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January 17, 2005

strange interlude

I went to the movies this afternoon to see Closer; I had the day off and the kids were doing something that for a change did not require any participation on my part. Can I just say that I love, love, love going to the movies in the middle of the day, especially by myself. It feels illicit and sneaky, which I also love.

My first husband and I used to go to the movies all the time--get into an altered state of consciousness and go to independent or off-the-wall films, like the double feature of Freaks and Eraserhead we saw one rainy Saturday; or we'd go to the Lincoln in New Haven or to a film festival. Cheap fun about a million years ago, and we were serious about it. When Kubrick's The Shining came out, we went into New York City to see it on the day it opened.

When we got to the theater the line for the movie stretched around the block a couple of times. We waited for hours in the warm May evening with all the other Kubrick fans, and I remember perfectly how it felt once we got into the theater: cool, dim, almost like church, the atmosphere hushed and reverential as if the director was present, and the audience was silent.

I don't really go to the movies much any more. I can't seem to find the time, they're expensive, and frankly, audiences suck these days. I can't figure out why most people who go to the movies even bother since obviously they think they are much more interesting than anything happening on screen.

Today a woman in back of me was talking on her cell phone during the movie. "Uh, huh, uh huh--okay, thank you!" Then came a lengthy discussion with her film-going companion, presumably regarding the conversation she'd just been holding as counterpoint to the real reason we were all sitting in a darkened theater.

I wanted to get up and smack her. I finally couldn't stand it and said "shhhhhhh," and I hate shushers but jeez. She ignored me, but she left a few minutes later and that was fine, and for what was left of the movie the audience behaved.

When I got home it was late afternoon and the sun was going down. It was 23 degrees outside, and windy, but the house was quiet and warm, Spike and Jack met me at the door, the kids were still gone. I had a glass of wine while I watched the light change on the lake and thought about Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Jude Law, adultery, people in theaters who talk on cell phones. It was nice to be alone.

Posted by JudyLa at 06:00 AM | Comments (0)