There’s something about watching a movie in a theater — one that is full of people over the age of 70. This is the crowd that usually comes out for the Wednesday matinees for the W. Curtis Montz Film Series at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre. With the early show costing only $3 at a nice theater with air conditioning to relax, it’s the place to be to watch films that most likely don’t make it to Movies 14 in the downtown or Cinemark 20 and XD in Moosic. There is also a Wednesday night showing at the low price of $5. But this post is about the matinees.
I like to watch movies with a small crowd because it’s fun to see how people react to scenes and lines. Do they see the humor in that phrase like I do? Do they get that clever reference? With an older audience you are more likely to have audience members who are less likely to check their cellphones and update their Facebook status. Their conversations with their companions are about the movie and not idle gossip. I sometimes like to eavesdrop because they may have caught something in the movie that I missed. And unlike many younger audiences, when they exit the cinema, older viewers don’t spoil the movie as the next ticketholders wait for their screening.
I was reminded of this when I was the critically acclaimed film, “The Souvenir,” on Wednesday. I had looked forward to watching the British drama with Honor Swinton Byrne and her mother
Tilda Swinton since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. I even had the date marked on my office calendar for weeks. The Montz Film Series does a great job at bringing small movies to Wilkes-Barre, even if it’s only for a day. And the price can’t be beat. I also remembered the other times I went to see a movie in the series and how engaging the older audience was.
The first was in 2010 for the French prison film, “A Prophet,” with Tahar Rahim in a star-turning role as an Arab inmate trying to survive a six-year sentence. The first sign of trouble was the announcement to the audience that it was a foreign language film, something the older viewers were not aware. The second was the running time; it clocked in at two hours and 35 minutes. It was much longer than what many had hoped for. At the end, they slowly got out of their seats and headed for the exits, looking as though they had served a prison term themselves. As for me, I loved the gritty film and discovering Rahim’s talent as an actor.
I returned in 2011 when “Tiny Furniture” debuted in the series. In the film directed and written by Lena Dunham, a recent college graduate returns home to New York City with little direction and ambition. The title is from the artwork that her artist mother, played by Dunham’s real-life mom Laurie Simmons. This movie was out more than a year before Dunham premiered her comedy series “Girls” on HBO, so she wasn’t well known at the time. The matinee audience was still older but smaller this time, and they were also more brutally honest. In just 98 minutes, the film was too long for some viewers. There was one senior woman who shouted to her friend at that “Tiny Furniture” was “the worst movie I have ever seen.” I didn’t share her sentiment, but I would later loathe anything associated with Dunham after that. Maybe this woman had great foresight.
That leads me back to Wednesday and “The Souvenir.” I walked into the theater about five minutes late and the film had already started. As I searched in the dark for a seat, I could see all the gray-haired viewers paying attention to the screen. The screen was captioned, although it wasn’t a foreign language film. I was among my people. As the minutes ticked by, the Kirby critics became restless and less silent. Their discontent was filling the air.
“That guy is a jerk,” a viewer said, describing Tom Burke’s character of Anthony, the love interest who is very much a smoocher and a liar.
Two older ladies were quite chatty throughout the film, but I didn’t dare to shush them. They were talking about the movie, after all. My opinion of “The Souvenir” was much different than theirs. When they saw tiredness, I saw strength. I enjoyed the performances and the storytelling that was told through a slow burn. This did not please these ladies. Once the credits rolled and the house lights were turned on, I sought out the two friends and wanted to hear more about what they thought about the movie. There were not many kind words, particularly for Anthony. I said, “I never wanted to kill a character so much.” That earned a few chuckles.
Another woman chimed in and asked me, “Did you understand any of it?” I told her, “Unfortunately, I painfully did.” It wasn’t as the slight; the subject matter is very heavy and seeing it on the screen was quite emotional. The same woman went on to say, “I asked the box office if this was even worth $3,” signaling that it wasn’t. That brutal honesty is something nowadays is saved for a clever tweet or a Facebook post. Instead, an instant camaraderie is formed for a few minutes inside a theater.
Come see the early show; you never know what the Kirby critics will say next.
