West End Film Club- The Great Gatsby Review
With my life-long love affair with cinema I was delighted to attend the West End Film Club’s showing of the Great Gatsby at Century Club. Intimate screenings of films in the comfort of a stylish bar are one of my favourite London activities. This venue did not disappoint.
The club’s exterior is the most subtle thing on Shaftesbury Avenue and you could easily miss it. This is part of the charm of the club as it is not a tourist trap and is like a hidden gem. Escaping the chaos of the street to enter a classy club that most passersby don’t even know exists made me feel like I was entering a private liquor joint in prohibition Chicago.
A nice touch was to be personally greeted by every bar and waiting staff I passed. As a man from the countryside of Yorkshire I have sadly had to get used to the impersonal and rushed customer service of London. This was a welcome relief and reminded me how it should be done.
The decoration of the cinema room was equally impressive with a shiny, metallic ceiling, luxurious two-seater sofas and ambient mood lighting. The room was leisurely spaced and it was a joy not to have to intermittently stand as someone squeezed passed apologetically to go to the toilet. Everyone also seemed to have dressed up to match the venue. I settled into my comfortable leather chair with a bottle of Birra Moretti and I quickly forgot all about my arguments with the HR Manager at work earlier.
The Great Gatsby wasn’t a film that particularly interested me when it came out and I was worried that it would be all style and no substance. Thankfully this wasn’t the case and it was involving and gripping from the start. This was largely due to the excellent performance of Leonardo Di Caprio as the legendary, party throwing Gatsby. He really excelled as his character’s carefully constructed image and back-story started to unravel. What is essentially a love triangle moved more into the realms of Greek tragedy as it looked like no one would get what they wanted.
There is strong support from Carey Mulligan and Joel Egerton and the film looks even more fantastic and lavish than the venue I was watching it in. The eclectic soundtrack, partly from Jay-Z, is rousing and represents the transitional and diverse nature of New York in this era.
After the film I had another beer in the private roof bar that overlooked the city. I took in the excellent views of the London streets from the roof garden before quickly retreating back into the warm. I would definitely recommend this venue and joining up to The West End Film Club.
Their next screening is of chilling horror film The Conjuring on Tuesday 29th October. Buy tickets for just £5.50 at http://www.wegottickets.com/event/244482
http://www.westendfilmclub.com
Written by Martin Stocks
Follow Martin on Twitter @Stocks1986 or https://twitter.com/Stocks1986
