I don’t suppose many people go to see movies in search of “great
walking scenes.” Even I don’t do
that. But if a movie happens to contain
the odd great walking scene, then so much the better.
And so it is with Seven
Psychopaths, which I saw at the weekend, a movie that’s so in love with
itself it’s actually rather hard to love, but which has its climax in Joshua
Tree National Park. The director has a
casual disregard for distances and proximity (it’s that kind of movie, and I
have no complaints on that score), but any movie that has both Colin Farrell
and Christopher Walken tramping through the desert void is OK by me.
A couple of hours after I’d seen the movie I encountered a hot and
bothered young woman walking along the street, flustered, apparently lost, and
she asked me urgently which way was Hillhurst Avenue. I pointed her in the right direction.
“Is it far?” she asked.
“Yes,” said, “it’s a bit of a walk.”
I didn’t specify how far. It was probably a mile and a half, and she
didn’t look like much of a walker but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions.
“Oh my fucking LIFE!” she said, to nobody in
particular, certainly not to me, and walked on. Well, I
didn’t expect to be thanked …
