Page 8 February 21, 2019 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
“A good film is when the price of
the dinner, the theatre admission and
the babysitter were worth it.”
– Alfred Hitchcock
By Roz Templin,
El Segundo Public Library
Finally, I got around to reading this muchbeloved
and highly-circulated book published
10 years ago. Heartwarming and heartrending,
this timeless tale of the town of Spencer, Iowa
and its most famous resident is a quick but
meaningful read.
Written by the former library director at
Spencer Public Library Vicki Myron, Dewey’s
discovery in the book return by library staff
one freezing winter morning led to a 19-year
association that touched not only Spencer
residents but people worldwide.
Vicki describes lifting the 8-week-old kitten
out of the box, shivering, dirty and weak. She
and staff members wrapped him in towels
and then gave him a warm bath in the staff
room sink. They dried him with a blow dryer
used for craft time and he was transformed
into a beautiful long-haired orange tabby…
with frostbitten foot pads. Pulled from death’s
door by kind people, that kitten almost immediately
began to repay his saviors with
affection and attention.
Going through the proper City channels,
Dewey became a “purr-fect addition”
to the library. The staff began calling him
Dewey after Melville Dewey, inventor
of the Dewey Decimal library classification
system. Even after a citywide naming contest,
the name “Dewey” won easily. Soon
he had a middle and last name: Dewey
Readmore Books.
The farm crisis of the 1980s was affecting
families in Spencer and surrounding towns
and the author gives good background information.
People lost a way of life, which
resulted in bewilderment about how to go
forward without their farms that were lost
to the poor economy and automation. The
library stepped up to help with a job bank
that included reference materials, job listings
and resume assistance. And the new library
cat also did his part – within a short amount
of time, his interest in people soon began to
be reciprocated by the public. With many
real-life examples, Dewey befriended the
lonely elderly, the worried job hunters and
rambunctious children. He seemed to have
a sixth sense in identifying those persons
in particular need, jumping in those laps
instead of others. He was also entertaining
to one and all, leaping from shelf to shelf,
riding on book carts and even inventing
the “Dewey Carry” method of his personal
transport around the library.
Vicki mixes local lore with her own
personal story to give depth to what
could have been almost a cartoon-like depiction
of a town’s cat. There is so much detail
given that it is easy to picture the beauty
of the Great Plains: Fields of golden corn
against vivid blue skies. Vicki turns historian
when recounting the Fire of 1931, which resulted
in the rebuilding of downtown Spencer
in a “Prairie Deco” style. She details how
people pulled together during that hardship
and the current farming crisis, giving a full
picture of Midwest practicality and ingenuity.
Difficult times define people and Dewey
the Library Cat made visitors and patrons
feel better. He was a distraction from their
worries, but he was also more than that. He
made people believe again, according to the
librarian author.
I invite you to share in Dewey’s story and
learn about those individual instances that
turned lives around and made things better for
Iowans, as well as those admirers throughout
the United States and worldwide. You can
view video of Dewey from different media
on YouTube and there is a page dedicated to
him on the Spencer Public Library website.
Our library also has the children’s version
of the book as well as its sequel Dewey’s
Nine Lives. •
By Morgan Rojas
for www.cinemacy.com
It’s Fight Club meets The Place Beyond the
Pines in director Tim Sutton’s heavy drama,
Donnybrook. Set in the outskirts of middle
America, the film is a rough examination of
living among poverty and crime, and risking
it all for a fresh start.
Based on the novel by Frank Bill, Donnybrook
tells the story of Jarhead Earl (Jamie
Bell), a former Marine who is passionate
about bare-knuckle boxing and willing to
do whatever it takes to compete in one of
the most infamous underground fights in the
country. The $100,000 jackpot offers Jarhead
the opportunity to better his life and that of his
family, like being able to afford treatment for
his drug-addicted wife, Tammy (Dara Tiller).
With his eyes on the prize, Jarhead uproots his
family from their disheveled motorhome and
they make their way toward the Donnybrook,
but little do they realize that Tammy’s drug
dealers -- Chainsaw Angus (Frank Grillo) and
his sister Delia (Margaret Qualley) -- won’t
let them skip town that easily.
At this point, Jarhead doesn’t know that
Chainsaw is hot on his trail and in a twisted
turn of events, an additional party is added to
Chainsaw’s pursuit. Police officer James Badge
Dale, whose past is as dirty as his typical
drunken state, is on a mission to track down
Chainsaw and catch this drug-selling felon
once and for all.
As if the picture hasn’t been painted clearly
enough thus far, Donnybrook is a heavy film
with lots of blood, death and booze. Violence
runs wild in middle America and in the world
of Donnybrook, the outcome is bleak. While
this intensity can feel overly showy at times,
there was one moment that completely took
me out of the movie and, I’ll admit, it’s a silly
annoyance: I couldn’t stop staring at Chainsaw
Angus’ popped collar on his pea coat. It is
so out of place and intentionally stylized in
an otherwise disheveled and highly desperate
community. Not only that, but I highly doubt
that a man who is almost 100 percent pure
muscle, practically machine-built, with a name
like “Chainsaw” would be wearing a peacoat.
In his last feature, Dark Night, Tim Sutton
took inspiration from the horrific true events
of the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting,
where a midnight screening of The Dark
Knight turned into a midnight massacre. This
docudrama blurred the lines between reality
and fiction, due in large part to the freestyle
camerawork and effortless performances.
Donnybrook is a much larger production than
Dark Night, both in story and scope, but its
overarching themes of despair and sadness ring
similar. The moody and beautiful color palette
creates rich images of poverty and desperation,
a cinematic juxtaposition at its finest. There is
no doubt that Donnybrook is a transfixing film,
even if the subject matter is a difficult watch.
The physical endurance and emotional depth
Jamie Bell reaches throughout the course of the
film is truly remarkable. He transforms his body
into that of an amateur boxer, his muscles being a
point of awe all on their own. For as heavyhanded
as Donnybrook is, Bell is the backbone
that gives the film a glimmer of hope in the
darkest of situations. He is proof that not all of
humanity has evil intentions. Unapologetically
fierce with an abundance of striking visceral
mayhem, Donnybrook is an intense watch
that will certainly leave you feeling like you
endured nine rounds of emotional gut punches.
Donnybrook is rated R for disturbing violent
and sexual content, drug use, language
and some graphic nudity. 101 minutes. Now
playing at Laemmle Monica Film Center, Arena
Cinelounge, and VOD and digital services
Feb. 22. •
Check It Out
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by
Vicki Myron and Bret Witter.
Entertainment
Film Review
Donnybrook, Courtesy of IFC.
Morgan Rojas
Dewey: The Small-Town Library
Cat Who Touched the World
(Vicki Myron with Bret Witter)
Donnybrook Review:
Unapologetically Fierce
Roz Templin.
CLASSIFIED ADS – ONLY $40
for twenty words or less.
Email class@heraldpublications.com or call 310-322-1830 for more information.