Rest in Peace, Sir Sidney Poitier

 

My dad first introduced me to Sidney Poitier when I was about 16-years-old. We watched Lilies of the Field and I have loved Sir Sidney Poitier's work ever since.

The world has lost such an incredible trailblazer. 

I highly recommend watching his films if you haven't already done so, and here are some of my personal recommendations:

A Patch of Blue (1965) - I can't fully articulate how this movie makes me feel, but it is my favorite of his movies. It explores biracial romantic relationships in 1965 and is absolutely brilliant. There is that blasted open-ended ending that the 1960s loved to use, but the viewer is left with a hope that everything will work out in the end. It was the 1960s, so who knows if that's true or not, but that was always my dream for the couple in this film. Watch A Patch of Blue, be amazed by it, fall in love with it. Here's my review for A Patch of Blue that I wrote back in 2013.

Lilies of the Field  (1963) - The first of Sidney Poitier's movies I ever saw and is my second favorite of his films. He plays Homer, a black handyman who helps a group of German nuns rebuild their chapel. Yep, that's it, the story in a nutshell, but it's so very, very much more than that, and Sidney won the well-earned Academy Award for Best Actor, the first time the award was given to a black man. 

In the Heat of the Night (1967) - I saw this one only once, primarily because I spent the whole movie in profound fear for Virgil Tibbs' life. It is brilliant and I believe everyone should watch it at least once. I need to rewatch it this month. The thing that scares me, even more, is that they had to film the majority of this movie in the north because once when Sidney Poitier visited Mississippi he was almost murdered by Ku Klux Klansmen. I can't even . . . 

Little Nikita (1988) - Another movie I was introduced to by my Dad. This one also stars River Phoenix and deals with a soviet sleeper family hidden deep undercover in the US. It's intense, but somewhat lighter fare since it doesn't really have the same racial tension due to it being 1988 instead of the 1960s. A terrific performance by both stars, and one of the reasons why I also love River Phoenix. It's heartbreaking realizing that both of these magnificent actors are gone.

My prayers for comfort go out to Sir Sidney Poitier's family and friends during this time. May we remember to celebrate the life he lived and the good, good work that he did.

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YA Book Review: This Train is Being Held by Ismée Williams (2020)

I'm so torn about this book. I love the first 2/3 of the story, where Isa and Alex are getting to know each other and their romance is just so endearing and cute, and just, yeah, all of that. Because Alex is a complete and total doll and I adore him, rather like I adore Javier in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. The use of Spanish interspersed in the conversation is endearing, but I do think creates some problems with reading comprehension. I dealt with it by using Google translate, but I did give that up eventually and just sort of made my best-estimated guess at what was being said. It did however add to the charm of the book and made me really feel like I was reading about a half-Cuban girl and a Dominican American boy. So that was great.

HOWEVER, there are problems with This Train is Being Held and most of the issues make the story feel like it's set in the 1950s instead of 2020.

- Yes, racial bias is a real thing. But there is a distinct vibe in this book that everyone Alex ever encounters except for Isa draws back from him in horror, not because he has a ghastly appearance, but because he's Latino. I just don't even know what to say to that except that, if that has been someone's experience in real life, then it sucks. And should never happen. And it's wrong that it has happened to you. But making Isa the only person to ever see him as just a boy and not assume he's a hoodlum is ridiculous. That he would experience some racial bias is accurate, I'm sorry to say, but not from every white person he ever encounters. The unexplained shunning became just too absurd.

- Police brutality. Just stop.

This is becoming a trendy trope that I hate. Authors love to build out their culturally diverse characters and give them full dimension and make them come alive, but where the cops are concerned, just make them cruel and brutal and you're good. That's another form of discrimination and I have no patience for it. Are all cops good? No, of course not. But they're sure as hell not all bad either and I can't for one moment believe that a group of cops would start hitting a Latino teenager when he has clearly not done anything to warrant their suspicion. Maybe I'm wrong, I'm willing to admit it if I am and if I am then it means our police need to work harder at improvement. But overall, it just smacks of overdramatization to raise my sympathy and I really hate it when authors try to do that.

If you want an example of a great cop, watch Teen Wolf. Sheriff Stilinski is amazing and always will be amazing and because he's such a great cop and father, I hate it when cops are reduced to just brutal meatheads.

- The miscommunication trope. I watch Japanese drama and one of my most hated tropes is the miscommunication trope. It serves no purpose other than to create turmoil and angst. I'm not even sure why Isa wasn't sharing her life struggles with Alex. But it's the curse of YA fiction, most fiction actually. Characters in fiction never read it because if they did, they would learn that keeping their struggles secret from the person they love only ends in hurt feelings and MISCOMMUNICATION. So, yeah, that trope is not original and it dragged the last 1/3 of the story waaaaaaaay down.

However, despite the things that drove me bananas, I am going to rate This Train is Being Held 3 stars. I was thinking 2 stars, but I can't do that because Alex and Isa are just so sweet. It has this charisma about it that just snagged my interest and it was a super-fast read for me, and that's usually a good thing.

Here are some of the great elements of This Train is Being Held.

- Parents, stop pressuring your kids to live out your own dreams. Instead, enable them to follow their dreams. That's an important message and one I think the book gets right. People are more than one thing and should be allowed to be more than one thing. In that regard, I think that Alex is more well-rounded than Isa because he has multiple talents and interests. He's more than just the baseball player his Papi wants him to be, and he should be allowed to be all of his interests. Closeting away a part of your talent is never a healthy choice.

- Mental health struggles are a real thing, people suffer from them, and they cause friction and angst and stress in families. Be patient, be aware, and be understanding. I'm thankful that bipolar disorder was handled so graciously in This Train is Being Held. It's one of my most favorite renderings of mental health struggles in YA fiction that I've encountered. 

- Language, pretty much kept to a minimum, so that was great, and while there is some sexual content, it's extremely mild. This book actually borders on a clean read, which is awesome and one of the reasons why I kept reading. Plus, I was super-invested by about 30 pages in.

This Train is Being Held

Author: Ismée Williams 

Year: 2020

My Rating:  ★★★

Goodreads | Amazon

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Jeremy Brett stars in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1979)

This post is a part of my Jeremy Brett Celebration! There are several other posts that have been/will be shared, so please feel free to visit the above page.

It's practically a crime that the Jeremy Brett version of Rebecca has never been officially released on DVD. I have an old copy recorded from television, and it serves its purpose, but when I say old copy, I mean old copy. This miniseries cinematography would stand the test of time quite admirably if it were remastered properly. I can only hope and pray that someday it is given the official DVD and/or blu-ray release that it deserves.

Until then, you can find various copies of it on YouTube. And if you're clever, you can locate the not-so-approved DVDs online created by fans of both Jeremy Brett and the miniseries.

Now that I've given the scoop on the state of the miniseries and its availability, on we go.

Joanna David as the second Mrs. de Winter

If you're not familiar with Rebecca, it is the story of a young, naive woman and her marriage to a wealthy aristocrat named Maxim de Winter. He wooed and won her while they both happened to be vacationing in Monte Carlo, he because he can and her because her employer chose Monte for her vacation. They honeymoon in Venice and then they're back in England because Maxim wants to show her his home, Manderley. Little does the second Mrs. de Winter realize that Max and Manderley are still haunted by the death of the first Mrs. de Winter, a haunting enhanced by the presence of the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, a woman who adored the first Mrs. de Winter since she was a child. Not all is as it seems, including the rumored marital bliss of Max and his first wife, the infamous Rebecca.

Jeremy Brett and Joanna David in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1979)

♥♥♥♥♥ Jeremy Brett. Jeremy Brett. Jeremy Brett.  ♥♥♥♥♥

I could pretty much end the discussion there. But I won't. 

Jeremy Brett is most known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. A portrayal that I adore, but he also did SO MUCH MORE throughout his remarkable career. Only a small ripple in the pond of Jeremy Brett's genius is his portrayal of Maxim de Winter in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.

Maxim can be an enigma. I have never finished reading the novel, primarily because Maxim is so hard for me to pin down. Rather like Jane Eyre's Mr. Rochester, Maxim seems cruel and cold and frightening. I don't like the book character and I was never 100% fond of Laurence Olivier's performance (even though I am an Olivier fan).

I was on the hunt, if you will, for my personal ideal portrayal of Maxim de Winter.

Jeremy Brett and Joanna David in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1979)

Maxim needs to be a tortured and sensitive soul. It's a fine balancing act between strength and weakness, compassion and cruelty, and if the balance is tipped a tiny bit in the wrong direction, Maxim becomes almost impalatable. There can be no artifice in the performance. Authenticity and transparency are required.

And because Jeremy Brett knows how to add touches of sympathy to his slightly coarser roles, he makes Maxim an absolute delight. There is nothing more agonizing than their return to Manderley where Mrs. Danvers begins to take it upon herself to undermine the newlyweds' happiness with conniving bits of trickery. Joanna David as the second Mrs. de Winter (poor nameless character) is ideal. I've never seen the heroine as attractive, as in she's not a stunner, but she has other qualities which are what draws Maxim to her. Joanna David is PERFECT in this role. She plays the character with fragility but with a hidden strength that blossoms later in the miniseries. When Maxim needs her the most, she rises to the occasion in the vein of a true heroine.

Anna Massey as Mrs. Danvers in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1979)

There's something striking about the overall production, its setting, its cast, the roaring of the sea, and above all, the unseen spirit of Rebecca hovering over Manderley, ruining everything it touches. I say her spirit, but of course, we're never sure of Rebecca's spirit being present. No, it is actually Mrs. Danvers who keeps the spirit of Rebecca alive, frighteningly portrayed by Anna Massey who had been married to Jeremy Brett between 1958-1962 until they divorced. I do wonder what it was like for them to be reunited and whether the divorce was amicable, but of that, I can't say.

Some days I just need a dark and brooding miniseries to watch, but I don't always feel inclined to watch anything by Dickens (as much as I love him) and while suspense/thrillers have their place, gothic literature is special. I've actually rewatched Rebecca twice this year because I love it so much. It serves its purpose of transporting me away to a slightly gruesome spectacle.

Jeremy Brett and Joanna David in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1979)

The 1979 version of Rebecca was approved of by the author and frankly, I can't blame her. Even though I've never read the novel through to completion, I still know where the other incarnations have departed from the source material, but not so with this version. This is what makes it my favorite, despite the lack of a proper copy that has been gorgeously remastered. Jeremy Brett and Joanna David bring the story to glorious life in a perfectly unified performance, making me believe they have a true love story. What more could I ask for?

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Jeremy Brett stars in "On Approval" (BBC Play of the Month, 1982)

This post is a part of my Jeremy Brett Celebration! There are several other posts that have been/will be shared, so please feel free to visit the above page.

Go to THIS LINK to see a recording of this play that some supremely sweet soul uploaded to YouTube. I wish I could say that it was available in better condition, but alas, what you see is what you get.

Penelope Keith as Maria

On Approval is a play by Frederick Lonsdale from 1926 and it only ran for 96 performances in London's West End. Not a long run, but apparently, it was long enough to make a lasting impression. There is something outstanding about theatrical plays from the 1920s and 1930s. There's a smart sarcasm that many playrights just slap their audiences upside the faces with but in a really good way.

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Happy Birthday, Jeremy Brett!

On November 3rd, 1933, Jeremy Brett of Sherlock Holmes fame was born. And on September 12, 1995, he left us. He was with us for such a short period of time, but he gave us so much while he was here.

Someday, may the full body of his work be made more widely available to fans, both new and old.

Love you, Jeremy, and miss you always.

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Celebrate Jeremy Brett Month Link-Up Post

Good Morning, everyone!

November has arrived and so too has my month-long event celebrating the esteemed talent that is Jeremy Brett! If you don't know him, no worries, you'll know him by the end of November. 

When you've written your blog post for the event, please comment with your link here and I will add it to this page. 

I'm excited beyond words to be hosting this event, and I'm even more excited about my participants. You are all so very wonderful.

Participant Blog Posts

• TV… The Incredible Hulk (1975) Of Guilt, Models, and Murder S01 E05 by Gill of RealWeegieMidget Reviews
• Sherlock Holmes: The Red-Headed League (1985) by Rachel of Hamlette's Soliloquy
• Jeremy Brett stars in "On Approval" (BBC Play of the Month, 1982) by Carissa (me) at Musings of an Introvert
• Of Marriages and Mortgages (Affairs of the Heart, 1974) by Rebecca at Taking Up Room
• Movie Music: Patrick Gowers's "Sherlock Holmes" (1984-1994) by Rachel of Hamlette's Soliloquy
• Jeremy Brett stars in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1979) by Carissa (me) at Musings of an Introvert

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Announcing Celebrate Jeremy Brett Month

The brilliant actor of Sherlock Holmes fame, Jeremy Brett's birthday falls on November 3rd. Because I seem to be in a let's-binge-watch-Jeremy-Brett frame of mind, doing a month-long celebration of his work seems like an excellent idea.

This won't be a blog party unless anyone else wants to participate and then I can do a link-up blog post. If you would like a blog button, there are a couple at the bottom of the post so be my guest.

My motivation for doing this is purely selfish. I love Jeremy Brett, plain and simple. In my nostalgic meandering through his work, I want to remind others about this amazing performer. Maybe find others who love him, or introduce him to someone who has never yet encountered him. Sort of like my goal when I hosted the Anthony Andrews Blog Hop all those years ago, or my Frank Langella Celebration. These men are all lesser-known actors who deserve incredible praise.

I won't be delving into Jeremy's private life unless it intersects with a movie or series in a fascinating way. Since he was so strongly affected by the role of Sherlock Holmes, I may make allowances and discuss a few aspects of his personal life at this time. However, respecting the privacy of performers has always been my modus operandi, and I would rather not know everything about them. In Jeremy's case, he shuffled off this mortal coil in 1995 (far, far too soon), and I wish to offer him the respect and honor that he deserves without indulging myself in idle gossip.

He is also, apparently, a man who can wear hats, judging by the photos I've used.

Some of the entertainment I shall review will be officially available on DVD or Blu-Ray. Some of it will only be available through recordings that some compassionate soul uploaded to YouTube for like-minded fans. Unfortunately, the latter is much more common than the former, and my heart grieves that reality just a little bit. But I must be grateful that his entertainment is available at all, even if it's not in the film quality that I would prefer.

Let's gear ourselves up for a month-long remembrance of Jeremy Brett, a performer who stole my heart for more reasons than just his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes.

When you've written your blog post (thank you to my participants!), feel free to link up on the Celebrate Jeremy Brett Month Link-Up Post.

      

      

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