If the first non-blank character isn't a " # ", then it's not a redirect, so the check would be short-circuited nearly always after checking only a single byte, which shouldn't be too inefficient at all.
12.
[it ] exemplifies that kind of polite, underdramatic " Masterpiece Theatre " staging that can either provide a surgical examination of English society or bore the pants off you . " Ladies in Lavender " does a bit of both . . . director Dance's momentum fades soon after Andrea's ankle mends, and we're left with a vague back story involving Andrea's intent to emigrate to America, though the mystery of how he ended up in Cornwall is never revisited nor revealed . [ He ] becomes sort of a blank character, a personality on whom we can impose our own curiosity and emotions . . . as compelling and original as this theme is, it's not enough to keep our attention, no matter how lovely the ladies in lavender are ."
