Nothing Like a Dame

Tags

2010's, Documentary, Eileen Atkins, Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Roger Michell

This review that follows will be a first for me on this site. It will be the first review of a documentary and what a great one to start with. It’s Nothing Like a Dame, which has us in the company of the great women of stage and screen.

In the English countryside, we meet with icons Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins. All of them Dames and acting greats. They are conversing and reminiscing at the country house of Plowright, that she owned with her late husband Laurence Olivier. And boy is it entertaining to see them all together and in fine form. With careers spanning decades, there is no shortage of conversation here. It’s such a simple idea of watching these four wonderful ladies reflecting on life and their careers, which are extremely eventful.

Director Roger Michell keeps things low key and lets the ladies do their thing. This in turn brings out wonderfully natural results as Michell doesn’t feel the need to be flashy to be seen as good. He knows that the strength of these four dames is all he needs for this compelling documentary. I seriously want to see this quartet in another movie together. It would be a complete riot and so enjoyable. You can feel their friendship and years of experience are strong and full of energy and wisdom. They are by turns funny, irreverent, classy and humorous, with plenty of time for deep reflection on life and family. Hearing them speak about family has a certain poignancy to it. You can see the humanity of their situations and even though they are famous, they are still very much down to Earth in the grand scope of things. They’ve all seen a lot and experienced a lot too and it definitly shows their resilience. And Maggie Smith is on point with her acerbic wit, that is matched by Judi Dench( just check out her reaction to a medical worker treating her like just another old biddy). The other ladies round out this luminous quartet with grace, honesty and good humour. No one is more important than the other, it’s a celebration of them all. Whether together or apart, I could watch these ladies do anything. The quartet is marvellous; serenely bouncing off one another with memories and wisecracks. You just have to bathe in their anecdotes that run the gamut from happy to sad. Many areas are bound to bring some feelings of tears, mainly the fact that Plowright’s vision is failing and she occasionally looses track of conversation. But she still remains as strong as an ox and dispenses kindly wisdom to all. As all the ladies say, age is just a number.

I wholeheartedly recommend this documentary to anyone who enjoys watching actors reflect and fans of these amazing women.

Enchanted April

Tags

1990's, Alfred Molina, Drama, Enchanted April, Jim Broadbent, Joan Plowright, Josie Lawrence, Michael Kitchen, Mike Newell, Miranda Richardson, Period Drama, Polly Walker

Film Title

Enchanted April

Director

Mike Newell

Starring

• Josie Lawrence as Lottie Wilkins
• Miranda Richardson as Rose Arbuthnot
• Joan Plowright as Mrs. Fisher
• Polly Walker as Lady Caroline Dester
• Alfred Molina as Mellersh Wilkins
• Jim Broadbent as Frederick Arbuthnot
• Michael Kitchen as George Briggs

A thoroughly captivating period drama, in which a dream vacation for four ladies has each person is changed by the experience, Enchanted April is aptly named and filled with a real feel good factor that is hard to resist.

It is 1920’s London and grey skies and constant rain fill the days. Downtrodden housewife Lottie Wilkins desires a change of scenery for a while as she is married to solicitor Mellersh, who rarely pays her any attention and London depresses her. She meets a neighbour, Rose Arbuthnot, to whom she has never spoken and sees that she also is in a not to different situation. Yet Rose is a woman who has become so used to being subservient to her husband that the idea of a holiday appears to be just a dream. Yet she is soon won over by Lottie’s insistence and good nature, and soon the women grow friendly and plan a getaway. The location is an Italian castle on the shores of the Mediterranean for the month of April. The two jump into this as a way to escape the dreary lives they lead and take the chance. In order to split the expenses, Lottie and Rose put out an advertisement for two others to join their impromptu adventure. The two people they take on are the haughty and disapproving Mrs. Fisher and beautiful but restless socialite Lady Caroline Dester, who wants to get away from her social circles. Once at the exotic castle, the four of them set apart attempting to relax and unwind, though it isn’t always that simple. The ladies are at first at odds with each other, yet over time they grow closer to each other. A change happens for each of the women over the course of April as the fresh air and surroundings weave a magic spell on all of them. Lottie discovers her own sense of worth, Rose emerges from her insular shell to become a vivacious and confident lady, Mrs Fisher’s waspish attitude is minimalised as she lightens up and Caroline gets a sense of contentment from the castle. It appears that the place has some unusual ability to transform those there and generally for the best in this luscious movie.

Mike Newell has a sensitive edge to his direction that brings the characters and settings to life admirably. The whole strangers going on holiday and changing genre has been done a million times, but Enchanted April is one of the better films of its kind thanks to the script and aforementioned direction from the great Newell. There is subtlety at work in Enchanted April that suits the slow, sunny days in which the quartet evolve as people due to the change in location and free from the pressures of life. Some people may say that not a great deal happens, when quite a lot occurs just in a mature and measured way as opposed to something majorly overt. I like this approach in a movie, especially something like this that allows for depth and nuance.  A good touch is having some of the thoughts of the women play out as monologues when they’re alone and left to contemplate the impact of change on them. The locations are gorgeous to look at and the visual changes pave the way for memorable viewing. From the dour London scenes to the brightly coloured setting of Italy, Enchanted April knows how to twin the colours with the emotions the characters and audience experience. You can take away a warm and fuzzy feeling from this film, that at least feels genuine and not mawkish or filled schmaltz. Gentle music stunningly underscores the growth of each person as the paradise quietly but noticeably changes them.

Enchanted April gains huge points of greatness from the splendid cast. It’s the ladies who are the most memorable within the film. As the lady who comes up with the idea of the holiday, Josie Lawrence has enough energy and optimism she could practically burst. Playing Lottie as a woman who is bruised but has an effervescent spirit and perceptive ability. Lawrence succeeds as it is impossible not to be won over by her. Miranda Richardson is simply sublime in her part of the saddened and put upon Rose, who discovers a new purpose and love for life once in the Italian surroundings. Richardson is one of those performers who can say so much with her face than most can with heaps of dialogue. She is a moving and luminous presence in this film and not one that is easily forgotten. Stealing all of her scenes is Joan Plowright; essaying the role of a cantankerous old lady who is really quite lonely and regretful behind the entitled surface. She gets all the best lines and her old-fashioned and snobby attitude is a funny thing to view. Yet Plowright knows exactly when to reel in the disapproving glances and acidic remarks to reveal a woman at odds with the world, as it is totally different from the one she grew up in and her morals are now outdated in changing society. As the last part of the female quartet, Polly Walker’s work is stunning and full of kittenish behaviour. At first glance,the part of Caroline could be seen as merely a glamorous one that probably wouldn’t require much in the way of acting. But Polly Walker digs beneath that and thanks to the writing, emerges with a very good performance that opens up the character who just wants to be loved by someone for not just her beauty or money.

Though while the ladies hold a lot of the interest, the men do pretty well too. Alfred Molina and Jim Broadbent excel as two of the husbands who are inattentive to the yet once they visit the paradise are changed significantly. The always reliable Alfred Molina in particular is a highlight as the initially priggish Mellersh, who appears more interested in his job than anything else. Later he is seen displaying a deft humour and surprising sensitivity once his character glimpses how important his wife is to him in the scheme of things. Michael Kitchen has a good part as the owner of the castle who is never seen far from a thick pair of glasses due to having short sight.

A lovely film of gorgeous scenery, subtle drama and nice performances, Enchanted April is just the ticket for a rainy day as you will feel refreshed by it.

Drowning by Numbers

Tags

1980's, Bernard Hill, Dark Comedy, Drama, Drowning by Numbers, Jason Edwards, Joan Plowright, Joely Richardson, Juliet Stevenson, Peter Greenaway

Film Title

Drowning by Numbers

Director

Peter Greenaway

Starring

• Bernard Hill as Madgett
• Joan Plowright as Cissie Colpitts I
• Juliet Stevenson as Cissie Colpitts II
• Joely Richardson as Cissie Colpitts III
• Jason Edwards as Smut

Written and directed by Peter Greenaway, Drowning by Numbers is a baroque examination of sorority, murder and all things numerical laced with dark humour and morbid events. It won’t be for everyone’s taste, but as a black comedy drama with strange imagery and surreal repeating games, it is a sardonic and at times disturbing watch.

In a quiet and seemingly quaint Suffolk town by the seaside, strange events are occurring beneath the supposedly docile appearance. The film focuses on three generations of women who all share the name Cissie Colpitts. As the film progresses, each of the women successfully drown their philandering and useless spouses; the eldest Cissie drowns her husband in the bath, the second Cissie disposes of her spouse in the sea and the seductive youngest drowns her husband in the swimming pool. Their murderous tasks are covered up by the local coroner Madgett, who loves to play morbid games. Although he is promised a reward for his rulings on the suspicious deaths, the three women hold back and lead him on. Madgett’s teenage son Smut, is also obsessed with death and numerical games and his imagination is heightened after the sudden increase in drownings. Yet, soon the townsfolk grow suspicious of the supposed accidental deaths and believe that Madgett knows more than he is letting on. Strange, unsettling and embedded with a knife-edge humour, Drowning by Numbers emerges as an artistic rumination on morbidity, womanhood and sexuality.

As I mentioned earlier, Drowning by Numbers will not be for everyone but there are certain things that can’t help but be praised. The strikingly saturated hues of blue and red that cover Suffolk are exemplary and capture the various themes of aquatic death and underlying passion. A lot of the imagery is really hard to get out of your head. Greenaway clearly has fun placing numbers in the scenes in various ways, such as written, on clothing or sometimes something subliminal and repeating numerous phrases relating to them.  References to historical figure’s last words, morbid games played like ancient rites and a young girl reciting the names of stars in the night sky while skipping all add to the dark tone of the film and the skittish other side that often intertwine with one another to unnerving effect.

As the film continues, the audience is sucked into the twisted game and believe me it’s a strange but interesting experience that makes you sit up and take note. Greenaway depicts an iconoclastic England rarely depicted on cinema screens, cutting through the alleged respectability and manners with a mendacious glee to show a dark undercurrent akin to a really dark fairy tale at various points. Lurid images and the importance of sisterhood play a large part of the story, embodied excellently by the murdering trio at the heart of it. Michael Nyman’s unusual score perfectly compliments the dark humour that pervades Drowning by Numbers.

The cast inhabit their strange roles with charm and wit. Bernard Hill is suitably strange and slightly lecherous as the coroner cajoled into covering up the aquatic deaths but never getting his reward with any of the women. Joan Plowright, Juliet Stevenson and Joely Richardson make for a delightfully scheming and lethal sisterhood, filling the three Cissie’s with vivacity but also showing the hidden secrecy, unspoken camaraderie and manipulation that lies beneath their pretty exterior. Jason Edwards makes quite an impression as the unusual Smut, who collects bugs and is obsessed with anything related to death. Through his narration, we see the escalating morbid quality that his games begin to take on.

It may not be for everyone, but if you want an intelligent, strangely and darkly comic look at murder boasting unusual imagery, Drowning by Numbers may be what you are looking for.

Tea with Mussolini

Tags

1990's, Cher, Franco Zeffirelli, Italy, Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, Lily Tomlin, Maggie Smith, Period Comedy, Period Drama, Tea with Mussolini

Film Title

Tea with Mussolini

Director

Franco Zeffirelli

Cast

• Cher as Elsa Morganthal
• Joan Plowright as Mary Wallace
• Judi Dench as Arabella
• Maggie Smith as Lady Hester Random
• Lily Tomlin as Georgie Rockwell
• Baird Wallace as Teenage Luca
• Charlie Lucas as Young Luca

Franco Zeffirelli draws upon incidents from his own childhood for this semi-autobiographical, coming of age tale of a young boy whose life is influenced by many different women as Italy heads for political change and the impending knowledge of World War II. Funny, warm and boasting an array of fine performances from the talented cast, Tea with Mussolini is charming viewing from start to finish.

The film begins in 1935, Florence. Luca is a young illegitimate child whose mother has died and whose father shows little care for his upbringing. Luckily for him, his father’s secretary, the kind Mary Wallace decides to take the boy into her care. She is part of an expatriate sisterhood known as “The Scorpioni”, which consists of Englishwomen and two Americans. Populating the electic group are Arabella, the spirited art loving bohemian; Lady Hester, a rude and haughty matron who because of her late husbands political connections is a strong believer in Mussolini; Elsa, an outrageous American widow who loves to spend and Georgie, a witty and openly lesbian archaeologist. It is through this gaggle of women that Luca learns many valuable lessons about life as he grows up. But as the country heads for Italy’s involvement in the war and political uncertainty, the bond between him and the women remains strong despite the many attempts to break it. So sit back and enjoy this touching coming of age story of Luca as he grows from childhood to teenage years, instilled with the lessons of the inspirational women that surround him.

Although some of the events in the film feel a little over the top and episodic, this should not detract from the overall freshness of the story as performed by the exceptional cast. The screenplay excellently alternates between dry humour and moments of touching sincerity with deft skill. The use of authentic Italian locations is stunningly realised and shot almost like a Merchant-Ivory picture, capturing the lush beauty but also the eventual turmoil that will occur. Charlie Lucas and Baird Wallace shine as Luca at different ages, showing his emergence from wide-eyed boy to cultured young gentleman. Yet it the female cast that lights up Tea with Mussolini, creating a lively group of eccentric but caring ladies. In a role that seems tailor-made for her, Cher delivers an exciting, sensational and heartfelt performance as the extravagant Elsa, who loves to shake things up, but behind the glamour has a caring streak that becomes most apparent when it comes to Luca. Joan Plowright provides a warm but firm presence as Luca’s surrogate mother figure, her eyes filled with love and care for the boy. She also conveys a sagacious strength when situations get tough and has a quiet but disarming wit. Maggie Smith, that great dame, turns in a typically acerbic performance as the haughty and high-class Hester, blinded by her own naive tendencies. Smith has a hoot delivering the best lines consisting of withering insults and warm responses in equal abundance. That other grand dame of cinema Judi Dench adds eccentric mannerisms and bohemian freedom as the passionate Arabella, showing us her cultured sensibilities with her many recitals of classic poetry and literature. Rounding out this ensemble is Lily Tomlin who adds an arch humour and touching quality as the free-living Georgie, who isn’t afraid to voice her opinion. The film may be set during the war but don’t expect a history lesson, as the main focus is on the effects it has rather than the fighting. Franco Zeffirelli directs with a light comic air that also contains many moments of poignancy arising from Luca’s unbreakable connection with the gaggle of women who have changed his life.

Featuring a brilliant cast, stunning sets and excellent dialogue laced with humour and warmth to spare, Tea with Mussolini is simply a joy. Believe me, the cast enough is reason to see the semi-autobiographical delight from Franco Zeffirelli.