Today I saw A Prairie Home Companion. It's a good movie. Don't read on if you intend to see it too. It's a good movie with several problems. It conjures up a successful atmosphere which is very enjoyable to be part of. But the character of the 'angel' is completely absurd. If it had been anyone other than Robert Altman I'm sure the producers would have urged him to cut it. She's terrible, really. I cringed every time she came on screen. The problem is that she comes hand in hand with Kevin Klein's character, who is the best thing about this movie. Again, though, he shouldn't be in this movie. He's out of place. I loved him, though, and wished he had a whole film to himself. Anyway, like I said, this movie conjures up an atmosphere, but it does little more than that. Having only seen half of Short Cuts, and half of Gosford Park, I don't really know much about Altman. The plot in this film doesn't go anywhere, and is very confused at the end - at least, I was very confused. Nonetheless, I have to say I enjoyed this film, although I can't really put my finger on why.
I saw this film in the Empire cinema in Leicester Square. I haven't been in there since I was a teenager. It's a fairly tacky place, with large mirrors and gold handrails. But the seats are very comfortable.
