12 November - Throats & Slashing

I finally make it to a movie. How come this is so difficult for me? When do people go? I guess they mostly go at the w/end and I never feel that way. And of the remaining 5 days… as there’s always something to do after work and I also need the odd not doing anything at all night, the movies lose out. Must be the only person in London who’s not gone to see Atonement for example. But I did make it to Eastern Promise (having missed History of Violence though) and had asked for specific times where violence occurs so I could look away then. Don’t mind most things but throat cutting is a personal scary one. I can’t even say the words/think about it before feeling one of my hands go up to my throat to shield it. Had I been born a man back in the days when you had to go to the barber instead of doing it yourself at home, well, I’d have sported a beard. No way am I ever going to sit in that chair and just wait for any passing frenzied moment of madness to happen and have my head severed. In that instance I must have a lot in common with all those bearded men in the Muslim and Hindu worlds…

Mhhh. So yes, my source said first throat cutting would be 5 minutes in, but I reckon it was even less, more like 2 minutes. But I was prepared. She did however not mention the second one in the cemetery which I think has the camera lingering on it a little longer. And for good measure I avoided also seeing one of the vors (Russian mafia speak for thief) stabbed through the eye during the naked fight in the baths (Viggo, I prefer you fully clad in Aragorn mode btw) though that is somewhat more comical and not so scary.

But I have to wonder why I have a mild obsession with scarves. Can’t resist them, buy loads, in the past week alone I have acquired 5 (3 absolute bargains in cashmere) and several others I will foist upon the boy and friends ‘Here, I got you a scarf). Why have I fear of anything happening to throat but not of vampires biting my neck for example? Well, for a start it would be a smaller river of blood that gushes out… But in Freudian speak, what does the throat stand for? I can’t even say I’d be scared of not being able to speak again, given that I can type as fast as I talk and so could still bore you to tears with my ‘fluff’. Maybe it’s because the throat is so easy to cut and it would be instant death, no chance of any fixing it.

On another note one of the film producers (well bless she wasn’t directly involved in the film itself) didn’t recognise old Cronenberg himself at a small party in someone’s house recently when he was here for the premiere. And neither did she see Tony Blair sitting on the sofa at the same party (apparently he goes out a lot now he’s not stressed by the war in Iraq and some such). And yet they’re both pretty striking looking people.