The Remains of the Day
3.5/4
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant
Rated PG for Themes
One of the most difficult things for a person to do is to be completely honest with themselves. Admitting what you want opens the door for it to blow up in your face. Consider closeted gay people. If they come out of the closet, they face discrimination and possible betrayal from their friends and families. And yet, if we are, it allows us to be happier with ourselves. The tragic flaw of the Mr. Stevens is that he his duties as a butler don't allow him to admit how he feels, and it costs him everything.
Stevens (Hopkins) is the dutiful and devoted butler of the wealthy and powerful Lord Darlington (Fox). He believes that the most important part of being a butler is dignity. He remains an automoton, an unfeeling thing that does everything that is asked of him with no backtalk or controversy. How he feels about anything is irrelevant. That all changes when the new head housekeeper, Miss Kenton (Thompson) arrives. She's more open about what she feels, and an undeniable bond forms between them. She is willing to admit it, but Steven's duties as a butler don't allow him to reciprocate.
The other conflict that Stevens has is with his employer, Lord Darlington. Darlington is a Nazi sympathizer, but only in the extent that he found the Treaty of Versailles unfair. But as an American Congressman, Jack Lewis (Reeve) tells Darlington, he's in over his head. Although not directly impacted by the decisions his employer makes, Stevens' devotion to the job and to Darlington makes them affect him deeply.
There's a lot going on here, and the power of suggestion is strong in Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's screenplay. Although the dialogue isn't especially revealing, it allows for the actors to carry the rest of the weight. The characters that she has drawn, based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro, demand a lot from the cast, and the all succeed in bringing them to life.
When he recreated Hannibal Lector for the screen (the role was first essayed by Brian Cox in Michael Mann's flop, "Manhunter") in "The Silence of the Lambs," he rised being typecast as a psychopathic villain. But Hopkins is a true master, able to play just about any role. It's hard to name two characters who are more different than Hannibal Lecter and James Stevens. Lecter was a psychopath who enjoyed toying with his victims, and his adversary, Clarice Starling. Stevens, on the other hand, prides himself on being meek and obedient. Miss Kenton once complains, "Why don't you say what you're feeling?" As for Miss Kenton, Emma Thompson is fabulous as always. She sees through Stevens' veneer better than he himself does. She loves him dearly, but he is unable to admit it.
From the late eighties to the early ninties, director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant (and writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who despite winning two Oscars for her work and having written scripts for all their films, isn't recognized as much), were the top tier of the arthouse circut. Watching "The Remains of the Day," it's not hard to see why. Ivory navigates this complex material with relative ease and is able to get terrific performances from all of his cast members. Sure, the pacing flags a little early on, and I wanted more scenes with Stevens' and Miss Kenton, but it's still a wonderful movie. Also, there's a deleted scene at the end where Stevens' spills his heart to a man on a pier that, while I understand why Ivory cut it out, I think the film would have been better served had it been left in.
All that being said, this is a wonderful film.
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant
Rated PG for Themes
One of the most difficult things for a person to do is to be completely honest with themselves. Admitting what you want opens the door for it to blow up in your face. Consider closeted gay people. If they come out of the closet, they face discrimination and possible betrayal from their friends and families. And yet, if we are, it allows us to be happier with ourselves. The tragic flaw of the Mr. Stevens is that he his duties as a butler don't allow him to admit how he feels, and it costs him everything.
Stevens (Hopkins) is the dutiful and devoted butler of the wealthy and powerful Lord Darlington (Fox). He believes that the most important part of being a butler is dignity. He remains an automoton, an unfeeling thing that does everything that is asked of him with no backtalk or controversy. How he feels about anything is irrelevant. That all changes when the new head housekeeper, Miss Kenton (Thompson) arrives. She's more open about what she feels, and an undeniable bond forms between them. She is willing to admit it, but Steven's duties as a butler don't allow him to reciprocate.
The other conflict that Stevens has is with his employer, Lord Darlington. Darlington is a Nazi sympathizer, but only in the extent that he found the Treaty of Versailles unfair. But as an American Congressman, Jack Lewis (Reeve) tells Darlington, he's in over his head. Although not directly impacted by the decisions his employer makes, Stevens' devotion to the job and to Darlington makes them affect him deeply.
There's a lot going on here, and the power of suggestion is strong in Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's screenplay. Although the dialogue isn't especially revealing, it allows for the actors to carry the rest of the weight. The characters that she has drawn, based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro, demand a lot from the cast, and the all succeed in bringing them to life.
When he recreated Hannibal Lector for the screen (the role was first essayed by Brian Cox in Michael Mann's flop, "Manhunter") in "The Silence of the Lambs," he rised being typecast as a psychopathic villain. But Hopkins is a true master, able to play just about any role. It's hard to name two characters who are more different than Hannibal Lecter and James Stevens. Lecter was a psychopath who enjoyed toying with his victims, and his adversary, Clarice Starling. Stevens, on the other hand, prides himself on being meek and obedient. Miss Kenton once complains, "Why don't you say what you're feeling?" As for Miss Kenton, Emma Thompson is fabulous as always. She sees through Stevens' veneer better than he himself does. She loves him dearly, but he is unable to admit it.
From the late eighties to the early ninties, director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant (and writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who despite winning two Oscars for her work and having written scripts for all their films, isn't recognized as much), were the top tier of the arthouse circut. Watching "The Remains of the Day," it's not hard to see why. Ivory navigates this complex material with relative ease and is able to get terrific performances from all of his cast members. Sure, the pacing flags a little early on, and I wanted more scenes with Stevens' and Miss Kenton, but it's still a wonderful movie. Also, there's a deleted scene at the end where Stevens' spills his heart to a man on a pier that, while I understand why Ivory cut it out, I think the film would have been better served had it been left in.
All that being said, this is a wonderful film.
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