Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque)

Serge Gainsbourg was a French cultural icon and the title of this movie certainly reflects the filmmaker’s admiration for him. People from outside France might not consider a man who drunkenly told Whitney Houston on live television that he wanted to fuck her a hero, but Gainsbourg was revered in his homeland.

He was born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris in 1928 to a Russian Jewish family and his childhood was forever tainted by the occupation of Paris by the Nazis and the ensuing events of World War Two which meant that he and his family had to flee France in fear of their lives. Lucien was a talented painter and as a child already showed signs of the infamous womanising streak that he would become known for in later years. There is a very funny scene in the film where the young Lucien attempts to seduce the model from his painting class and brings her out for a drink.

As the movie skips forward in time Lucien becomes disillusioned as a painter and instead earns money from playing the piano in bars. He focusses more on songwriting and changes his name to Serge having been told that Lucien is a “hairdresser’s name”. The louche chainsmoking hard-drinking persona that became known throughout the world begins to take shape.

The casting in the movie is its main strength. Eric Elmosnino is both physically and aurally perfect as Serge and inhabits the role in much the same all encompassing way as Marion Cotillard did with Edith Piaf. Laetitia Casta is as alluring as Bardot ever was and the scene where she twirls around Serge’s apartment wearing only a sheet is magic. The late Lucy Gordon (who tragically committed suicide after the film) looks eerily like Jane Birkin and her English accented French is very endearing.

Gainsbourg is an impressionistic view of the singer. The film is based on the graphic novel by Joann Sfar (who directs Gainsbourg) and this influence can be seen in Serge’s alter ego who stalks him throughout the film, almost like a devil on his shoulder, and the Humpty-Dumpty Jewish character who springs to life from a poster. Anyone coming to this film expecting to know facts and details about Serge’s life will be disappointed, this is not that kind of film, but as an interesting look at a complex individual this is a great movie.

Hit So Hard: the life and near death of Patty Schemel

Being a fan of grunge in my teens and also being a huge fan of drummers, I really have to see the new documentary about Patty Schemel, the original drummer for Hole. Patty was a friend of Kurt Cobain’s and was considered to be frontrunner for the position of drummer in Nirvana until Dave Grohl auditioned (and once you’ve heard Dave Grohl most other drummers come second I reckon). She was the drummer for the Live Through This album and tour but just as recognition and success came her way she began to self-destruct in true grunge style due to heroin addiction.

The documentary contains never before seen footage of Hole on the road and in the studio, plus Patty’s private tapes, as well as tons of interviews with family, friends and band members. Definitely worth keeping an eye out for.

Starry starry bag…

Miu Miu’s accessories are almost always covetable. Remember the stunning shoes everyone wanted from SS 2010? This season we have some equally gorgeous bags to drool over. Miu Miu are putting the star theme at the centre of their SS2011 collection, with appliqued stars on bags, skirts and jackets. I personally love the silver clutch bag.

(Pics from Net A Porter)

How many pairs do you own?

Here’s a little video from Net-A-Porter where they ask celebrities and fashionistas including Leighton Meester, Leigh Lezark, Giovanna Battaglia and Jessica Stam how many pairs of shoes they own. The answers range from 25 to 350. Phew! I reckon I have about 20 but in my dreams I would be edging the 100 mark. Check out the video for lots of shoe porn!

Where are they now: Fairytale Characters

Sometimes when a girl is supposed to be finishing her book, procrastination takes hold and she spends fifteen minutes writing things like this:

Where are they now – Fairytale Characters

Sleeping Beauty

Became addicted to meth due to her desire to stay awake and “reclaim my life”. Currently undergoing rehab at an undisclosed facility.

Cinderella

Involved in lengthy divorce proceedings with Prince Charming citing infidelity as the reason for dissolution of the marriage. The Fairytale Enquirer has reported that the Prince is “charming” quite a number of other princesses and is consequently in violation of the “happily ever after” clause.

The Three Bears

Recently liberated from a Russian circus where they had been imprisoned since being sold by a vengeful Goldilocks.

Goldilocks

On the run from the Three Bears. Witness Protection Programme Codename: Brownilocks.

Alice in Wonderland

It is thought that the pill Alice took to make her smaller was in fact Microdot LSD and she is now in a permanent flashback state and sectioned in a psychiatric facility. Barring another unfortunate incident with a mirror, medical staff expect that she should be able to rejoin society in a few years.

Snow White

Her days as “the fairest of them all” are long since over and she has been campaiging for rights of the vertically challenged for many years with great success.

Pinocchio

Although Pinocchio did eventually become a real live boy, his years as a wooden puppet left deep mental scars. Completely unable to deal with the human aging process, being used to his wooden wrinkle free features, he became an early devotee of Botox. Developing acute Body Dysmorphia, Pinocchio endured many agonising plastic surgery procedures. Unfortunately he is now virtually unrecognisable and as a result has become a recluse, allowing only Gepetto to see him.

NYC March 2011 – A Photo Diary

 

My beautiful sister Sarah and her husband Paul at Pogues gig

Me and my Brother in Law at Pogues afterparty in The Magician

The Mars Bar

Surveying the wreckage after the Pogues gig

The amazing bar at Schillers on the Lower East Side

My step-dad Terry and Foxy at breakfast in The Pink Pony

Vintage shopping on Ludlow Street

Terry and Me

Hiding in my new fur in Max Fish on Lower East Side

Street Art

Sarah and Foxy in Times Square

Monster Truck and fundit.ie

Monster Truck Gallery in Temple Bar are using the new fundit.ie site which is an online initiative providing a platform for people with great ideas to attract crowd funding (similar to kickstarter.com). Monster Truck are looking for funding to set up a video projection screen on their gallery window located at 4 Temple Bar. It is proposed that it will be a new visual arts space in Dublin, providing artists working in moving image a space to show their work to the thousands of people who pass by every night.

Temple Bar, once purported to be the Cultural Quarter in Dublin, is now more infamous for tacky tourist shops, awful bars, even worse buskers and raucous hen and stag parties. I truly hope Monster Truck gain the funding they need through this initiative as it will being back some much needed culture to the city centre. Donate to their project here.

Check out the Monster Truck fundit.ie video below:

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

I watched It’s Kind of a Funny Story on the plane on the way over to NYC. It came out in late 2010 in the US but somehow passed me by as I didn’t notice it hitting our screens. The movie, based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini, stars Keir Gilchrist as a depressed teenager named Craig who checks himself into a psychiatric ward fearing that he might commit suicide. On meeting the other patients Craig immediately thinks that he has made a mistake, he’s definitely not as screwed up as they are, but he’s told that he must stay for the mandatory five days for evaluation before he can be released.

To be honest as a sufferer of clinical depression myself I personally thought that all Craig needed was a stern talking-to followed by a swift kick up the ass. He is a self-indulgent privileged teenager and I found it hard to feel sympathy or empathy for him, or in fact to even like him as a character. The movie is made watchable by the performances of Emma Roberts, who plays a self-harming teenager (the reasons for her illness are never made clear) and Zach Galifianakis, who plays a depressed father who has tried to commit suicide six times (again the reasons for this are never made clear).

Ultimately this feels like a superficial look at mental illness. The patients within the ward are all one dimensional stereotypes and the story never really gets under the skin of any of the characters. Craig makes a miraculous journey of self-discovery and revelation all in the space of five days which feels both trite and a total copout on the writers’ part.

The movie was written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the duo behind the brilliant Half Nelson starring Ryan Gosling. This was a very disappointing follow-up. It’s not kind of a funny story, it’s just kind of mediocre.

The Pogues in NYC

Last week I had the pleasure of seeing The Pogues play in Terminal 5, an amazing venue in New York, on Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday was Paddy’s Day and the crowd was well up for it! Lots of green garments in the audience, lots of pogoing and lots of pint drinking. The band were in excellent form, especially considering these were the last dates of a three week American tour, and they played brilliantly. It was an experience I won’t forget for a long time.

The whole band onstage

My step-dad Terry Woods on Mandolin and James Fearnley on Accordion

The Audience in Blue

The Audience in Red

Pogues and the very packed very green first rows of a sold out gig

I’ll leave you with the video for one of my favourite Pogues songs:

People Are Strange

I reckon I would do a ton more vintage shopping if the selection were anything like it is in New York. We were staying on Rivington Street and even just in the immediate area, Ludlow St. in particular, the vintage shopping was phenomenal. A bewildering range of stuff for sale and all very good quality. I bought a vintage rabbit and fox fur gilet (which I’ll debut on the blog at some stage soon) and a black satin bowtie, something I had been looking for for ages, but was tempted by a lot more!

Given the limited and often tatty selection of vintage in Ireland it’s great that there are more quality vintage and consignment stores springing up online. People are Strange is one of these. The shop is run by Sade in New York and Louise in Paris and each girl scours their city for the best vintage bargains which they then sell on the site and in their showrooms. They have some amazing bargains such as:

Unworn YSL Tribtoos (on site for €380, retail for €575)

Prada Banana Heels (€150 on site)

Louis Vuitton Trench (€250 on site, retailed at €1750)

Christian Louboutin Sandals (on site for €380, retailed at €885)

Chloe Wool and Cashmere Coat (on site for €250, retailed for €1780)