Reading is fundamental |
One of my greatest pleasures is going on vacation and finding a local bookstore; hunting down something appropriate to read, maybe from the store's curated "local reads" section. You can learn a lot of about a place via its bookstores--or lack thereof.
Isabel Coixet's The Bookshop, based on the novel by Penelope Fitzgerald, centers on just such a bookshop in the small English seaside town of Hardborough, Suffolk, in 1959. Florence Green (Emily Mortimer) is a war widow who decides to buy an old house that has been sitting empty in the town for years, to live in and open a bookshop, partly in tribute to her husband, who shared her intense love of reading.
It's a simple enough dream, but the small town has its objections, particularly from wealthy matriarch Violet Gamart (Patrica Clarkson), who, once that old house is no longer available, decides is the perfect place for a town "art center."
Florence's most devoted customer turns out to be the town's aging recluse, Mr. Brundish (Bill Nighy) who spends most of his days sitting in his drafty mansion, reading "biographies about good people, and novels about nasty people." He detests most of the town, but takes a liking to Florence, especially after she introduces him to the works of Ray Bradbury, as well as a controversial new novel called Lolita.
Mortimer's Florence appears mousy and bookish, but she's no wallflower, fighting, as best she can, for what she wants. Nighy's Mr. Brandish is an odd bird, intense and averse to eye contact, but also blunt. Their scenes together vibrate with what goes unsaid.
The Bookshop is classically British, from its salty seaside characters, to its fireplaces and knit shawls, and especially to how the central conflict between Florence and Violet simmers under the surface, behind polite words and smiles. The two only meet face-to-face once, so their feud is inflamed through the aid of lawyers, bankers, and neighbors.
While that conflict provides the film's drama, the film's small joys come in seeing Florence open that shop, and, with after-school help from young neighbor Christine (Honor Kneafsey), stocking the shelves with classics and new discoveries, relishing the smells of old books and the colorful covers of new releases.
I recently watched four seasons of The Great British Baking Show in the course of two weeks, and at first was perplexed by my addiction to it, since I don't like cooking shows, and am in no way an Anglophile. But then I realized I was hooked because it was so soothing, with its peaceful, English countryside setting, band of Brits who support each other while also competing, and occasional shots of young lambs eating ivy.
The Bookshop broke that fantasy, reminding me there's no such thing as a country filled with nothing but nice people doing nice things for each other, and that vengeful bitterness can simmer under the most sincere of smiles.
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