Last night I went to see Kurosawa's "The Bad Sleep Well" at Film Forum. Despite the packed house, the crowd was rapt. The story follows someone taking extraordinary lengths for revenge, flipping back and forth like Shakespeare. Just as the climax neared, a hipster couple got up and left. They were sitting in the front row--as late arrivals, they clearly weren't diehard fans. But still, it was a strange point to leave. We'd just heard the hero's harrowing backstory, and seen his friend in anguish. The story was about to pay off. The male in the leaving couple (beard, red hoody) made a big show of cupping his mouth several times to mime yawning. Fine, this filmmaker is not for you. But do you not see the sold-out show behind you, that's been hanging on every word for two and a half hours? What are you advertising by showing off your boredom? It can't be that you want us to know that you don't understand, or don't relate to, what the film is portraying. More likely you want to convey that you are superior to this material, and we are all suckers for being so drawn in by it.
This morning at the office the receptionist gave me this bag for the mail:
Maybe someone at PayHalf is a big "The Bad Sleep Well" fan.
