A personal reflection on the closing of a beloved art house cinema, Hillcrest Cinemas, and the broader decline of in-person moviegoing.
Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas closing hit me while I was on holiday break, and I confess, I simply did not have the heart to deal with it. But the whispered rumors from mid-December are now cold, hard facts: Jan. 5 will be your last chance to see a movie on the screens of Hillcrest Cinemas . I have so many wonderful memories of films and experiences there. The first memory that jumps to mind is attending a press screening for 'Reservoir Dogs.
' I was pregnant, and then-manager Steve Russell took me aside with great concern and said that he had heard the film was especially violent, prompting visceral reactions in people. He feared it might cause me to go into early labor or irreparably harm the fetus. I survived the screening, and after my son was born, I would duck into the projection booth with my infant so he wouldn't annoy fellow critics Duncan Shepherd and David Elliott. I specifically remember watching Mike Leigh's 'Naked' from the booth. My son does have a penchant for violent action films, but I don't think I can blame that on the Hillcrest Cinemas.As someone who lives and breathes movies, the closing of each cinema deeply saddens me — especially because these particular cinemas were not just places to passively watch movies but rather cinema churches where I could join a community of filmgoers to worship at the altar of the holy movie screen. Afterward, we could congregate to discuss our opinions or what the film meant. No matter how much we disagreed, we all shared the same faith. But even faithful cinephiles are getting out of the habit of worshipping in-person. A friend posted on Facebook about Hillcrest Cinemas closing and wrote, 'I used to go to this theater weekly!!' The key phrase is 'used to.' More and more people are abandoning the ritual of going out to the movies on weekends. If die-hard cinephiles are staying home to stream movies or enjoy a new 4K restoration disc in their home theater, then art houses will continue to clos
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