I’ve had a very worky weekend–what I call a “serial comma” weekend because it has entailed editing, scheduling, and accounting tasks that just go on and on. Serial comma days are one of the downsides of self-employment. But because all this busy work has kept me home and the weather has been so temperate, I also find myself doing some serious cooking for the first time in months. Yesterday, I actually made meatballs. For a non-Italian* I make really good meatballs, which is a claim that always sounds both boastful and dirty. It’s true, though. I make really good meatballs: flavorful, spicy, light. The secret is the fennel sausage from the old-school pork store down the street. Even permakitten Gracie likes them a lot; I caught her swiping one from the pan. If only my matzo balls were so expertly rendered. (Cue my Jewish grandmother rolling in her grave. Next to lobster bisque, properly made meatballs may be the world’s least Kosher food.) Continue Reading →
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Retro/gressive: ‘The New Girlfriend’
As far back as his 1996 short, “A Summer Dress,” in which a gay man has sex with a woman and enjoys wearing her clothes, French writer-director François Ozon (“Swimming Pool,” “8 Women”) has explored gender and sexual fluidity in his films. So it’s not a surprise to find him examining transgenderism in his latest, “The New Girlfriend.” What is surprising is his mealy-mouthed approach, which may stem from the antecedent material, a chilly 1985 Edgar Award-winning short story by British mystery writer Ruth Rendell. The LGBT movement has made almost incalculable progress in the last thirty years and, in her writing, Rendell (who died last spring) was hardly awash in sympathy for her fellow humans even when they did cleave to convention. Still, Ozon’s flair for melodrama – an out-of-fashion genre that doesn’t receive its due – as well as his careful treatment of the complexity of female friendship saves this from being a purely nasty piece of work. Continue Reading →
Q&A: Patricia Clarkson
With her fog-horn voice and barely contained mischief, the luminous Patricia Clarkson is the sort of movie star who wows people who claim not to be wowed by movie stars. When I met her at the Hamptons International Film Festival, she was so funny, generous, and clever that I pounced at the recent opportunity to interview her about “Learning to Drive,” the Isabel Coixet-helmed adaptation of the eponymous Katha Pollitt essay. In it, Clarkson plays New York City book critic Wendy, who is newly on her own as her husband (Jake Weber) has left her and her daughter (Grace Gummer) has moved to a Vermont commune. A lifelong city kid, Wendy realizes she needs to learn to drive if she’s ever going to see her daughter again, so she enlists the services of Darwan (Ben Kingsley), a Sikh immigrant who drives a taxi by night and teaches driving by day. “Learning to Drive” is currently in theaters – and “Maze Runner: Scorch Trials,” in which Clarkson also appears, will open Friday.
Although Clarkson’s publicist refers to her as Patty, I was too awed to use anything but the actress’s full name in audible italics whenever addressing her directly. It seemed appropriate; Clarkson speaks in audible italics as well – a raspy patois of spoken-word poetry and bawdy, feminist delight.
PATRICIA CLARKSON: I think we met at a backyard austere mansion party. It was very Hamptons.
LISA ROSMAN: We did, Patricia Clarkson! I can’t believe you remember! You were there for “Learning to Drive,” actually. [The film did the festival circuit last year.]
PC: Oh my god! I was just delirious. I mean, can you believe the roster of that film? There were so many incredible women involved. I have had many, many photos taken of me in my life but one from a screening of this film takes the cake. The women! I am with Katha Pollitt, [screenwriter] Sarah Kernochan, Isabel Coixet, [producer] Dana Friedman, and [editor] Thelma Schoonmaker. I can’t believe Thelma came on board! She said, ”Okay, I’ll take a break from working with Marty [Scorsese] and edit this film,” because she knew it was a great project. Continue Reading →