Review of Keeping Mum (2005) by James S — 14 Mar 2010

Not so much a dark British comedy as a kind of murky, early evening British comedy.

Maggie Smith does a decent turn as the Mary Poppins style house keeper who whisks in to local vicar Rowan Atkinson's life and sets about remedying his families dysfunctional behaviour by some extreme methods. For a film that sounds very dark in tone though, and conjures up memories of Kathleen Turner in the much blacker Serial Mom, the delivery of Smith's solutions are a little on the tame side. The film could have gone for much more graphic depictions if it had really wanted to achieve full on darker than the night comedy status.

Rowan Atkinson has been hired for his role seemingly on the basis that he played a funny vicar in Four Weddings & A Funeral but doesn't make much of an effort here which is a shame as you know he can do comedy much better than this.

Kristin Scott Thomas commands more attention as his suffering wife and Patrick Swayze proves that playing slime balls was clearly his forte in his later career.

There is enough to like in Keeping Mum. Smith is good and there are some smirk worthy moments which do make you want to keep watching and a rather neat twist brings the film to a conclusion which is unpredictable if unremarkable. There is something that just doesn't quite gel properly with the whole movie and that is a shame as with a little darker humour this could have been a recommendation rather then a good but not very special diversion.