go to the cinema alone

one film i want to see is 500 days of summer and if no one wants to see it with me by this time next week ill just go by myself, the movie reminds me of eternal sunshine for the spotless mind.

I want to do this and might do it tomorrow with Inglourious Basterds. I am fed up of missing out on all the movies I love because no one else wants to see them.

I did this last week, I knew I was going to be in London for other reasons and thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to see a film that I liked before it dropped out of the cinema. I decided to see it at a cinema I had been to before so I was familiar with it and decided to see it early on in the day; before I got on with the other things I was doing later on. The reason for seeing it in London was due to the fact that the film was an indie and had a limited release, this had advantages which I will come to later.

It was scary at first, but after a while I got into the film and stopped noticing everyone else. Also, I had seen the film before and knew when to leave, avoiding the mass exit during the final credits.

Some advice:

- Go and see an early viewing, obviously this is when the cinema is less packed and there are more single viewers/people who are more interested in the film = less attention on you.
- Pick a cinema you are familiar with but where you don’t think you’ll bump into people you know, like a colleague – awkward! I don’t live in London, so it was good to stroll into a cinema knowing I wouldn’t have to make small talk with an old friend I hadn’t seen in five years: “Sooo, why are you you here on your own?” (you get the point)
- Go and see an indie or something a little more under the radar, this will definately equal a more interesting movie experience.
- I found it fun and would do it again, possibly at the same cinema or an independent. If there really a is film you want to see on the big screen, you shouldn’t have to depend on others so that you can see it, seriously, life is way to short for that.

It fits in with a few of my other 43Things, like ‘Be more independent’. I will make a concious effort to do this sometime soon. I think i’ll probably enjoy it more too, without someone asking:

‘Could you pass the popcorn?’
‘Wow! Did you see that?’
‘What did s/he just say?’
‘Whos s/he again?’
‘I dont get it? This is boring!’
‘We should have seen the other movie.’

Lmao, you all know what im talking about!

It seems to me like the strangest part was picking a seat; I’m so used to choosing seats with others or holding them for someone. I was in the center of a row near the back of a mostly deserted room, and i ended up stretching across several seats and sleeping for a bit (I know, terrible, but i was exhausted). When i woke up, I was still alone.

But I’m just always going to the cinema with someone else, and basically I’m just afraid of what other people think. If I go alone, I have the impression that people will think I have no friends or something.