The Song of Lunch

2010-10-09

Just watched The Song of Lunch on BBC iPlayer. Catch it before it disappears. An excellent little mini-film, starring the classic and highly-talented Alan Rickman and the beautiful Emma Thompson, it is based on a poem by Christopher Reid. It’s almost entirely sensuous: based around the sights, the sounds, and the baser senses of revisiting a former lover. I really enjoyed it, and it didn’t bore me for any of its 45 short minutes. I related to many of Alan Rickman’s observations about the little nuances of visiting a restaurant, being a very frequent visitor myself, from the silly ritual of wine to the waiter-watching. A few laugh-out-loud moments in the script combine with the many emotional twangs it evokes to make for a powerful drama.

Comments

Just caught it on ABC2 (Australian Bradcasting Commission TV) - GREAT Mini Movie! Alan Rickman, the jaded, love-forlorn, lonely former lover pines over lost lover, Emma Thompson, who's fulfilled her life - married (happily? I wonder), 2 sons ('who eat food like dogs'), and a domestic life in Paris. Rickman's aspirations become befuddled by 2 bottles of Chianti, and opportunities lost through self-indulgent rooftop napping; Emma Thompsons's patience and memories not quite so wistful as Rickman's. Thompson shines, beautiful and witty. Rickman is the narrator and lost, empty soul. Catch it; 45 minutes of cuttingly incisive, realistic divergent memories of lost love. The twist at the end was SUPERB!!

— Mark Winters 2011-08-28 08:11

I too enjoyed 'The Song of Lunch' (just finally finished watching it on a download off iplayer. Would like now to get hold of the poem and read it without the visuals.

— Mary Birch 2010-10-31 13:28

I loved this. Not a big poetry fan, I probably wouldn't have watched it if I had known in advance that it was based on a poem. In fact, my heart did sink a bit in the first few minutes when I realised that it was. But I really enjoyed it. The performances were very affecting, particularly Alan Rickman's (no offence intended to Emma Thompson, who was excellent, but the whole piece was really about the male character). I hope it turns up on TV again (I can't receive BBC iPlayer, or I'd watch it again, definitely).

— Eeden 2010-10-12 19:34