Review of Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) by Shonda S — 17 Jun 2007

This is a deliciously dark, oh-so-typically understated British comedy that still has quite a lot of bite to it, despite its being made almost 60 years ago. In addition to being quite an amusing romp, most of the impetus of which is provided by Alec Guinness's masterful multi-character performance (a precursor to Peter Sellers' multiple cameos in Dr.

Strangelove), this is actually quite an effective suspense, leading up to a particularly satisfying ending (a rare animal indeed). It's fun to see the hints of movies to come in this as well (American Psycho and The Ruling Class spring to mind) where you draw an enormous amount of guilty pleasure from rooting for the sociopathic anti-hero and are happy to see the upper crust finally getting what they deserve.

It's social commentary told with sardonic wit. And that's the best kind of satire there is.