My new post is a film review for Keeping Mum...
When a pregnant woman boards a train she soon gets found out as a murderer, she hacked up the bodies of her husband and his lover and put their body parts in her large trunk which she has on the train. She gets found guilt of their murders and sent to prison. The child gets bought up by nuns.
Many years later me meet reverend Goodfellow who is so busy trying to write the perfect sermon for his upcoming conference he has failed to notice the problem facing his family. His wife feels neglected and is having her head turned by her golf instructor, his 17 year old daughter is going through men like they are going out of fashion and his young son is being bullied at school.
Things for the family are about to change though when their new house keeper arrives, Grace Hawkins is the lady in question and she has a novel way of sorting out problems. She starts by taking on the neighbours dog with a shovel and then sets about sorting out the family. Can Grace save this family and just where did she come from?
I was quite looking forward to watching this film as it was advertised and seemed to look funny and have a good cast. I did enjoy this film and felt the storyline was very good and I think it was only enhanced by the setting. The film was set in the English countryside in a small village and for me this is what made it more believable and realistic. I don’t think the story would have worked very well if the setting would have been a large city or even in America. I loved the way we got to see the village life and how they all knew about everyone’s problems and difficulties and just how nosey some people are. The village was called Little Thump and I thought this was a very appropriate name due to what Grace got up to. The film was actually shot on location in Cornwell and I found all the views to be lovely and enjoyable to watch.
The acting was very good, we had a mainly all English cast and it was great to see some of our better actors showing just what they are capable of. The role of Reverend Goodfellow was played by Rowan Atkinson and I enjoyed the fact he moved away from his Mr Bean and comedy roles. He tried to play this character as having a more serious side and I think he did a great job. He did have a few wobbles with silly faces but overall his character was good and I felt I got to know a good amount about him. His wife, Gloria was played by Kristen Scott Thomas and she again was another great strong character. I felt I got to know loads about her and understood how she was feeling and thought about things. I did feel different emotions for her as the film moved on, I hated her for carrying on behind her husbands back but as we got to know more about their relationship I understood better why she felt the need to do it. She did come across as a very good mother and I felt there was a good connection with her and the on screen children. The children were played by very good young actors and I felt they did bring a lot to the film.
Maggie Smith was an excellent choice for the role of Grace. She was a dotty old lady who seemed so innocent and pleasant until someone annoyed her or did something to the family which she did not approve of. She managed to show a good hidden side and I liked how she managed to come across as having a split personality. This is the first time I have seen Maggie playing a role like this one and I think she did it justice. There was a air of mystery always surrounding her and I liked how she tried to keep her past life secret from the family. We also had a great character in the role of Lance, Patrick Swayze played him and I loved how different he was. He was so out of place living in this small village and he did bring some good one liners and fun to the film.
There were some elements of comedy to the film and these were split between visual gags and the spoken ones, I felt all of the cast members did a great job in delivering these laughs and played it very straight. I think the comedy for me worked so well as it was not played for big laughs but in a more subtle way. I think the nature of the story would have seemed a little lost had this been more funny. The music was good but nothing special and I felt a lot could have been done with this with the way we had the setting for a sleepy village and the added inclusion of murder but as it was it was all fitting but nothing special.
I am only reviewing the film so there are no bonus features to speak about. The running time of the film is 103 minutes and I felt this was a good length with the story moving at a steady pace from start to finish. The rate is a 15 and I do think this is very suitable as there are some scenes of nudity and swearing. I also need to point out that we get to see Patrick Swayze in a red leather thong and this may be off putting for some despite the fact he has a great body!
I am more than happy to recommend this film and give it a good 4 stars. I think had the soundtrack been slightly better then it may have gotten a higher rate. We have a good story with great acting and some very beautiful scenery throughout the film. I think this is one to watch but maybe wait for it to be shown on the TV again instead of buying the DVD.
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