Blah Blah Flowers

I watched Derek Jarman's version of The Tempest this afternoon, more on a whim than anything. Now, I've only seen this and Jubilee so it's not like I'm basing this on his whole body of work or anything, but if these two are representative, Jarman is a crap film-maker. He's a brilliant artist and the costumes are great but both films are a bit of a mess, dropped cues, badly blocked scenes, filming at dawn and night with cameras not up to the task? I guess Jarman was never overflowing with cash but in this case it might have been better to be aware of limitations, not ignore them and hope it all comes out in the wash because you're an auteur.

Having said that, The Tempest wasn't awful. Heathcote Williams was agreably intense as Prospero, though I found it difficult to take him seriously as he bore an unfortunate resemblance to James Brown, sometime journalist and Loaded creator rather than soul man. Toyah's seagull costume is amazing and I want it.