Review by Michael Epp:

The October screening of the Bowen Island Film Society is the comedy Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story. Directed by Michael Winterbottom, who has something of a reputation as an enfant terrible in British film circles as a result of the eclecticism of his various projects, the movie is nominally based on the 18th century novel by Laurence Sterne. ‘He’s about to play the role of his life’ says the byline on the DVD cover, and this really is the point of departure for this project, as the original Tristram Shandy, which in some quarters is called the first post-modern novel [200 years before the concept post-modern had been invented], with its puzzling structure and overriding self-consciousness, is transposed onto a present-day movie set; the point appearing to be that egomania and insecurity are nothing new where artists are concerned.

So far so good. At times the film, in its self-reflectivity and satirization of the mechanics of moviemaking, is reminiscent of such films as Fellini’s 8 ½, with the central character struggling to hold himself and his project together on the hothouse world of a movie set through the continual interference of everyone present. Here, the demands placed on the leading actor (Steve Coogan playing ‘Steve Coogan,’ in addition to Tristram Shandy and Shandy’s father Walter) by publicists, agents, gossip columnists, and girlfriends, not to mention the director and scriptwriters, threaten to unhinge him. Also reminiscent of 8 ½ is the gradual build-up of the movie’s pace, culminating in a surreal, circus-like night-time sequence in which the chaos on the film set mirrors back to the lead character, his internal turmoil just prior to the film’s denouement, when all the distractions fall away in the film’s comic resolution. In addition to leading actors Coogan and Rob Brydon, many of Britain’s finest current crop of actors are present here, including Shirley Henderson, best known as Moaning Myrtle in the Potter films [BIFS aficionados will also remember her as the star of last season’s Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself], and Stephen Fry, himself no longer an arriviste and looking decidedly middle-aged, in two roles, first as a scholar commenting on the film within the film, and second as an 18th-century savant who declaims the last words of the film [methinks I smell a producer saving the title line for himself here]. Also look for Gillian Anderson [X-Files’ agent Scully] as the American ‘big name’ brought in to ensure the project’s success.

Tristram Shandy screens on Saturday, October 28, 2006 at 7:30 pm at Collins Hall. The running time is 91 minutes. Rated 14A [some nudity and sexual themes]. As always, facilities for the hearing impaired will be available. Bring your own pillow to improve seating comfort. Doors and concession open at 7 pm. Reserved tickets are available for film society members only by phoning 604-947-0450 and will be held until 7:15 pm. Ten percent of all door admissions are donated to the Bowen Island Community Hall and Arts Centre fund. For further information, Bowen Island Film Society membership forms are available at the Ruddy Potato, VONIGO and the Office at Artisan Square.