Blakeson - Writer

Cardiff-based film, theatre and gig reviews, cultural ramblings, whingeing, short films, etc.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Blimey!

Since radio drama tends to come and go with little comment, I thought it worth saluting Sarah Daniels for “God Blind Me”, broadcast this week on BBC Radio 4. A beautifully elegant yet brutal piece, starring Penelope Wilton as a nun who develops a relationship with an incarcerated paedophile, it seemed to be turning into one of those stories about a silly, misguided woman falling in love with a prisoner, then proceeded to wrong-foot the listener at every turn, on the way to a shattering denouement, and a remarkable coda. One of the best plays I’ve heard in a while, despite at least one glaring implausibility.

I have to add my voice to those praising Quentin Tarantino’sDeath Proof”, in the face of “mixed” reviews, and poor U.S. box-office. His skill with dialogue and characterisation combined with his propensity for ridiculously graphic violence made for an exceptionally vivid piece of trashy story-telling, to my mind. Plus, the women seemed fairly well-drawn, given the pulpy context.

Sad to note that the anti-government protests in Burma/Myanmar seem to be dying down. “Why aren’t the American’s doing anything? Because there’s no oil there, that’s why not!” was the chorus from radio phone-ins – ignoring the fact that there’s plenty of oil there, but it’s controlled by China; and that if America did intervene, the streets of the Western world would be streaming with placard-waving protestors (“Hands off Rangoon!”, etc.)

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