MovieChat Forums > A Month in the Country (1987) Discussion > The point of this movie...?

The point of this movie...?

posted 16 years ago by jtheway22
3 replies | jump to latest

Being a fan of Colin Firth and having heard so many good things about this movie I was very keen to watch it. However, it left me feeling very disappointed.

Firth and the rest of the cast were good, but there seemed to be very little point for it: it was as if all of them had found themselves out of work and just got together to stretch their acting wings.

It wasn't that I didn't understand any of the (weak) plot, indeed I had picked up that Firth, war-ravaged, was quite the antithesis to the pious villagers he was surrounded by, which generated some friction between them. But that was about it.

For me this film, with its nuances is more like poetry than prose - there's a lot going on but it's very subtle and on a multitude of layers. But that just made for a very slow and seemingly uneventful film.

Whilst a part of me wants to watch it again to see if it offers more on a second viewing, I found it so tedious the first time around that it really puts me off wanting to see it again.

[–] betweenthelinesfilms 15 years ago

This film almost follows the book directly. The point? The War had ravaged England, and most men, if they survived, came back very shattered in all ways. This film, based on the novel, is all about restoration to life....hence the meticulous painstaking work on the mural and the digging in the yard. Hope this helps to give you more insight.

[–] Kykuit 12 years ago

Hmmm, the point? For me it was finding healing, peace after a crisis. Putting life and its pain in perspective; pain is part of the human experience and shared by all of humanity.

[–] Cracklight 11 years ago

As the imdb boards constantly show, one person's classic is another's yawn fest. I am sorry you found this film tedious. This is one of my favourite films and it is very rarely seen nowadays and hard to find on DVD. It is wonderful to see the young Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth in such appealing roles and Natasha Richardson is stunningly beautiful. It contains a touching example of unrequited love (equalled in such films as The Remains of the Day) and is unique in a plot involving the restoration of a church fresco, and the search for an ancient grave and an Anglo Saxon chapel. Certanly not everyone's cup of tea, but refreshingly intellectual compared to many computer game inspired movies. It is also an interesting portrayl of the aftermath of war on the individual. It appeals to me as a film showing the immediate after effects of World War I rather than purely one of military adventures [another favourite in this broad theme is Tavernier's La vie et rien d'autre (1989)]. Also there are some nice digs at religion and the aristocracy with some good comedy touches - Richard Vernon as the vague Colonel Hebron with his gormless assistant, and Patrick Malahide as the theologically minded vicar regretting that the rural congregation does not really appreciate the meaning of the Eucharist yet he forgets Christian charity by allowing Tom Birkin (Colin Firth) to sleep in the church attic rather than providing a room in his large Deanery, compare him with the open but slightly obnoxious Ellerbecks and their more "happy clappy" style of worship. There is warmth, comedy and moments for reflection in this small scale, quiet, charming film. Perhaps it is a very niche film, but I enjoy the fact that it has the backdrop of art, history and archeology, not often seen in cinema - in the same way that I enjoyed the 1992 film Utz based on a Bruce Chatwin novel where the protaganist is motivated by the search for Meissen porcelain. You will either find it charming and different, or perhaps elitist and pompous. For me, A Month in the Country is one of my favourite films and very under-rated