I went to the cinema today and it was a HUGE step.
I love the cinema. In 2020, I went 13 times despite the fact the last time I went was March 16 2020 until today. I know it has many flaws and all that but I’m a sucker for the big screen experience and the fact that you have to focus on what’s going on rather than idly pick up your phone, Switch, laptop, you get the idea.
The last time I went was to see The Invisible Man. It was March 16 2020 and there was this virus in the news. It was a bit ominous but I don’t think anyone really expected things to go that badly. Just maybe a couple of weeks of disruption. Weirdly though, I had a gut instinct. That gut instinct told me to move up my plans with my Mum to see The Invisible Man on a Wednesday or Thursday evening and to go see it on a Monday afternoon meaning I’d return to my work that Monday evening.
I’m not sure why. It just felt like a really good idea even though we never ever went to the cinema on a Monday at 2pm. On the drive there, I also declared that we should get nachos because we hadn’t had any in a very long time and - again - it seemed like a good idea. So, we did. The cinema was completely empty (arguably, eerily empty) and we enjoyed our nachos and the incredibly stressful nature of The Invisible Man (great film, seriously. Just stressful).
By that evening, the cinemas were closed for ‘a while’ because of the virus business that was sure to only last a few weeks.
When the cinemas reopened in August (was it? I’m not sure), I never felt comfortable going. I briefly considered going to see Tenet with a friend but we didn’t go in the end.
Increasingly, the cinema felt like a very distant and somewhat sad memory.
Until today.
Today, I made a plan with my Mum. Feeling like I’ve already missed out on so much, we vowed that list wouldn’t include missing No Time to Die.
The past week, we’ve been watching the other Daniel Craig Bond films in order, ready for it. Starting two weeks off work meant a bit more flexibility with timings. So, we went to a 10am screening on a Monday morning in the hope it would be relatively quiet.
Eh, kind of. No doubt much quieter than an 8pm screening, it was still pretty busy. Luckily, we booked seats well away from anyone else. No one else wore a mask and a surprising amount of people weren’t fussed about sitting right next to each other. The seats weren’t ideal for the optimal view but it was a good trade-off.
I still spent right up until Billie Eilish started singing feeling incredibly anxious. I knew I had to power through it but all I could think of was how utterly crappy my immune system is right now. I’m double vaccinated. I know those odds are in my favour but my county also has rather high numbers right now and all bets are off thanks to being on two immunosuppressants (I mean two? Really?!) Just looking at a small cut on my hand that refuses to heal can remind me of all that.
But I powered through the anxiety and, gradually, I felt ok. Never 100% comfortable but as time went by, I realised I felt more tense about what was potentially going to happen next in the film rather than my situation.
In many ways, it was the adverts and trailers that unsettled me the most. Bedding into the situation while the adverts were too familiar. There were a handful of cinema-related ads that I’d seen before the pandemic. I knew the last day I was at that particular cinema. Start of March 2020 - Dark Waters. Good film. Back in the days when Teflon seemed to be the biggest threat to my safety in 2020. I saw it with a friend one evening when he’d finished up some exams of his and I’d just had an ultrasound that would hopefully get me some answers to my ongoing health problems. It kinda did and kinda didn’t. What it did teach me was that the next few weeks were going to be stressful. Turns out that was an understatement and the health stuff was going to drag on WAY longer than that.
So yeah, the adverts made me think how different life was in March 2020 and it was a rough thing to contemplate. I’m still grieving for that past and that me. Coming to terms with it. I’ll get there but baby steps, right?
Still, the film was great. Everything I hoped for.
I reckon I can do the cinema again. Not this week and maybe not next week but when it matters again. Maybe Dune? Maybe The Matrix 4? Both trailers looked good and suitably cinematic.
I can’t see cinema trips being as regular as they were at the start of 2020. Not yet. They’re tiring and fairly risky for me. However, it’s nice to know there’s an option though for when it really matters. And when I feel ok about feeling a bit twitchy for a week or so afterwards. Just in case.
It was a decent start to my time off.