In this episode, Dara is looking at life stories. Prompted by a project of his own that he is working on, he acknowledges the difficulties he finds himself facing before discussing several different lives that he has just consumed in artistic form.
Before he gets into that, he spares a happy thought for the Oscar success of Cillian Murphy, rewarded for his turn as Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s eponymous film, and recalls seeing the actor in a stunning stage production over 25 years ago. For the benefit of non-Irish listeners, he attempts to break down the unique character and confidence of Cork people.
The character studies that Dara looks at in some detail are mostly biopics, but there is also one documentary and a theatre piece. He shares his opinion about how successful or not he found them, and gives his reasons why. The people in question are as follows:
Leonard Bernstein in Bradley Cooper’s Maestro
Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann’s Ferrari
Danny O’Mahony in Brokentalkers’ Bellow
Jon Batiste in the documentary American Symphony
Rudolf Hoss in Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest
Five very different approaches to capturing a life or a life’s work, or simply a key moment in a life. All very definite and considered, each with its own particular flavour. No spoilers, so feel free to listen if you haven’t seen the works in question.
Also, Dara’s favourite ‘brother moment’ from a movie…