Hull Independent Cinema: Late Fame

Late Fame is coming to Reel Cinema on Saturday 7 November as part of the Hull Independent Cinema cycle. It's the second feature from Kent Jones, who made his debut with Diane, and it comes from a script by Oscar nominee Samy Burch, who wrote May December. The film is an adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's 1895 novella, turned into a story about Ed, a blue-collar New York postal worker and former published poet who gets drawn into an emerging literary salon by a young poet named Meyers. Much of the film follows Ed as he's torn between that world and his old life with his postal colleagues.

It's a New York story, and the way it's described—a wistful but unromantic look at a lost idea of downtown New York—gives you a good sense of the mood. It's not a glossy version of the city; it's more about the friction between the life Ed has and the one he used to know. The film was nominated for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival, and the critics have been particularly focused on Willem Dafoe, who plays Ed. The consensus is that his performance is so natural it barely looks like acting at all, and the Wall Street Journal called the film a wonderful little poem.

Dafoe shares the screen with Greta Lee, and together they carry the two worlds Ed is caught between. The whole thing is rated 15, and the screening runs 96 minutes, which includes introductions and up to three trailers before the film starts. It's a Saturday afternoon slot, so it's an easy one to fit in without having to clear your whole day.

Doors open at 1:45pm, and the screening starts at 2pm at Reel Cinema Hull, St Stephens, 110 Ferensway, HU2 8LN. Tickets start from £5.