Sorry. Too super subtle for my taste. Ok, life was tough back in the Nixon-Thatcher-Regan days etc but that's no excuse for bad art. Clever editing and juxtapositions can't redeem an impoverished vision. Granted, Redgrave is excellent, but it's just a sophomoric angst film, hardly a deep philosophic probing of (oh, please) "the meaning of life." Watch Bergman instead.
shareMany years ago, a little pissed, watching this movie late one night on tv, i suddenly recognised that it had been filmed at my old school that i had not seen for many years, bad *beep* trip!
shareIt's a good film. Redgrave is astounding and carries it effortlessly.
shareI loved this film. What a joy to see these great English actors a little younger, especially Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson and Ian Holm. Vanessa is just the best actress walking. I thought it was a very strange movie, but I truly liked it a great deal and recommend it to anyone who likes small films. David Hare is a wonderful writer and director!
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One of my favorite movies ever. It has such a distinctive atmosphere, and Vanessa delivers one of her best performances. Wish more movies were done with this kind of feeling.
ah harrogate grammar, blink and you'll miss me walking down the corridor
shareCan Someone tell me the Basis of this film? Why was did that guy shot himself in her Cottage? Does it relate to her past?
"SG"
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LoL
Life was much harder and much more chaotic pre-Thatcher. Thatcher dragged the UK out of the early 20th Century and set the stage for a more modern affluent UK. The left hated her because 1)she was effective 2)she was middle class 3)she was a woman.
I don't know about subtle. It may have been so in the actual writing of the narrative, but the structuring of the whole thing and some of the directorial flourishes were ridiculously heavy handed. I think you sum it up pretty well...
Clever editing and juxtapositions can't redeem an impoverished vision. Granted, Redgrave is excellent, but it's just a sophomoric angst film, hardly a deep philosophic probing of (oh, please) "the meaning of life." Watch Bergman instead.
I just finished watching it. Yes, it's very subtle in some ways and I'm struggling to understand David Hare's political allegory here (and there probably is one because there's one in most of his scripts and plays). But it was certainly absorbing generally speaking and the performances were excellent, especially from Ian Holm (but why was Judi Dench nominated for a BAFTA for this? She hardly does anything). The score is also lovely, when it's not so self-consciously 80's in parts.
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