★ 7 / 10
Disturbing yet engrossing film
tresdodge
A middle class commuter belt couple Mr Bates (Denholm Elliot) and Mrs Bates (Joan Plowright) are duped into taking a charming young man Martin(Sting)into their…
A middle class commuter belt couple Mr Bates (Denholm Elliot) and Mrs Bates (Joan Plowright) are duped into taking a charming young man Martin(Sting)into their house to help care for their catatonic daughter (Suzanna Hamilton). Martin claims to have been close to their daughter before an accident left her unable to communicate. As the film progresses the couple mistakenly start to trust Martin and dark family secrets are revealed.Originally a stage play written by Dennis Potter the film is in turn engrossing, disturbing and claustrophobic. Denholm Elliot is as ever brilliant as the lonely and disturbed father figure, Sting puts in a good performance as a strange and demonic young man, Joan Plowright is very good as the maternal and naive housewife.The two slight let downs for me were the music which I did'nt feel fitted in well with the film and the main fantasy sequence which did'nt stand the test of time well.Other than that the film held my attention throughout, the direction by Richard Loncraine was extremely capable, all in all an intriguing and idiosyncratic piece which is well worth a watch.
Read full review
★ 7 / 10
Not as good as the BBC TV play but....
saintetiennelee
I really enjoyed Denholm Elliott's performance in this film. He's so bitter and gnarled up that his outbursts are brilliant and quite funny. Obviously the sick…
I really enjoyed Denholm Elliott's performance in this film. He's so bitter and gnarled up that his outbursts are brilliant and quite funny.
Obviously the sick manner of the story is the same as the Play for Today, it's delivered well if not as successful as the TV version, although I've not seen that version for a long time so maybe the memory cheats a little.Nothing wrong with Stings performance in this film but he he just didn't have the screen presence for me to completely convince.I enjoyed this film more than I expected and it's good to see it get a repeat here in the UK on London Live channel.
7/10.
Read full review
★ 7 / 10
Very intriguing allegorical thriller
capkronos
Polite, mannered drifter Martin Taylor (Sting) charms his way into the home of Thomas Bates (Denholm Elliott), an outwardly upright publisher of religious…
Polite, mannered drifter Martin Taylor (Sting) charms his way into the home of Thomas Bates (Denholm Elliott), an outwardly upright publisher of religious text, his simple-minded, devout wife Norma (Joan Plowright) and their catatonic daughter Patricia (Suzanna Hamilton), whom he claims to know. Martin is allowed to stay in the home for a couple of days, cooks, cleans, "cares" for the daughter and tries to help the couple through their marital problems, but he's also the catalyst that forces some dark secrets out of the family closet.Sting's character will either annoy or fascinate you as he exists solely as an enigma, representing angel or demon, or possibly both. Originally a play, this film never quite escapes the stage, but that only feeds into the claustrophobia of the stuffy household and guilt-ridden, lonely characters who inhabit it, and, all in all, it's an intriguing allegory on the nature of good and evil that has a lot to offer, including potent religious imagery, a knockout nightmare/fantasy sequence and a good score (plus songs by The Police) all driven home by excellent performances by the three leads and assured direction by Richard Loncraine.Dennis Potter's script was previously filmed in 1976 for BBC (that version also starred the great Denholm Elliott).
Read full review
6.4/10
1.9K
•••
@steerpike, completely agree... although it's still a better adaptation of a Potter "Play For Today" than Roegs Track 29, which while still good is a far lesser effort than the Tim Curry version known as Schmoedipus. Not grabbing this as I'm waiting for my copy from VS to arrive.