And the reason for all the bitching and moaning by writers like me is that a really good movie is still an utterly magical, transforming experience of entertainment. When it's done right, it does become a part of your life. But there are occasional blasts of hope, and for this we can thank filmmakers like Mike Leigh. It's a miracle that any theater production ever wobbles up onto its hind legs at all. And that's the way it ought to be, ladies and gentlemen.
People ought to feel difficult, excruciating things.
The little haven, the painted eggshell world of the theater has become the enormous Disney superstructure of L.A., and all the innocence has been skull-fucked away by fat, cynical guys. It gets harder every day, due to the directional undertow of Peorian paychecks, but Mike Leigh shows that though it has always been difficult, a good thing can still happen, occasionally. For more columns by Wilson, visit her column archive. All rights reserved.