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The opening - a kind of prologue - puzzled us somewhat, as it didn’t seem even slightly amusing. It tells us that the event happened 43 years earlier; it involves a young pregnant woman (Emilia Fox) on a train, with a trunk that turns out to have very unpleasant contents. And she’s put in jail. Then the action switches to the present - that of around 2004 when the film was made - and we don’t learn until rather later in the film what the relevance of the first scenes is.
Most of the film happens in a small village called Little Wallop. Rowan Atkinson, best known as ‘Mr Bean’, is excellent in his role as Walter, a vicar who takes his duties seriously but is somewhat forgetful. He has been neglecting his wife Gloria (superbly played by Kristin Scott Thomas) and she’s feeling very frustrated. Meanwhile their 17-year-old daughter Holly (Tamsin Egerton) has turned into a nymphomaniac, with a different boyfriend almost every day, and Holly’s brother Petey (Toby Parkes), who is about ten, is the target of bullies at school.
Gloria has been taking private golf lessons with an American pro called Lance (Patrick Swayze). He’s rather sleazy - indeed, his actions today would be considered well beyond the pale, as he gives inappropriate touches, makes suggestive comments, and clearly lusts after Gloria’s daughter too. Gloria is quite tempted to have an affair with him, as she’s so frustrated in her marriage…
Into their lives comes a new housekeeper, Grace. Maggie Smith seems at first like a late middle-aged Mary Poppins. She gives helpful advice to Walter, deals with Petey’s bullies, and produces wonderful food, transforming the cluttered kitchen into a relaxing workplace. However there’s something a bit off about her… Maggie Smith’s expressions are amazing, and the musical background alerts us to her not being all she seems.
There’s quite a bit of humour in this film, which was extremely well made with a cast who worked together so well we could believe in them as a family, even if Grace is a dodgy housekeeper and Lance a most unpleasant character. Some of the humour comes from an elderly member of the congregation, Mrs Parker (Liz Smith) who perpetually wants the Vicar to have a chat about tensions amongst the flower-arranging committee.
Rowan Atkinson’s comic timing and facial expressions are wonderful; just the lift of an eyebrow or a sideways glance made us smile at times, and there’s a wonderful scene where he demonstrates his extreme incompetence as a football goalie.
And yet the film is also very dark - some of what happens is horrific, even if explained in a matter-of-fact way, in the context of black humour. It could have been extremely disturbing although for some reason it wasn’t; possibly because of the light-hearted touch, and the excellence of the actors.
The rating is 15, probably due to some ‘strong’ language, the off-screen violence and some sex scenes; nothing too explicit, but a lot is implied and discussed. I think that’s probably right though I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been rated 12. I’m also not surprised that the US, with its more prudish censors, has rated this as R. It’s unlikely to be of much interest to children anyway as the main characters are in their forties.
There are quite a few ‘extras’ on our DVD: deleted scenes, an alternative opening, some outtakes and a general ‘making of..’ feature, with the cast, writer and producer being interviewed. It was interesting, but I don’t know that it added very much other than some information about the choice of location, actors, etc.
On the whole we did enjoy the film and will no doubt watch it again. I hesitate to recommend it too strongly as I know some people would be quite offended or even upset by the very dark humour that permeates the story. I admit it quite disturbing that the film seems to gloss over criminal behaviour and violence... so it's best not to think too hard about it, and to avoid taking it seriously.
Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews
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