This quiet little film deserves to be seen. It paints the portrait of Charlie (Albert Finney, who also directed), a successful author who has drained his cup of success. Now he's tense, lonely, tired of it all and all locked up inside. We see him go back on a weekend to his native north (exquisitely photographed: you can smell the mist) to his estranged wife (Billie Whitelaw) and son. He takes his secretary (Liza Minnelli) and disspiritedly submits to being seduced by her. Life is empty for Charlie, but there's just a hint at the end that it may not stay so. Whitelaw is staggeringly good in a film that keeps you watching throughout. Sample their dialogue together. 'Did you bake this bread yourself? ' 'Yeah, rotten, isn't it? There are no chemicals whatever in that muck you're eating.' The ending may take you by surprise.


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