houses and offices versus odd balls in their basements in funny hats and cat t-shirts story. Paul Dany was very good as Keith Gill, who Shailin Woodley is his partner, who does a really, really good job of being kind of supportive, understanding, but also kind of being the strength behind what he's doing. She believes in him, but not sort of randomly. Pete Davidson plays Pete Davidson as the stoner brother Kevin.

And it's like they went, well, we need a stoner wasteful who's like a mixture of funny and annoying. He's Pete Davidson around. And he is and he does that performance. Marika Freire is very good as Jennifer Campbell, who is a hospital worker who follows the YouTube lead of roaring kitty and invests in GameStop. Now, there is by nature of the fact that this is,

you know, it's a couple of our film. There is a simplification of complex events. I only know this because having seen the film, I then went and read the backstory stuff in some financial that, and it's okay, it's not quite as simple as it seems, and I am not a financial analyst and never have been. But clearly, in order to make it work as a film, you have to turn it into a fairly straightforward David and Goliath struggle, which of course is how it's seen

it in many quarters. What it does is, it makes, it does a very good job of making a complicated story simple enough for the story without completely bending the facts. And also when you consider that a lot of this story is people sitting looking at computer screens watching stock prices go up and down, which is by nature, not particularly cinematic. It's successful. I mean, essentially it's revenge of the nerds for the 21st century. It's the story about a guy in his basement in a cat t-shirt and a funny hat saying, I just like the stock. And then people in very, very big houses seeing the bottom fall out of their worlds. And of course, you know, it's the natural, it's the natural

tendency to think, you know, I want that version of the story to be completely true. I can say, apparently, it is, it's been massaged, but it plays well as a drama. And Paul Dana was very, very well cast. And Seth Rogen has kind of developed this, this sort of, you know, the wake of Fableman's particularly, this kind of slightly pathos-ridden tragic, not quite anti-hero, but, you know, I mean, he's grown into his acting jobs. Anyway, I enjoy it. I think you will. I look forward to hearing what Craig Lesby has to say about it. And that would be next week. I've had an idea, by the way, for another take, take four, where you and I give out financial advice to people, because I'm very bad at that stuff as well.

We could all have a go. People could send in their complex financial issues and we could just advise them. What do you think? I think no. Okay. If you'd like, do you want to give me some financial advice? No, no, no, really. Well, you know, we'll see.

I'll put it to the authorities upstairs and see what they think. Okay. What are you doing next? I'm going to be reviewing next the Expend Forbles. Excellent. Alice Trouten will be with us shortly to talk about her new movie,

which she's directed, which is called The Lesson. Oh, no, I'm going to be reviewing that first, aren't I? Well, you can do both. Why don't you do both? You can do The Lesson. No, I'll do it the next, but I can't remember. Whichever way round it is, the script is making sense to me. Stay tuned and find out what happens next, because we'll be back before you can say, curiosity is the last of the mind, a quote from the utterly dreadful and very, very boring Thomas Hobbes. It was fond of his draft, by the way.

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There's no risk with Nord's 30-day money back guarantee. The link is in the podcast episode description box. Hi, esteem podcast listeners, Simon Mayo. I'm Mark Kermot here. I'm excited to let you know that the new season of the Crown and the Crown, the official podcast, returns on 16th November to accompany the sixth and final season of the Netflix epic Royal drama series. Very exciting, especially because SuperSub and Friend of the Show Edith Bowman hosts this one.

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Selim Dor, Khalid Abdullah, Dominic West, and Elizabeth the Bikki. You can also catch up with the story so far by searching the Crown, the official podcast, wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe now and get the new series of the Crown, the official podcast first on November 16th. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

Nasty brutish and short, by the way. Yes, Thomas Hobbs. What did he say about life being nasty brutish and short? It was about, you know about a lawless society. Where life will be nasty, and that's the thing that people usually quote, Ching, that's me hitting the microphone. Dear Osage and Sausage says, Tom Banks, no qualifications to speak of. Many years ago when the film from Dusk till Dawn came out, this is about mishearing titles for titles.

Some friends and I were discussing going to see it, and a friend's mum overheard and said, why is he called the film The Industrial Daumann? I mean, that's quite a jump, isn't it, from Dusk till Dawn, from Dusk till Dawn? Does that, how, that's a big jump to The Industrial Daumann. James Pooley, this isn't so much a mispronunciation as a mispunctuation. Back in the mid-80s, before the internet or smartphones,

if we wanted to know what was, this is so tried for God's sake, if we wanted to know what was playing at the local picture house in Newcastle, we had to call a number and listen to a record. That's right. They would give us the names of the films, times, and a praiseee of each one. Yes. In the week that Pulp Fiction launched, we were treated to the following message in a thick

Jordy accent. James has added, don't do the accent James. You're going through anyway. No, no, no, no. I would genuinely never, ever, ever try and do someone else's accent unless it's company-carnish or camp. So this is the message, right? someone else's accent, unless it's Cockney Cornish or Camp. So this is the message, right? When you call the local flea pit in Newcastle.

The latest film by Quentin Reservoir, Dog's Tarantino is a stylish thriller. Okay, very good. You keep ringing up, just to hear that said. I don't know if Quentin Reservoir went on to make other movies, says James, he doesn't pop up on IMDB. That's the BBC training thing, isn't it? It's 9 o'clock green, which means time here's

the news. It's very good. To be honest, Quentin reservoir sounds as though he's curating the local museum. I think it's definitely a person. I once, when I was a kid, before the days of recorded messages, I always used to ring the bar in Odin to find out what was on. And I rang and I said, can you tell me what showing today please? And a woman said, I beg your pardon? And of course, I just dialed the wrong number. And I've never been so embarrassed in my life. Tom, who is in Kyoto, Japan, this is Markle's hammer. This is not so much a mispronounced movie name, but a misremembered one. My dear departed grandmother was a fairly regular moviegoer in her day.

Frequently taking me a my younger brother to see the latest big blockbuster, although she would more often than not fall deeply asleep and snore loudly for at least half the running time, causing much embarrassment for us to young boys who had to sit next to her through the commotion. Anyway, one day at a family gathering, my grandmother said she'd watched a good film on TV the other night, and it was called Baboons in the Smoke. After some puzzle looks from all of us, it soon became apparent that she had, in fact, meant the 1988 classic Geryl as in the mist, and not its cheaper sounding knockoff baboons

in the smoke. Although to this day that knockoff but boons in the smoke. Although to this day, that remains a film I want to see made, best regards from Tim in Kyoto. You could imagine that, that's the, because that's the way these things happen. So we go, we cut, though, we've missed the boat. Let's just make it quick.

That's what Roger Coleman made an entire career out of doing that. Films that sound a bit like another film that you like more. Andy on this says, Gems, if miss spoken movie titles are the topic de jour, let us remember the last movie I saw before the pandemic shut down. The woman ahead of me in line insisted to the theatre employee she was there to see Uncle Jim's. Uncle Jim's. Hey, uncut Jim's.

Uncle Jim's. Wow. Yeah, Uncle Jim's kind of works. I like that. I think that's very good. The last and also that's almost poetic. The last film that you saw before like the world shuts down. You are going to remember that box office top 10 at 44 Deadman shoes. She's the reissue of the Shane Meadows, Paddy Consell, I'm Revenge movie, which I like very much.

It's very stripped down. It is, what was the phrase you used short? Short, nasty, brutish and short. Dead man shoes, but in a good way. Yeah, okay. Speaking of shoes, Berlin Shoes at 37. I mean, Tim Spools on the show last week.

Tim Spull was, and I think he, he, he's a great guest, and I think his performance is very good. I think the performances are good. My problem is there is so much going on in Bowling shoes that it, it, it doesn't work as a narrative drama. It, they needed to take one of those stories, not many of them. Bowling shoes at 37.

Uh, brother is at 33, which I really liked. Great performance is really well directed. Terrific story of two brothers and their mother. And as I said, could easily have been called mother well worth checking out. Julia Coulton says, brother is the best film I've seen this year.

Brilliant acting and powerful story, lovely time shifts, which added to rather than confused the story of family bonds with love and pain in equal measure, all three leads were tremendous. Number 27, the Nettle Dress. Every now and then you get a documentary which it is possible to say, if you see this, you will feel better about the world.

It is to do with somebody dealing with grief by spending many years making a dress from nettles using nettles, using nettles to make thread and then weaving the dress, all as a kind of ritual way of dealing with grief and turning something that is stinging and painful into something which is protective. And it's a lovely documentary. And I think it will, if you're feeling down

or you're feeling that life is a bit hopeless, this is a really uplifting film. Okay, which is good to know. So we talked last week about Batman Day. So Joker is it 24, Batman is it 22, and Dark Knight is at 12. I mean, great to see Dark Knight back in the cinemas. Joker, I still think most notable for Healded Good and Drs. Score.

And have you seen Tim Burton's Batman recently? No, not recently, just when it came out. Yeah, I haven't watched it for a long time. I remember when it first came out, I was crushingly disappointed because it wasn't dark enough. And then of course, dark night came out. And it was, but I would like to go back and revisit it because somebody, I saw a clip of Jack Nicholson

in it doing that, you know, when he's walking through the art gallery and he goes, cup, cup, cup, cup. Now this I like, and I thought that was funny. Number 10, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem. Done very well for itself. And now I think generally regarded as the best of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films

in all their various live action animated whatever forms. Number nine, Santa Freedom. Number eight, my big nine, sound of freedom. Number eight, my big fat Greek wedding three. Well, it's still in the charts in its second week, and it is not funny, which is a shame, although not a surprise, considering big fat Greek wedding two felt like it was already spreading all the ideas very, very thin. I wish it had been funnier because I wish that, you know, I think the idea of somebody doing a one-woman show that them becomes a hit movie produced by Tom Hanks is good, but this really felt like scraping the barrel.

Number seven is Oppenheimer. Before you say a line on that, couldn't we say get well soon to Dave Norris, the last projection standing, he's got a bit of a little touch as well. He is getting better. I saw him last night. He came with me to see the expend forbles. Okay. Yes. And we had a discussion about the fact that Oppenheimer has now overtaken Don Kirk. It is now the biggest selling biopic of all time, having overtaken the previous leader, which was take a guess. Quite recent. Bohemian Rhapsody. taken the previous leader, which was, take a guess. Quite recent. Oh, don't. Bohemian Rhapsody.

Oh, right, okay. So Christopher Nolan's three hour bio-pick about the guy that invented the atomic bomb, which consists of a lot of people talking in rooms, is now the biggest selling bio-pick of all time. I think that is extraordinary. And Nolan, for all the people who said, you can't really sit there and you can't go up against Barbie. I mean, wow.

I would never in a million years have thought the film would have done the business it's done. And and and Barb it will come to Barbie. Anyway, so Openheimer still at 10 past lives is at 6. My favorite film of the year so far, Celine Song's interview, you can go back and listen to it. It was a couple of podcasts to go. Just search for it in the program description. Her name will come up. to go, just search for it in the program description. Her name will come up. A wonderful film and a wonderful interview from somebody who has learned their trade in theatre, but seems to have arrived in cinema as a fully formed film director. And Barbie is at number five. Tagging business that first the first film solely helmed by a woman to take over a billion dollars worldwide. You know that I just, I finished my tenure at the Observer, I did 10 years and I stood down

at the end of it. I did a thing about, you know, looking back over the 10 years. And one of the things I said was, you know, the fact that this is first film solely helmed by a woman to take over a billion, you'd have to be pretty cynical not to see that some form of progress. And of course somebody on the Observer went, mind you at Progrès and we should rank tonight and we might be at Progrès and we should make the night and we might be progessing. Yeah, and proving my point to see the thing is congratulations by the thank you 10 glorious exactly 10 years, which is what I said I'd do and I'm really proud of it, which is which is good, but you still read

comments under the line. And well, here's the thing, no, I because they haven't been comments under the line for most of my 10 year, because I said, can you stop it? Because I just don't like it, but they're in the final piece for some reason they allowed them. And actually, it for most of my tenure because I said can you stop it because I just don't like But they're in the final piece for some reason they allowed them and actually it was most of them were very nice Which was lovely. It's funny. I when you're leaving people are really lovely to you But the other thing's been really weird is because this is the first week that I've been doing the screenings and And I go in and people go you still here go. Yeah, I've got a whole other life So but you're not doing the observing it. No, but I do this very, very, never mind.

The only place you can hear marks how and marks comments in this house. Mark's house. Now I was trying to, I was trying to get to house. If you live with Mark, yes, you'll get the opinions for free. You don't have to subscribe or nothing. You'll just tell you the only other way if you, if you're not part of Mark's household is, is here, right here, on this hit. Can I say congratulations to Wendy I, for taking over at the Observer, she is fabulous, and she will do a brilliant job. What are you going to do with all your time?

I'm going to spend more of it, you know, thinking about my preparation for this program and how much I love being on Kermit and Mayo's take. Jawan is at four. Again, we had corresponds about this last week. It wasn't press screen, but it has done fantastically well. Equalizer three is at three. Again, not a world changing movie, but absolutely does what it says in the teen

and has done very decent business. Equalizer three at three, none two is at two. And a haunting in Venice one is at one. Okay, well haunting in Venice going in at number one is the interesting thing. So we reviewed this last week. Obviously, I like it. A very much. He'll the good as I did the score. It's Kenneth Branagh, enjoying himself enormously. He loves playing. Poirot. He, what, nothing. No, go on. What do you said it? Oh, sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean that to sound the way it sounded. But you know, it's clear that when he puts on the twin-layered moustache,

he loves that character. And the fact that this is gothic-inflected, saiyant's movie, you know, I mean, it's preposterous. It's utterly preposterous, but of course it is, because it's a, you know, it's a who-done, and actually, weirdly enough, later on in the show, we'll talk more about the preposterousness of who-done it. But I thought it was enjoyable. Have we had any...

Yes. Mattier says, the cockatoo stole a show for me. What role does the cockatoo? There is a cockatoo in the film. What does the cockatoo do? It does a thing that the cockatoo does. Right. So it's just being a cockatoo. Yeah. I'm sorry because that, yes, I know you can't dwell on this. Yes, because other things occur. Martin Davis, this has very little to do with

Agatha Christie's Halloween party, apart from a character or two, and one sequence has a passing reference. It is, however, a thoroughly enjoyable film and is pretty much its own thing. Yes, it is pretty much its own thing exactly. Mark from Stretem, hello, love the show. I'd like to offer a two- review of a haunting in Venice. Okay. Branagh Apple Bobbing with a mask is a metaphor for the movie. Venice looks good though.

Hello to Jason. Jason, Mark, I just like to say, of course, there is a crucial plot point in Branagh Apple Bobbing with a mask. Again, it can't, but you know, it's like, is the cockatoo in there as well? No, well, not directly. Okay. Yeah, exactly. That was what I was trying to avoid getting to that joke. Thank you Simon Pull for saying it in my ear. That was literally what I've been trying to not think about. It really is the show. It's just really show runner. It's just you should know better So just really show runner. It's just you should know better and not take us to new depth. Because the thing is everyone listening to the program

had filled in that space and was admiring the fact that I wasn't going there, but well done for going there. Jason Martin, a haunting inventist, tight, grown guignol of the finest vintage. I really enjoyed it. A massive improvement over death on the Nile. Groaned guignol, guignol, big puppet, meaning. Well, it's to do with, this is a theatre in Paris, but.

Yes. And it's to do with theatre of cruelty and horror and violence. And because of the theatre that took example, that then became synonymous for, if you talk about Gronginiel, it means, well, now, now it means shock and disturbing viscera. And like Texas Chantal Mascula, we described as Gronginiel. The smallest theater in Paris, apparently. The Grand P the grand puppet, there it was. When it was. My Hamid Shakir says, I went with a good lady,

herin Dawson, children, a child's two and child three to see your haunting in Venice for a long overdue family visit to the cinema. A very different film from the previous Branagh Poirot outings, which did leave child three a little unsettled. Okay. And the rest of us highly entertained.

I mean, a little unsettled is not a bad place. No, it's good. It's not bad place to be. There is a comparison between what's happening in haunting in Venice and things like the old, the hammer movies, I suppose, woman in black, the version with the, you know, the Daniel Radcliffe version that was, you know, there is, it's in that sort of,

or, you know, even the Sherlock Holmes movies that Guy Richie did, they had that sort of, or even the Sherlock Holmes movies that Guy Richie did, they had that sort of old school theatrical horror, Grongignol, but although in a much more... Yes, a good comparison. Is Grongignol, is it kind of amoral? Is that was a word that I saw attached to it and I was thinking, I'm not quite sure with that? Well, I think because it's kind of all of's carnival of excess, it's, yes, amoral, as opposed to immoral, in that it's not, they're not morality tales,

that it is, it's to do with the performance. I mean, like blood feast, for example, would probably be the naplos ultra of Grongignol on film. That's a very observer line. Is it? Yes, would be that in that. Okay. Okay, so blood-faced would probably be the top of the tree when it came to gronking your excess

on screen because he's just like people, lots of people, having a blood-faced. If you saw the previous two, two, poro films that Ken Browne did, you would be very surprised to know that the third one has got this kind of language being associated with it. Well, yes, but it is a different feeling movie, but it's still in that same kind of, I said, old-fashioned. There's nothing distressing or upsetting about it, but it is the old-fashioned horror traps. No one should be surprised because Browner made Frankenstein. Incidentally, I was just writing a new afterward to, I wrote a book about Shawshank Redemption some time ago for the BFI. And I forgot that Frank Darabond, who wrote the original screenplay for what became Ken Brown as Mary Shelley's Frank-Francifal Cobblers, Ken Brown as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein,

described his original script as the best script I've ever seen, the best script I've ever written, and the worst script I've ever seen, the best script I've ever written and the worst film I've ever seen. Right, right. She's kind of uncultured. Cheers, Frank. Cheers, Frank. Thanks a lot. Anyway, we'll be back with Alice Trouten,

but first a word from our sponsor. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ This episode is brought to you by Mooby, a curated streaming service dedicated to elevating great cinema from around the globe. From my connect directors to emerging otters, there's always something new to discover, for example. Well, for example, the new Aki Karri's Mackey film Fallen Leaves, which won the jury prize at CAN, that's in cinemas at the moment. And if you see that and think I want to know more

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In just a few minutes' time, Mark is going to be reviewing a new movie called The Lesson. The Lesson. The Lesson. Starring Richie Grant. Yes. And Julie Delpie. Well done. But first of all, we're going to hear all about it from the director who is Alice Trout. It's another woman making her debut feature.

We'll talk to Alice Trout in just a moment. First of all, a flavor of the film with the trailer. Average writers, attempt, originality. But the trailer. Average writers attempt originality, but the greats, great writers steal. But your personal life seeps into your work. If you're asking whether my son's death has inspired my writing, the answer is no, I will not be writing about his death. I will be writing in spite of it.

Good morning. You must be ready. So you don't want to shoot her? Your father is the most revered writer in the country. My husband, the subject of his thesis, may not hear for him. So don't talk about his work. Don't talk about Felix.

Follow those rules and it should be fine. It's only been two years since Felix, Felix of Limith, don't do it again. And that is a clip from the lesson I'm delighted to say I've been joined by its director, Alex Traum, who's in the studio. Hello, Alex. Hello, lovely to be here. I'm sorry if I had to take your Manchester City logo water off table. I think it saves you though, doesn't it?

I have him to look at, at you know the top team in Premier League's logo all the time. That's not actually the reason I think it was because the only logos allowed. I show logos. Anyway we've gone all corporate all of a sudden. You have. Well congratulations on the lessons. Your debut is your first movie as a director. I just want to make a point that no one else in all the rounds of interviews that you're going to do. And I would just like to say how fantastic it was to see Chris Binlett in a movie. Chris Binlett who plays sort of, does he have a name? I mean, he's the butler in this list, but one name. He was my son's drama teacher and was responsible for him loving Shakespeare and loving English. And the first time

I saw him in a movie and then he left obviously to be full-time acting and then he turned up in a Ken Branner movie and it was the first thing I wanted to say to Ken Branner was Chris Binliss is in your film. Never mind all that. That wasn't the death on the Nile was it because he had a small part in death on the Nile. He was, he's done a couple, but anyway. Anyway, your movie starts with Dermal Kulmaks character. We'll explain who he is in a moment, a place character called Liam.

And we see him being interviewed on stage, maybe for a TV show, maybe for a podcast, it doesn't really matter, there's an audience. And he is asked, I think this is right, what drew you to tell this story? The classic. That's right. So that's where we're, there's an audience. And he is asked, I think this is right, what drew you to tell this story? The classic. That's right. So that's where we're going to start.

Yeah. So what drew you to tell this story? I really like. I mean, there will be podcasts, a podcast debating on whether this fits as a noir or not, because I've listened to some of those podcasts and there's a lot of debate about whether noir is a movement or not, because I've listened to some of those podcasts and there's a lot of debate about whether noir is a movement or whether it's a genre or whether it isn't any of those things,

you know, because it was sort of invented after the films were made. So, but we kind of were looking at it as a noirish, let's say. How would you recognise a noirish film? Where is the thrill? There's a moral malaise and the society, I think, that underlined it. I've gone going to get myself into trouble discussing what Noir is. But certainly the femme fatale element was there in our female character and the monster and the hero and the narrator and the kind of unwalling narrator. And we've sort of played with those roles. We've played with those archetypes.

We show a film which is called The Blond sinner, I think in America, which is a Diane Dawes noir in the actual film itself and it's referenced. And it is what Gilly Delpie and I'm going to speak for my actors because obviously my actors are on strike. God bless them. And they've given me permission to tell you what they would say about it. Gilly Delpie's role in this is a sort of my mom fatal rather than a family fatal. And she talked about that quite a lot. We have our archetypes within there and we have the setting of an ease and we have a journey, but there's a redemption, I hope, at the end of this film.

Okay, so that's a broad wash. What is the story that you're telling? I'm telling a story of a young man who is disenfranchised and sort of maybe directionless who wants to be a writer and a stockwriting who goes to the house of this very famous novelist who also happens to be his hero and he's played by Richard E. Grant. And it is a story, there's a film called Slooth, it's been redone a couple of times, it's a kind of classic story of master pupil and how that relationship can turn and go toxic with the third element of a very unhappy household and the secret in the household around it.

So this is your debut as I mentioned right at the very beginning and you've come from television. I have, I have been 20 years and hundreds of hours and Simon nobody tells you just that it's quite easy making movies in comparison. It will play. And it details you that. Well, I have a wonderful DP on this film called Anna Patroquina and we really enjoy working together. And it was like 22 days. It was a very short shoot.

It was a very blessed shoot. And we had the creative time to play and enjoy it. And that's, you do get that on other shows and television shoots. But you're also dealing with something like, you know, 20, 25 hours of television that you've got to produce. So just having an hour and a half, then a small craft, and a little joy, we have a sort of like, oh, this is, but this is actually really fun. Celine, song was on the show a couple of weeks back. Oh, wonderful. I'm talking about past lives. And it was, that was her debut, and she had appeared

from being a playwright. She had arrived from one sort of side of the industry and fallen in love with the film. Was she speaking for you there as well? Oh definitely. And also I think what there's a wonderful thing happening, which is all the kind of groundwork investment in making sure that we get gender parity and directing and obviously we're so far away from that still. But it is coming to the fore. If you look at the lineup at the LFF this year,

if you look at who's one it can, I could name check. But there's too many to say. There are some brilliant female lead films coming to the fore. I mean, Celine Song will win all the awards she deserves to. She was, it's an amazing film. And that's beautiful to see that coming up. But we were still still quite a long way for having a body of work of films.

And what I think, when I speak to other filmmakers, we want to have a body of work. We don't want to just be judge-stall mom film. We want to have the kind of, you know, three or four films so people can kind of see what your style is because otherwise you're not going to get an adjective. I'm not going to get trout and ask, you know, any time soon unless I make two or three films. Have you been budding your time? Have you been waiting for the moment to make your first movie? Did you always know this was where you were, Helen? No, no. I love television.

I really love it. And I can completely now see why people like Fincher are coming out of movie making and going into television making because the actual satisfaction of the career are over a longer period of time, over the development, the storylines, the ability to tell huge stories that don't need to be compressed. High end television is extraordinary, we didn't have that, you know, 10, 15 years ago when I first went into television. And, but it is a task, it is a juggle and I think they appeal to different things and different people, but personally I found it a simple and joyous process to make a film. And I'd love to do that again.

It sounds from what Richard E. Grant has said in a couple of interviews, and he had an astonishing time. But he said no one socialized on this film. So it was a short period of time. Yeah. But the actors were kind of picking up on the tone of what they were being required to do on set and acting that out, they didn't go to dinner together.

Well, black Richard, we do. Is that right? It's right for Richard. Chewie and I went for dinner quite a lot. All right. But no, listen, I think, I want to talk about that because, as I said, Richard, Chewie and Darryl are all on strike, but they have taught very eloquently about what drew them to the film.

And I think Richard was very, very fresh. He won't mind me saying this to you. He was fresh in grief for the loss of his beloved wife, Joe Washington, who he's... He died last just six months before. Six months before. And he's obviously written a book subsequently in post The Lesson, called a Pocket Full of Happiness, in which he goes through that process and the dissonance of, I think he had an Oscar nomination while she was dying. And so, you know, Richard was in grief. And he read the lesson and he saw this part

of this monster, monstrosity, but underlined was a humanity of loss. And the emotion that Sinclair was trying to run away from was something, I think, really triggered a reaction in Richard. Because grief does run through this story. He does. So to have someone so full of it themselves,

were you concerned at all that it was too soon? I mean, obviously it was Richard's decision to do the movie. I think Richard work is a catharsis for him. And what I noticed that was happening, and he would say to me, I just want to do this part justice. And I just needed to put the camera on him. And that's, I cast this film really well. Just in passing, I think Bertie, the Steve McMillan, is something of Timothy Shalamay. Little bit, isn't it? Yeah. Anyway, but...

But he's fantastic. He's fantastic. So there are three people more who we need to mention. Just Julie Delpie, who you've already mentioned, a sort of mother fetal, mamon. Her... She phrased that. Isn't that wonderful? Can you just explain?

She's at the heart of this story. They're all at the heart. All of these actors, including Chris Binlett, and you constantly asking all the way through the film, who's in charge here? So Julie's at the heart of that, and explain her character and what she has given up to hang around with this monstrous,

Richard E. Grant also. Yeah, I mean, we were interested in those creative partnerships, you know, like Lee Kraus and the Jackson Pollock. What happened in a relationship of two creative partners? Is it inevitable that one has to sublimate and make way for the other person? And it does actually, historically, I think, tend to be that one has to sublimate their creativity

to the other. And I think there's an expectation of that, you know, the want the ego, the self-importance of seeing clear the husband, the self-importance of seeing Claire, the husband, that means that Ellen, the wife, is supportive and is seen by through Liam's eyes as the supportive partner. But she's nursing a great hurt and a great betrayal

which becomes clear throughout the film. And then I think it's fair to say that it does a massive rug pull, there's a change of her role. And in a way, it becomes a revenge story as well. And so she is a phantile or a mummong phantile as Shulib would have it in that role. She lew as Liam out there, a turn in, and she certainly serves her own end. No, and you know, who is in control and who's manipulating who, and which brings us to Liam who is at Darmal Kormack, who's a fantastic actor, isn't he?

Absolutely, perfectly cast, as you say. And there's that feeling about, even though we like him, he's very warm and very gentle and he's very engaging, but he's up to something. There's no question that he's up to. It's a cool story, isn't it? It does feel like it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.

And he has a gift of being able to remember everything that he's ever read. I mean, is that possible? It is possible. I did that Alex McKeef, my writer, who obviously for the WAs isn't here as well. But he was a tutor in the house of a few different people. This is an amount.

So this isn't a true Genesis story, but it was a combination of Alex's experiences, which he was so extreme. Actually, what happens in the lesson isn't as extreme as his real life. Yeah, exactly. So he knew somebody who had this instant memory gift because he was also, I think, at Oxford. And so he used that as an element in the story, but he comes from a, I'm going to pronounce this wrong, Borja's short story of somebody who does exactly that steals somebody else's book and passes it off as his own which he was fascinated by

and Julie when she read the script was like I wanted to do that story too so she understood it and recognized it and for Julie to get it off was a lot of comedy so I think for her to be pulled into that world she was really interested in that So Darrell is a young actor he's playing a young character but what kind of young character writes his debut novel, longhand, in a bound notebook, which is what he does because he wants to be his greatest originally Grant's character. He does, he does. He'll have done it on a laptop. Well, he does write later on on a laptop, but I think that there's a preentiousness, which is absolutely, but I think that there was a quite an inbuilt stumbling, there was a line

in there at one point in the way that Sinclair writes, he was aping his heroes. And I think that that's what we see about Liam is we see that he doesn't fit into his own skin, that he's an observer, that he's probably been tested and a number of situations for not fitting in for not being right as the tutor in the household is. And so he's constantly pushing his boundaries,

looking around, exploring. There's a kind of superficiality to him, which I hope in his curve by the time that we come to the end of the film, we realize that it really, really on that he's learned to lessen. Yes. OK. And we cannot stop talking about your film

without mentioning Isabel Wollabridge. Oh, please. Who I interviewed a few years ago. Oh, please. And so there's lots and lots of classical and classical inspired music through your film. There's Rack Maninoff and there's Chikoski and there's Borodin and there's Wollabridge.

There they are. But her music is fantastic. What did you ask her to do? From the very start, I mean, this was a five-year making and can be my producer and I met Isabel because we had heard some of her music and other things and she died Emma at that point and we knew from Flea bag obviously but we met her just for a general and there was this chemistry between the three of us and then when we we really

loved the kind of drama of the rack man and off and these are all name check things that Alex had put into the script but we really loved the sort of bombasticness of some of the Russian composers that were there, some of the melodramas seemed to really fit in. So, Iso took that as a starting point, but then just ran with it, I think her music, I mean, of course I'm biased, but I think she's a wonderful composer and she really gets it, so spot on. She carries on with a classical theme, and then at some point creates a dissonance that makes you allow you to know that it's going wrong and the music is bold and out there and a character

and in your face as well and does something quite slightly comic and subversive. She was stunning. And most of the battle scenes take place around the dinner table and Richard E. Gronsk character uses his classical music knowledge as another weapon basically to bully his family. And I think he says to son, give me three reasons why we can't play Rachmaninoff. If you think your dinner table conversations are awkward, you wait till you see the ones in the... But we've had that, haven't we? I mean, and also that's about, I mean, I think when we

came to this project and came here, my producer is French, and when she found it and brought it to me, it was about this punishment of class and the scent of death by a thousand cuts that stops you progressing or moving in British society, which I know still exists, you do. It's still that judgment lay where it's all got such a dissonance between kind of class culture and there is a class war going on. Now how are you feeling them with your debut movie about to be out there? Is it scary? I mean, you've produced so much output already, but this feels different. No, it does. Of course it feels different. You know, I still get really excited about, well, I'm

extremely excited about being on your podcast. That for me is an iconic moment in anybody's kind of career or history. You've made it. I mean, it's no it's so exciting. And then the other thing is if there's one person in Canada sitting down watching your movie, I get I think that idea is lovely, lovely. And so it's a privilege. It's no doubt about it. It's a privilege to make a movie and I feel very proud of the whole team who puts so no doubt about it. It's a privilege to make a movie and I feel very proud of the

whole team who put so much effort into it. Alice Trout and movies, the lesson. Alice, thank you very much. Thank you so much. Next time you play some Isabel Walla Bridge. Yes, we use it, which we'll be on Saturday, on your Scarlett Show, which I believe goes out at one o'clock. One o'clock till three. It's the nation's leading and most varied film music show too. Very, it is certainly appropriate word. Remember when you play a spellwater, but it's just called Iso. Iso. Because that's obviously a real fan. Iso will have to do. And Hild.

Anyway, obviously the directors are stepping up, as I've just mentioned, because the actors are on strike, so the directors come in. But what you get with a director usually is some overview of the whole film. Yeah, but is someone who's so immersed and invested in the production far more so, you know, with the greatest respect to all of these actors who are in the film. It's Alice Trout's film. She's the one that wants to sell it to you and I think she did a good job there. Yeah, I mean, she said that she's very proud of the whole team, proud of the film, and well, she ought to be,

because it's very good. The tagline is who's teaching who in the poster has got this pen and there are ink blotches that look like they might be blood, but you're not quite sure. She was saying that they called it noir and took about the Diana Doors knot. I mean, I have to say for me, it's more of a who-done-it, although the who-done-ut is not a murder.

It's a different twist on who-donut. I mean, obviously, she was citing sleuth. Incidentally, Branagh remade sleuth. That was the, I mean, not well as happened. It was not well received. Sleuth was written by Anthony Schaffer, who wrote Wickerman, whose brother made Amadeus, which is your favorite. Also, Antony Schaffer worked on all those classic Christian adaptations like Death in the Night. In fact, Antony Schaffer's gravestone says on it the words great artificer of mysteries,

which is a wonderful thing. Thank you. So I think we're definitely in Who Done It Territory. There's even a Butler, as you said, creeping quietly around, doing slightly sinister things. But who done it, not as in who did a murder? The plot's got shades of everything. I mean, because there is a kind of recurrent trope literary thriller storyline. So you can see, you know, for more than color to sluth, to draw off from this

contract, to that weird thing. Remember the burnt orange heresy, which had Clouce Bang and Lizbeth DeBekie and Mick Jagger in it, I think that came out during lockdown. So written with blackly sodonic humor by Alex McKeeath and directed with real confidence by Alistair Trout and who, I mean, unsurprisingly, she has a long history of directing, but this is a very, very accomplished first feature.

Darryl Cormick, who was so good with Emma Thompson in Goodluck, Julia Grant, is the em. Summers, who I just say at that point, he's also on your television at the moment, because he's on the Sunday night, a woman in the wall drama, playing detective Coleman, a candy. Anyway, he's very good in that, and he was just on the movie. No, he's clearly very busy, and I don't think that's going to be changing any time in the near future. I think we're going to wave goodbye to the idea that we're going to be seeing him around

because he is clearly on his way up. So I said, he's just to do the plot again in case people haven't. So he's Liam Summers. He's being interviewed about his breakout novel and he's asked, where did it come from? And the camera looks at him and then it goes into flashback. And then we see him arriving at a posh country home of this celebrated author James Sinclair who hasn't written a book for years but is supposedly working on a new one. His motto, Sinclair's motto is good writer's borrow, great writer's steal, which obviously is a fairly

well-known phrase. And that motto tells us a key point. It has repeated several times. In case you missed it. And it turns out that the young man has written his thesis on Sinclair, but he doesn't want him to know. But he's been enlisted as a tutor for Bertie, the young son, played by Stephen McMillan, to get him through his ox for an exam. He must get in, he must get in. But he's clearly traumatized by the loss of his brother,

Judy Delpiss, Sinclair's wife, Elene, who's an art dealer, who essentially is dealing with Liam. And there's a lot of kind of, you know, is he welcome here? Does Bertie is very, very offy with him. Meanwhile, the great Richard E. Grant is playing Sinclair. I think it's a great role for him. He's the best, it's the best role he's had since 2018. Can you ever forgive

me for which he was rightly celebrated? He absolutely relishes it. Incidentally, he's in Emerald Finale's new film, Saltburn, which is opening the LFF. So I mean, he's film festival. Yes, he's right at the top of his power. I think the thing that's great about him is he relishes the role of playing somebody who is pompous, but he does it without turning it into a caricature. And you have to feel that it is possible that this person, this character, has been a great writer and has lost their mojo, but is still absolutely full of themself and their knowledge, that whole thing that you cited about, give me three good reasons why I can't.

That sort of patrician overbearing, unpleasant, but without turning it into a caricature. Without, I mean, he also does some of the best drunk acting I've ever seen, which is, we always remark in it, the fact that Richard E. Grant does not drink. Absolutely does not drink. Cannot is allergic to alcohol, as far as I understand. Anyway, McCormick is the perfect foil to him because essentially what you've got is one person being kind of big and grandiose and absolutely full of himself. Then on the other hand, you've got Darmakoye being quiet and withdrawn to some extent. But he has a book that he's written and he kind of desperately wants his hero to read it. And his hero is very snotty

until he discovers that this young man is arrived and has confics his computer. And then suddenly they start having this kind of interplay between themselves in which essentially you read mine, I'll read yours. And then everything starts to get kind of very twisted. The key plot point is that the book, the book that is being written by Sinclair is struggling with its ending. And I think you could make an argument that in terms of the way that the narrative goes with this,

the ending kind of ramps everything up in tomato, but then again, this brings it back to what I was saying about who done it. So I mean, when was the last time you read an Agatha Christie in which the final chat wasn't ridiculous, wasn't like, I'm sorry, pardon, what? And I like it because I think it is generically completely in keeping with the genre that it's in. Isabel, what a bridge you score is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. All the time I was watching the film,

I was making notes about the score thinking, I'm going to play this score in its entirety on Scala, because who's your producer saying, I don't think you are. Don't think you are. And I was saying, yes, well, my show, of course, it isn't, it says. But yeah, I really enjoyed it.

It had this kind of wicked sense of humor. And I think it's absolutely right as well that it's about, you know, it's the sort of poison chalice of mentorship. And it is about class, and it's absurd, particularly in its final act, but in a way that is completely in keeping with the agatha Christie who done it sleuth,

murder mystery, great artificer of mysteries. I mean, in the same way that the end of the Wiccoman is completely ridiculous, but kind of perfect. I really enjoyed it. Artificer feels like an uncomfortable word, but it is obviously the right word. Yeah, I grand artificer of mysteries is an amazing thing to have in your grasp. Anyway, congratulations to all involved. It's a really good film and Richard E. Grant is...

Boom. It's the ads in a minute, Mark. But first, it's time to step once again with joy in our hearts into the laughter lift. our hearts into the laughter lift. Well, I aim out good news from the local school and a victory for common sense and for actual scientific progress. Yes. After a campaign by parents, they've taken down their posters of the awful Putin-enabling Russell Brand supporting chief executive of Ex and Tesla, who isn't a courseary or scientist at all, and replaced them with posters of the great 18th

century Scottish inventor, his improvements to the steam engine drove the industrial revolution. What goes up, Musk comes down. Almost perfect. What goes up, Musk comes down. He sort of fluffed it, didn't you? Musk, I just said. But what goes up? Musk comes down.

It's because of the S in Cuts. It also goes to the Watt. And also the Musk. Difficult. The good lady's strategy is Terry and does get stranger by the day. She's taken to applying protective wood coatings. This is so good.

She's taken to applying protective wood coatings whilst watching Alfred Hitchcock films. Hang on, hang on, hang on. Is it a mcguffin thing? The Lady Vanishes. Oh, okay, okay. She's also become a bit of a flat-earther and a set off on a journey to prove

that we live on a flat-disc. She'll come round eventually. Yeah. I liked it. What are you doing next? The Expend forples. We'll be back after this, unless you're a van God Easter in which case we have just one question.

The more there is, the less you see what am I? You're flying to meet with a new supplier to keep your business growing. And with the business platinum card from American Express, you can earn $820 in new value and more, which includes a $200 travel credit toward your flight. Now, boarding business class. American Express, don't do business without it. Terms and conditions apply visit mism.ca. Be careful along our tracks and only make left turns where it's safe to do so. Be alert, be aware and stay safe. Actually, before what's on, speak of the Good Lady Sramsister.

Are we back on? Are we back on? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, it's for fun. You just being a whole bunch of stuff right? Yeah. The good lady's from Sister Endors is off to the Royal Academy in London. Is this a joke? No, it's not. No, she's off to see the Marina Abramovich exhibition, which has a naked doorway, which has a naked man and a naked woman facing each other quite close together and to go in, you have to squeeze your way. In actual naked man, an actual naked man and actual naked woman. So that's what that gets into the, this exhibition, you have to squeeze your way. In real, an actual naked man, an actual naked man, an actual naked woman.

So that's what that gets into the, this exhibition, you have to squeeze past them. I'm not going to that. Okay. Sorry. And I'm not being, and the point is, I haven't been to the exhibition. Okay. But famously, that's what people are taking the, you know, okay. That's an embarrassing way to start, don't you think?

Yeah. I'm sure context is everything. Anyway, what's on? So if you're not going to be squeezing past a bunch of naked people, here's a selection of a few other things going on because it's this week's What's on? Send yours to correspondence at kermanomeo.com. For example, here we go. Hi Simon and Mark, this is Sarah from Jam, telling you about a great film that's part of our

free online festival. In the Sky Engine, a passionate scientist thinks he's saving the world from climate change with his new invention, but all doesn't quite go to plan. With music by Richard Pete and story by Timothy Nuttman, this vibrant production is brought to life by foot orchestra and cast, into cut with animation. It is free to watch as part of Jalen Marns virtual via Jalenconcert.org until the 25th of September. Thank you. Hi, Semina Mark. Steve here, telling everyone about the upcoming London Australian film festival, which runs from the 21st of the 24th of September. We open with the UK premiere of Limbo,

a gritty outback noir from Ivan Sen, director of Mystery Road and Goldstone, and other highlights from the program include a 25th anniversary screening of the boys, starring David Wendem and Tony Collette, and a baguiling new Art House thriller called Petrol. Join us for the latest and greatest Aussie films, check out LondonOstfilm.com. Taste the blood of dead and subrede horror von Seven. Subrede suffix three day horror film festival was back October 20th to 23rd, featuring eight classic horror movies like Teflin, Motel Hell and more, brand new movies How to Kill Monsters Punch, The Black Mass, Law, The More, 8 Eyes, and Beaten to Death, plus 19 horror shorts, Q&A's, merch,

license bar and so much more. Check out deadandsadbury.co.uk for more info. Hello Mark and Simon, this is Anna from Helsinki International Film Festival, La Van Anarchy. Last year, after you've featured us in this segment, our website crashed after I can only assume we're thousands of vanguardistas rushing online. We are eagerly waiting to see what happens this time. Love and Anarchy Film Festival runs from the 14th until the 24th of September in cinemas across Helsinki. Our programme is a celebration of the diversity and brilliance of modern filmmaking. So come and share the joy, love and anarchy. More information at hif.fi.

Hello Simon and Mark. This is Wemma from fragments Genesis cinemas in House Festival, running from Thursday, 28th September to Sunday, 1st October. Opening with a special preview of Ken Loches, the old oak, will host a series of screenings and events, spotlighting those underrepresented within the arts. Be sure not to miss it. Oh, right, that's the, I think she's, I think she's done. Well, that was a, a, a bumper edition. By the way, by the way, just a word, thank you very much, indeed, for all of those, By the way, just a word, thank you very much indeed for all of those.

They're terrific. It might be worth particularly Andy. I'm talking to you. Just listen back to what you've recorded before you send it to us. Sarah was promoting a free online film courtesy of Jam on the marsh. Steve was inviting us to the London Australian Film Festival. Andy, the aforementioned, was selling us on the dead and sub-bred horror festival in Suffolk or as he has it the dead and sufferers to the suffer. Nora was back to promote another year of love and anarchy in Helsinki. I really want to go to Helsinki. It looks like I mean, can we go to Helsinki? Please. So maybe Nora could sort that out. Oh, yeah, but yes.

And Wemma, Wemma from Genesis, Cinemore and East London was plugging their fragments festival. Sandy, which was terrific stuff, is sounding like we're going all around the world. Send your 22nd audio trailer about your event anywhere to correspondents at Kermin and Mayo.com. Very nice. Oh, by the way, the answer to the little mystery thing. Darkness. Darkness. And...

Probably shouldn't have done that. You scared a lot of people. What else is that? Oh, Expender Fordable. Expender. Is that right? I've got that wrong. Expender. Expender Fordables.

No, no, Expender Fordables is actually much better. Because I said this follows in the tradition of S7 and Fant4Stick from which everybody should have learned. Just stop doing it. That's awesome. Just, it's really, you know, anyway, so this is the fourth outing in the ongoing expandables franchise.

It was a four, it's nothing like an E. So, so stop. Yeah, because sometimes they do E with the, anyway, so, this comes, so the first it went like 2010, 2012, 2014, and now this. So there's been like a nine-year gang between, during which time there was a whole people fell in and fell out. So the series began with expandable 2010 directed and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also started alongside Jason Satham,

Jetly, Dolph Lungren, Mickey Ralk, playing a character called Tull, Bruce Willis, others. Anyway, story based on the titular group of elite mercenaries doing elite mercenary stuff. Expend forbles, send the mercenaries, Andy Garcia's marsh, send them on a mission to stop a terrorist organization from smuggling

nuclear warheads and nuclear warheads set to offer, you know, detonators. That will cause conflict between the US and Russia. You would have thought that. Yeah, I know. So it starts with Stallone's Barney Ross and Stathon's Lee Christmas, still called Christmas, having sort of brotherly rivalry. Then something happens, meaning that Christmas is shunned from the next mission.

The next mission is instead going to... Council Christmas. That's why they have council Christmas. And they missed that joke. They've canceled Christmas. And the mission is now going to be laid by his ex, CIA agent Gina, played by Megan Fox. Wow. Wow.

Hmm. Do I see a clip? I'll listen to it. There we go. I want in. Come with you. Oh, I'm sorry. You weren't invited.

Or won't you be lonely without me? No. There's lots of other boys on the mission. Oh. I'm not in the mood. I'm gonna play on a line, Rex. He usually does the trick. Don't start.

Oh, I'm starting. I always like this stuff, too. So did your brother. Oh, I'm starting. I mean, I'm not this stuff too. So did your brother. Oh, I'm starting. I mean, I'm not gonna watch this. I've decided, but I will listen to you with you. Well, so I watched it last night on the big iMacs screen in Leicester Square

with none other than Dave now recovered Norris. So the mission goes without Christmas because they've canceled Christmas, although I can't believe they didn't make that joke But he tags along in secret having given her a dagger, which has got a tracking device in it So there are punch ups. There are knife ups. They're exploding worldly copters. There are crashing planes There are nuclear bombs on a big boat on unstoppable countdowns You know that stuff so lots of stuff happening, can I ask you?

My guesses, unstoppable countdown, they can always be stopped. I'm just saying, I don't want you to spoil anything, I haven't seen the film, but that's the truth of an unstoppable countdown. Okay, well, I'm not going to, okay, but I'll, when we're off, okay, so lots and lots of big stuff happening,

none of it in the slightest bit interesting. The action sequences are boringly incoherent. You know when you watch John Wick, if you think about the great John Wick sequence up the stairs to the, and then back down and then up the stairs again, choreography, beautiful, you know, it's all, it's fantastic. There's a narrative in the fight. Yeah, no, none of that.

This is just like stab shoot, boom, stab shoot, boom, boom, boom. And he's going, I don't know who stabbing or shooting who. I'm not quite sure. It's close up. It's like, you know, characters are paper thin. Here are the like the character Andy Garcia. Oh, he choose a toothpick. Dolph Lungren. It's got bad hair. Jason Satham, bald. That's like the character descriptions are generally on that level. The early scenes in which they've been and still own attempt to do sort of wise cracking, you know, buddy comedy, brother comedy, whatever. Seriously, they've got like about five or six lines when they quip, you know, they crack wise with each other. It is like watching two fault-lift trucks attempting to do ballet. It's just like these lumbering bits

of machinery banging into each other, having delivered the line, but with no wit, rhythm or timing. And again, I'll come back to Meg too. I enjoyed Meg too much, much more than this, but that's because I think Ben Wheatley made a funny movie. People get stabbed in the chest and survive. People get shot, but you're not sure who they are. Things blow up for no reason. The matte backdrops are terrible. I mean, the whole thing looks like it's been filmed against the worst green screen in the world. There are a couple of fighting female characters who are apparently there to add gender balance, but all they do is kind of window dressing.

There are scenes of characters being racked by grief that are absolutely indistinguishable from scenes of characters being racked by confusion, or lust, or mystery, or wickedness, or heroism, just absolutely can't tell. Some of the, there's a bit in it in which, now I may be slightly misquoting because I didn't have a pen to write this down, but Andy Garcia delivers what is considered to be a zingere one liner,

which is something on the lines of, your like genital warts, you come when you're least wanted and you don't go away. And you go, really? It's like, do you remember that? Is it Python, your majesty is like a stream of bath? You're just like that.

One of one of wilds, sir. I saw it on this massive iMac screen, struggle to stay awake. I mean, it started at seven o'clock, so it wasn't even that late. I was really, really resting, say it, it is thunderously dull. Absolutely nobody in the world wanted it. I don't believe it'll trouble the the charts for a week or so. But yeah, rubbish. Absolute rubbish.

Who would have thought? Who would have thought? That's the end of take one. This has been a Sony music entertainment production. The team was Lily Hamley, Ryan Amira, Gully T'Kell, Beth Perkin, Michael Dale, Hannah Tulbet, Simon Paul Markwood is your film of the week. My film of the week is definitely the lesson. Take two has already landed alongside this here. Take one. Take three will be with you on Wednesday. Thank you for listening.

on Wednesday. Thank you for listening.