An archetypal British made-with-an-eye-to-TV movie - high on period detail and genteel to a point that makes you long for something really dramatic to happen and interrupt the almost incessant dialogue. Not that Peter Barnes' script is at all bad. Much of it has the air of a pretty good parody of the kind of Edwardian play that delighted middle-class matinees - polished, safe and, above all, not too witty. The performances, too, are exactly what one would expect, with the honours going to Jim Broadbent's not-quite-as-boring-as-he-seems husband. The film was a surprising hit in cinemas, especially in America. Joan Plowright delivers another variation on her now beautifully polished Beryl Reid impression (this one won her an Oscar nomination); and Polly Walker is right on target with her cool society vamp. But you are left with the (doubtless unworthy) feeling that the cast and crew had rather more fun making this film (since it involved a location trip to Italy) than audiences will have watching it. Director Mike Newell hit it big with his next film, though: it was Four Weddings and a Funeral.


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