We had a change of plan for our August Film and Literature session.  We were a very small group as several people were unable to attend.  Instead we watched an episode of an Agatha Christie short story, The Case of the Missing Woman.

This was an entertaining movie, which we decided was a satirical comedy rather than a traditional Christie crime movie.  There was an element of mystery as the main characters, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, seek to locate a missing woman at the request of her fiancée, Gabriel Stavansson.   She had been staying with her aunt, Lady Susan Clonray while Stavenssen was away for two years.   Stavansson did not get on with Lady Susan who he thought of as fat, and she was evasive about her niece’s whereabouts.  Tommy and Tuppence eventually located the missing woman only to find that she was undergoing radical treatment to lose the weight she had put on while her fiancée was away.

Costuming was great, with Tuppence wearing matching dress and hat in one scene.  Lady Susan’s portrayal as a fat lady did not work as well as we would have liked, with a thinner person’s head on a supposedly fat body.  Her costume though was bright and impressive.  We did discuss the current issues around obesity, and what is considered fat or obese.  Finally, we enjoyed the butler who was serving Lady Susan as he was portrayed as old and doddery, one of many comical scenes in the movie.

Our September movie will be either Belle or Ladies in Lavender.  Belle is based loosely on the story of Dido Belle, the illegitimate daughter of a Royal Navy captain and a slave woman in the 18th century.  This will be the movie if the internet behaves well for streaming the movie.  If we have internet problems we will watch Ladies in Lavender, starring Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.

With all the movies we watch, our aim is to focus our discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere.  We aim to start promptly at 1:00pm to allow time to discuss the movie.
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Joy Shirley

​In July we watched A Room With a View 
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Genre: Romantic satire

Plot: Lucy Honeychurch, a young Englishwoman, is touring Italy with her older cousin. Lucy meets the charming and free-spirited George Emerson. Although intrigued by George, once she's back in England Lucy ponders settling down with the wealthy, staid Cecil Vyse. When George reappears in her life, Lucy must decide between him and Cecil.

Key Characters:   Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter), Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith), George Emerson (Julian Sands), Reverend Mr Beebe (Simon Callow), Eleanor Lavish (Judi Dench), Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis)

Review: we rated the movie as 4.5 out of 5.

This was a gentle movie, with some wry humour.  The key roles were caricatures of early 20th century characters.  For example, Charlotte Bartlett as Lucy’s chaperon was portrayed as the poor cousin spinster, and Cecil was very much rich and idle.  It is also a movie of contrasting characters…George as the passionate and brooding young man and Cecil as passionless and arrogant.  All enjoyed the movie, which is not surprising given the quality of the cast.  Many of the cast were top actors, having either won or been nominated for Academy Awards.  And the movie won three Academy Awards.

Further: Our August movie will be Belle based loosely on the story of Dido Belle, the illegitimate daughter of a Royal Navy captain and a slave woman in the 18th century.

With all the movies we watch, our aim is to focus our discussion, covering ideas around genre, characters, plot, but also adding the aspects that relate to film, such as cinemascope, music and atmosphere.  We aim to start promptly at 1:00 pm to allow time to discuss the movie.

Joy Shirley