One of the things I’ve missed most of all is the cinema. There’s something so perfect about sitting in the dark for two hours (though ideally 90 minutes), turning your phone off and immersing yourself in giant images coming at you relentlessly. We all know why we love the cinema, so I probably didn’t need to list the specifics of it for you, but anyway, this week I visited the cinema for the first time in months. I went with one of my best friends, I drove us there and we almost ended up in the Blackwall Tunnel, underneath the River Thames, but narrowly avoided that (and an argument about my inability to pay attention to directions), finally got inside and sat down to watch the “highly anticipated” Tenet.
It is a very weird thing, wearing a mask for two hours in the dark. Luckily I’m a cinema purist and don’t ever eat or drink while I’m in there. And given that Tenet is directed by Christopher Nolan, it felt like something of a homage to supervillain Bane from The Dark Knight Rises, his 2012 DC Comics-inspired blockbuster. I’ll be honest, the novelty of going back to the cinema was definitely more exciting than the film itself, which was … fine. If I’d got too amped wearing a mask I might have passed out, so it’s a good thing to be taking baby steps into this new normal.