You surely know Dame Judi Dench from her illustrious and highly decorated acting career on stage and on screen. With this memoir, we learn so much more about her life and career, and the personality that makes her one we’d love to have a drink with. Not your typical memoir, this one is in the format of an interview conducted by Brendan O’Hea, and it’s broken up into specific topics of discussion. O’Hea is a theater director and actor, and he and ‘Jude’ are longtime friends and colleagues, making for mostly warm conversation.
The 26 topics/chapters provide the structure for O’Hea’s questions, which leads to Dench regaling us with memories and stories, and sometimes veering a bit off-topic for something extra interesting or colorful. She turns 92 this year, and thanks to her acting career, she has travelled the world and met and worked with many fascinating folks. Dench discloses she’s suffering from macular degeneration, which now severely limits her vision. In typical fashion (what we come to understand after reading this), she doesn’t complain about this late-in-life development, yet she does confess to missing reading, seeing her beloved garden, and having pet cats and dogs (now a tripping hazard).
For fans of James Bond movies who only know Judi Dench as M, 007’s boss (for both Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig), you might be surprised at the breadth of her career spanning more than sixty years and crossing TV, feature films, and stage productions on Broadway and in England. Oscar, ten BAFTAs, two Golden Globes, two SAG awards, eight Oliviers, and a Tony. She tells stories from many of the productions she was involved with, and she often mentions her late husband Michael Williams, also an actor. Together they were married thirty years at the time of his passing (2001) and had a daughter, Finty, who also pops up in a few stories.
After reading the book, it’s fair to describe Dame Judi Dench as an optimist – she loves and appreciates and celebrates life. She’s also forthcoming and direct – not shying away from less than pleasant memories or those that prove her humanity. She was once told by a director that there is “every single thing wrong with your face.” This is a woman who appreciates a good laugh … even/especially if it stems from a prank. One chapter is devoted to her ‘Bugbears’ (pet peeves), and she rips on cell phones and bad grammar (neither of which surprised this reader). However, much more time is devoted to the things and people she likes: animals, certain directors, Dame Maggie Smith, Christmas, and those special trees in her garden – the ones planted for certain folks in her life.
On a personal note, I found the section on ‘Ageing’ especially insightful, as she honestly admits she’d rather be “younger and dumber”, as there are very few advantages to getting older. She claims to choose roles by the story being told rather than by reading the script … and her career is so diverse by her own choosing. Despite claiming she’d choose live theater over film, she also admits to a door mat that states, “I’ve been expecting you 007”. For one who dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer, this Dame has done just fine … and her memoir leaves us feeling like we could be good friends.
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Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. Solitude and uncertainty are poor bedfellows, leading to issues with rational thought and behavior patterns. Writer-director Scott Tinkham and co-director Michael Woloson explore this through a setting that may or may not be apocalyptic. An unspecified conflict is occurring ‘out there’, and whatever it is, it leaves a couple of folks disoriented and compromised … unsure of who they are and how they arrived.
Greetings again from the darkness. With his first feature film in eight years, award-winning filmmaker (and novelist) Lee Chang-Dong and co-writer Jungmi Oh have delivered an excellent character study that is South Korea’s official submission for the Best International Film Oscar. If the rom-com sounding title doesn’t deter some viewers, it’s likely the complexity, along with a runtime pushing three hours, may keep some folks away … which would be a shame since so many human emotions and traits are on display.
Greetings again from the darkness. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act guaranteed certain rights for those with disabilities. It fell under the purview of the Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) department, later renamed Health and Human Services. In 1977, HEW was led by Joseph Califano, and his initial refusal to sign off inspired a group headed by activist Judy Heumann (polio put her in a wheelchair) to begin what’s now known as the ‘504 sit-in’. The film comes from writer-director Sian Heder (Oscar winner for CODA, 2021) and co-writer Rebekah Taussig, and is based on “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist” (2020), written by Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner.
Greetings again from the darkness. Residents of the senior center in Aurora, Ontario can now provide quite an answer if they are ever asked the question, “What’s better than Bingo?”. Seriously, when filmmaker Sean Cisterna (THE LONG RIDER doc, 2022) pitches the idea of forming a film crew from this group in order to produce a short horror film entitled, “The Rug”, we are as skeptical as the residents. Most readily admit they aren’t fans of horror films, but something magical happens when they begin taking on the roles of production design, sound, practical effects, props, wardrobe, camera operator, and first assistant director.
Greetings again from the darkness. For anyone who grew up watching the gritty, street-smart films of the 1970’s, this one from actor-turned-writer/director Noah Segan will feel like it’s one you missed back in the day. From the characters to the plot to the music to the ending, this one feels so familiar, while also taking us on a tour of the boroughs that make up New York.
Greetings again from the darkness. Most everyone has experienced the traumatic signs of Alzheimer’s or dementia in a loved one or friend. It’s heartbreaking to watch someone you care about fade away in front of you. Writer-director Lance Hammer (BALLAST, 2008) finds a new way to open our eyes to these situations. It’s still heartbreaking, yet he’s also managed to make it thought-provoking in a ‘what would you do’ kind of way.
Greetings again from the darkness. Every family has a history, and some families are part of history. Such is the case for writer Thomas Mann, who along with his daughter Erika and son Klaus, are the subjects for this latest from the amazing writer-director Pawel Pawlikowski (COLD WAR, 2018; IDA, 2013) and co-writer Henk Handloegten (GOOD BYE LENIN!, 2003). In my movie viewing experience over the years, I’ve found most movies from Poland to be well made and a bit of a downer. This one fits both descriptions, and I’d add well-acted.
When a biographer assumes the weight of researching and writing about a legend within a particular industry, few undertake a man so complex, or with a career so relevant, or a life so intertwined with history as filmmaker Frank Capra. But then, few writers are as accomplished as Sam Wasson, known for numerous movie industry-based books, including my personal favorite, “The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood”. With access to Capra’s personal archives, Wasson goes deep on multiple aspects of Capra’s fascinating life … a life of ups and downs; and one that certainly proves the adage: “Each man’s life touches so many other lives.”
Greetings again from the darkness. She wasn’t yet 30 years old when her first novel, “Strangers on a Train” was published. A year later, Alfred Hitchcock directed the film version, an opportunity many writers would kill for. Patricia Highsmith then crafted a career writing about murder, or the threat of it. Her most famous character, Tom Ripley, was central to five of her novels, or what’s been called “The Ripliad”. On screen, the Ripley role has been played by Alain Delon, Dennis Hopper, Matt Damon, John Malkovich, Barry Pepper, and Adam Scott (in the recent terrific mini-series, “Ripley”).
