A somewhat random post today. I was alerted last week to a special screening of Marty Supreme followed by a Q&A with Timothée Chalamet at the Prince Charles Cinema (aka the PCC, one of central London’s few remaining old-school indie cinemas). As I’d already seen the film I wasn’t tempted to go, but I thought wow, props to Timmy for carving out time to promote a tiny cinema who really needs the support.
Of course, I also thought, fuck me, you’re brave PCC! In order to buy a ticket, one had to be a PCC member and then try their luck booking online Glasto-style at an appointed time to secure a seat. What could possibly go wrong? Visions of hundreds of teens trying to bum rush the PCC website to the Willy Wonka-esque goods had me sending thoughts and prayers to the PCC’s IT and PR teams in advance. And yes, in the event, despite shoring up its servers, the inevitable happened. At the crucial moment, the site crashed, people were beyond devastated and the PCC’s IG comment section went into meltdown.
I’m not unsympathetic to the punters but at this point, we should expect this. Plus, the bigger point is the ambition! I love that they tried! To quote the film: Dream Big! In today’s streaming era, it’s important for cinemas to get bums on seats however they can. For the businesses’ bottom lines and for humanity – the experience of watching a highly charged film in the company of fellow enthusiasts is fun if not life affirming! The PCC is dirt cheap compared to central London’s chain cinemas, its programming is brilliantly eclectic and it’s in danger of losing its lease to luxury flats or a hotel thanks to its notoriously nefarious landlord, Asif Aziz (aka the “meanest landlord in London” according to The Times).
So, anything that helps the PCC get money in its coffers to fight its landlords while gaining awareness for the establishment itself is surely a win.
For the record, Marty Supreme is a pacy, chaotic comedy-drama (omg, the bath falling through the ceiling! The anxiety-inducing, incessantly barking dog!), yet visually it’s richly and almost hypnotically compelling. Plus, the 80s soundtrack is a genius touch for a film set in the 50s.
By coincidence I just read an interview with its cinematographer Darius Khondji – who also worked with Marty Supreme director Josh Safdie on Uncut Gems – in last summer’s Apartment magazine. It’s a fascinating and philosophical insight into the world of cinematography and the director-cinematographer relationship. This led me down an inevitable rabbit hole to discover another Darius Khondji interview, here solely about his work on Marty Supreme. If you love nerdy film-craft intel and trivia, this American Cinematographer piece has the goods. For the record, Khondji is a cinematography veteran, working with Bertolucci, Alan Parker and Wong Kar-Wai – say no more, right?
And finally, let’s bring this back to fashion. Although I don’t always rate Timothée‘s red carpet fits (ahem, matchy matchy Chrome Hearts orange leather), his all-black Sunday-afternoon-in-Soho outfit choice of archive Raf Simons MA1, combats and Hermes mini Kelly (top) hit the sweet spot for me.
P.S. you can join the Prince Charles Cinema here (for only £15 a year!).
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Timothée Chalamet; Prince Charles Cinema x 2
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here.
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