The Way I See It
The shipyard painter, political activist and razor-sharp cartoonist Bob Starrett has just written a new book The Way I See It on his eventful life and times. Below we reprint one of his stories and review an essential read
La Boheme
ENO's production of La Boheme is a triumph,
Ruby Sparks (15)
Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Thursday 11 October 2012
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The saying "be careful what you wish for" is at the core of this fanciful feature about a writer who inadvertently brings the woman of his dreams to life and lives to regret it.
Suffering from severe writer's block, literary sensation Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano) becomes obsessed with a girl he has been dreaming about called Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan).
He then finds he can't stop writing about her until one day she simply materialises in his living room, claiming to be his girlfriend. Soon he realises he can make her do whatever he wants, thanks to his typewriter, providing a new twist to the typical rom-com fare.
The comedy sparks as Calvin ascertains whether Ruby is real or not and then introduces her to his brother (Chris Messina), who immediately sees the potential in Calvin's ability to transform her.
But when Calvin starts tinkering with her to stop her leaving him the film takes a dark turn as the moral of the story - don't attempt to change your dream man or woman - emerges.
Real-life couple Dano and Kazan are wonderful to watch while Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas add colour as Calvin's hippie mother and her lover.
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