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jmatkinson1 's review for:
Mr Wilder & Me
by Jonathan Coe
For young Calista a chance meeting during a tour of the US in the 1970s leads to a friendship that changes her life. Calista is invited to dinner by a travelling companion and meets Hollywood legend Billy Wilder. Ignorant at first, she is hired to work on Wilder's comeback film, Fedora, financed by German money. This is difficult for Wilder as it brings back memories of escape from the Nazis and his desperate search for his family. The naive Calista and the world-weary Wilder both reach conclusions about their lives.
I loved this short and sharp novel. The only bits that grated were the modern-day parts which never really evolved but the rest is sublime. A fading Hollywood star director is frustrated by the way cinema has evolved into crowd-pleasing violence, the bit about Sharks In Venice is hilarious. An innocent abroad finally realises her vocation even as her heart is broken. the two bond over brie. Its Coe at his finest, the sly humour, the pathos etc.
I loved this short and sharp novel. The only bits that grated were the modern-day parts which never really evolved but the rest is sublime. A fading Hollywood star director is frustrated by the way cinema has evolved into crowd-pleasing violence, the bit about Sharks In Venice is hilarious. An innocent abroad finally realises her vocation even as her heart is broken. the two bond over brie. Its Coe at his finest, the sly humour, the pathos etc.