A cold February evening in Dundee.

This being a Monday, the streets were very quiet.

We headed to Innis & Gunn Beer Kitchen for something to eat before tonight’s film, the much hyped ‘The Post’.

When we got to the Beer Kitchen there weren’t many others in but as we were eating there was a steady influx of customers.

The atmosphere was lively and contented.

Industrial chic décor and friendly attentive service added to the venue’s appeal.

The food was very good, especially the starters of Korean fried cauliflower and devilled mushrooms. Both starters had a spicy kick to them, with the Innis & Gunn lager a perfect accompaniment.

After the lager I moved onto a bottle of Bellfield Lawless Village IPA, a gluten-free offering that was delicious.

Very well fed, we trundled the hundred yards or so from the Beer Kitchen to Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) for the 8.30 pm showing of ‘The Post’.

‘The Post’ was showing in Screen 1, an excellent auditorium with comfortable seats and plenty leg room.

DCA is a gem of a place, a vibrant cultural hub where the film programming is always interesting. Their restaurant is great, too.

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks are the stars of ‘The Post’. Both of them are on top form in this gripping account of the struggle between the Nixon administration and the Washington Post newspaper.

The film is beautifully shot. The colours are understated and subdued, ensuring the emphasis is on the story rather than on garish visual tricks.

There is a great rapport between Streep and Hanks; in the scenes they share, the dialogue swirls seemingly effortlessly, two very different characters who understand each other perfectly.

After the film we walked back along Perth Road.

The fine old mansions lining the north side of the road loomed up bulkily in the dark.

As it got towards midnight, the temperature dropped to zero.

Snow was on the way.

Related Post: ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’, Picturehouse Central, London

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Bloomsbury Farmers’ Market was in full flow when we got there around 1pm.

A throng of people were enjoying the mid-May sunshine and blue skies, wandering around amongst the array of tempting stalls set up in Torrington Square.

University of London’s stunning art deco Senate House looms over the market.

The setting is perfect for a farmers’ market, and the quality of the food lives up to the fine surroundings.

We kicked off with a venison burger from South Downs Venison and Game, following that with seafood paella from the Handpicked Shellfish Company Ltd.

To finish off we had a slice of spinach and pomegranate sponge cake and a piece of cheesecake.

All the food was delicious, and not particularly expensive.

If I was a student at the university next to this farmers’ market I would be here every Thursday for my lunch.

It would have been good to linger longer in the sunshine amongst the happy crowd at the market, but film time was approaching so we headed off to Picturehouse Central to see Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg in Florence Foster Jenkins.

I wasn’t going to bother seeing this film until I spotted Simon Helberg’s face on the poster a few days ago.

He lights up every scene he appears in as Howard in The Big Bang Theory, so I was looking forward to seeing how he transitioned to the big screen.

‘Florence Foster Jenkins’ is captivating and elegant.

Poignant, perfectly cast and very funny, it’s got a charm that draws you in from the first minute to the last.

Not previously being a big fan of Meryl Streep I had modest expectations of her performance, but she is terrific as the title character.

Hugh Grant is also wonderful in this film, bringing real emotional depth to his character.

Ayone who considers Hugh Grant to be merely a foppish light-comedy figure is seriously underestimating him.

Simon Helberg completes the trio of main characters with an assured performance that augurs well for his future in film once The Big Bang Theory has run its course.

One of the most touching scenes in ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’ is a subtle moment between Florence (Streep) and Cosmé (Helberg), in Cosmé’s apartment where Florence has shown up unexpectedly. Florence is seated at the piano, Cosmé standing next to her.

She starts playing Chopin’s Prelude in E Minor, just using her right hand.

Cosmé then joins her, playing with his left hand.

The camera smoothly draws back and frames this unlikely pair in a moment of tenderness that is quite exquisite.

Related Post: ‘Surviving Life’, Nova Cinema Brussels

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