MovieChat Forums > The Servant (1964) Discussion > Small bottle towards the end

Small bottle towards the end

posted 11 years ago by MikeLeighFan
3 replies | jump to latest

I just saw this movie at Film Forum in NYC a week ago and I noticed something I hadn't when I had watched it on DVD. Towards the end of the movie, Barrett procures a small bottle of liquor for Tony that he infers is only available from, as I recall, a German dealer (black market?). I was wondering if it was meant to be Absinthe. After that, Tony takes another downward turn so I'm assuming that it was something very potent and borderline illegal. BTW, alchohol doesn't play as large a role in the book, where believe it or not, Barrett is portrayed in an even more sinister light than the film.

[–] Essexlol 11 years ago

I think it was a bottle of Laudanum, which is an opium based solution, I believe common in Edwardian/Victorian times.
I also think he said he got it from Jermyn Street, which is near London's Picadilly , but I could be wrong.

[–] dustypistol 7 years ago

I assumed Barrett had drugged that particular bottle with something heavy, since even with absinthe I doubt a little sip or two would mess you up so badly you couldn't talk or stand up for 95% of the night... especially because for most of that scene the camera is shooting just the bottle, and if I remember right it then zooms out to show Barrett pushing Tony to take it and Tony taking a sip.