Review of Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017) by Greatmartin — 09 Feb 2018

One of my favorite behind the scenes in Hollywood is the film "The Bad and the Beautiful" for which Gloria Graham won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. In "Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool"we see the last 3 years of her life when she was having an affair with a man 28 years younger than her. The film takes place mainly in California and England with scenes melding into each other and going back and forth between the years and places superbly edited by Nick Emerson. Gloria, married 4 times, is way past her movie career prime and is acting on the stage in England and while playing Sadie Thompson in "Rain" she meets Peter Turner who wrote a book about them and which this movie is based on, the screenplay written by Matt Greenhalgh.

Both Annette Bening as Gloria and Jamie Bell as Peter Turner make their relationship believable and create a chemistry that makes you forget the age difference except when she brings it up but even they can't make this just another picture that can't be saved by top performances though they do give the film whatever power they can find in it!

With Kenneth Cranham and Julie Walters as Peter's parents and Vanessa Redgrave, in a too short scene, as Gloria's mother with Frances Barber as Gloria's very jealous sister the director Paul McGuigon does what he can to elevate the love story but doesn't quite succeed and it could be a story about any two lovers with a large age difference.

As huge a fan as I am of Annette Bening, and admirer of Jamie Bell for his role in "Billy Elliot, along with always glad to see Redgrave and Walters in a movie I just can't recommend this film. Instead, if you aren't familiar with Gloria Graham see her in "The Bad and the Beautiful", "The Greatest Show on Earth", "It's A Wonderful Life" or/and "Crossfire".