Wednesday 9 August 2006

On Film

London Fields # 29
First published Inpress, Melbourne on 9 August 2006
NB: Each column has a name, but these do not appear in print; printed versions may differ slightly to those displayed here

Living in a city this big can be an isolating experience. It’s hard to get to know people, and friends may live literally hours away. I’ve been stuck at home with flu contemplating this, and other conundrums of capital living.

This has also given me a lot of time to vegetate in front of the television. But even with hundreds of subscription TV channels, it can still be hard to find something to watch. For some reason I’ve found myself watching a film called Perfect Strangers on more than one occasion. Made a couple of years back, it tells the story of two advertising executives, who swap cities (New York and London), lives and jobs. So while Brit Anna Friel is swept up in the big apple, Rob Lowe takes over her cottage and job in London.

Naturally the London portrayed in the film bears no resemblance to the real thing. There’s no traffic, you can park your car anywhere, your home is simple and beautiful [but would cost a bomb in reality], and clubs are spacious and smoke-free. OK, so this is a romantic comedy, a romance where the pair discovers each other without actually meeting, but in their world they have to come up with a campaign to get American tourists back to London. Their brainstorm is to sweep away the whole notion of history and beefeaters to portray it as a vibrant city of lovers, all set to a jazz score. Of course, it’s a great success.

For no explicable reason, BBC Four had a mini Australian season last week. Featured was a documentary about the relationship between Australia and the UK called Oz And Them. Many of those talking heads were so expatriate, that it felt strange them giving an ‘Australian’ viewpoint – step forward Germaine Greer, Clive James, and very punny (and unfunny) Kathy Lette. Also screened was The Adventures of Barry McKenzie; although a satire, there was probably once some truth in the grimy [and now virtually non-existent] London it portrayed.

Yet the city is constantly changing. It used to be almost be a joke that London needed Aussies as someone had to work behind the bars. But these days, following the EU expansion of May 2004, that role is more likely to be taken by someone from Eastern Europe. In fact, there’s been a 145% increase in National Insurance registrations from these new countries [up by 160 000], so now there are more Polish than Irish workers in the UK.

So what is a true picture of London is 2006?
Is it the booze culture that has seen alcohol-related deaths double in the past thirteen years?
Is it the air quality [or lack of it] that has given the English capital the dubious distinction of having the highest death rate in Europe for respiratory disease?
Is it the thought that the live video capture on screens on the buses, showing the images being captured on CCTV, may be a deterrent just in case you were thinking of trying something?
A city that couldn’t cope with the power drain during the heatwave, resulting in blackouts in central London?
A world marketplace as evidenced by the families in the supermarket car parks selling bootleg DVDs?

Well, all of them in a way. We can be happy that the numbers of burglaries have dropped, even if this may bear direst correlation to the rise in muggings, which provide easier pickings, now that we have our mobiles and mp3 players…

Yes, the city will still continue to draw folks from everywhere, whether as detritus going down a drain, moths to a candle, or just the attraction to the speed of it all. It is addictive, even if it can be a very lonely place to be. And it’s this constant change that makes the experience rewarding.

Then again, why would you expect a realistic view of a city on film? And what is a better reflection? The joyous working class singing and dancing Who Will Buy? in Carol Reed’s Oliver!? The underbelly shown in Stephen Poliakoff’s Hidden City? The stylised view presented by Patrick Keiller’s London? Or the disappearing world of Hackney Wick as seen in Finisterre? Personally, the only time I’ve seen a London I recognised on film was in Michael Winterbottom’s Wonderland.

Anyway, that’s enough time spent inside in front of a screen. Time to go out and see some more.



© James McGalliard 2007