Arwen M.
Yelp
Good points:
They serve craft beer.
They carry Hammond's candy bars.
They're centrally located in Harvard Square.
They show cult, classic, foreign, art-house, and independent films that aren't seen on the big screen anywhere else in Harvard Square except for the Harvard Film Archive.
There are no bad seats in the balcony if you're short. This is also the place to be if, like me, you are typically cold.
They're close to Alden & Harlow, Algiers, Crema Café, Flat Patties, & Felipe's if you want to grab a drink, a coffee, or a bite to eat before or after the show.
Bad points:
The bathrooms are tiny, and dirtier than a dive bar's. Also, if you try to go after the show, there WILL be a very long line. You're better off skipping that beer you were thinking of having during the show.
One anecdote: at the last film I came to see here, I purchased tickets online in advance. When I showed up 15 minutes prior to the film's advertised start time, there was a long line to get in. I went to the box office to pick up my tickets, but was told it was closed and to go wait in the line. I did. There was a theatre employee coming down the line asking people for the receipts for their tickets. I told him that I had my receipt on my phone, but not printed out. He told me to go to the box office. I went back to the (now open, inexplicably) box office, picked up my tickets, and then had to get back into another, completely different long line to wait to get into the theatre.
Another anecdote: Once I came to see William Friedkin's "To Live and Die in LA" here. After the first reel, the action switched to rural China. The second reel was Zhang Yimou's "To Live". Apparently, management didn't bother to check that all of the film's reels belonged to the same movie before showing the film to a paying audience. QA, anyone?
See the attached photo, which is of a Facebook post by the Brattle about a special screening of "Get Out" to be held by the Boston Society of Film Critics, with proceeds going to the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. It will also feature a special recorded introduction by Jordan Peele & Daniel Kaluuya. Sounds great! I'd love to go! When is it? Welp, the post includes the doors, awards, and screening times, as well as ticket prices for both the reception and film for students, seniors, & members as well as ticket prices for just the film for students, seniors, and members. What's not included? The date. Who does the Brattle's publicity, and can I personally treat them to a sad trombone solo?
The above 3 anecdotes are the kind of experiences that make no sense, but will become typical in your moviegoing experience should you choose to start coming here regularly.
Any movie that you see here will begin a minimum of 15 minutes late. I once saw a BUFF (Boston Underground Film Fest) film here that started an hour and a half later than the scheduled start time. It was because they were STILL DOWNLOADING THE FILM. I would say that it was BUFF management that was responsible, except that all films shown here start consistently late. I would love to chalk this up to holding for house, but given everything else that I've experienced here, I'm not so inclined to go with the benefit of the doubt any more.
Before your film starts, you will be treated to a rambling and self-congratulatory speech by one or more of the administrators about the filmmakers, how the Brattle was able to get the film, how the film is exclusive to the Brattle, what the film is about (sometimes even including spoilers), etc. I get that a single-screen arthouse theatre is really going to want to make sure their audience knows that they're a scrappy underdog that relies on the support of their patrons to survive. But that's a pretty hard sell when the speech being given on such a theme is being delivered in a manner that manages to be both tangent-filled and arrogant. Is it because they know that they're the only game in town (besides the Coolidge, which is a bit of a trek for the Camberville crowd) and has a more or less captive audience in terms of the types of films they show? For my money, keep it short and sweet and let your audience watch the film they came to see, which, as mentioned above, is already being shown late. They ought to rename this place the Prattle.
Sound is spotty at best. You say you're proud of the films you show? Then give your audience the ability to hear them.
If you're short, the house is not for you.
