Review of The Remains of the Day (1993) by Dawdlingpoet — 20 Nov 2021

This is a period (historical) drama, with themes including loyalty, duty and nostalgia. It is a slow paced film, one which is quite thought provoking, with a beautiful setting (Darlington Hall in Oxford) and a fair sense of melancholia present at times. It is generally quite brusque in tone - certainly James Stevens is that way himself. I found it an interesting watch, to see the relationship between James and his father, how he reacted to certain changes in the household and I found myself feeling quite defensive and concerned for him at different points due to certain events, while, at other points, the opposite seemed to be the case, as he appeared to be relatively harsh in his dealings with others (I try my best not to give any potential spoilers, so I hope this isn't seen as giving too much away). I found myself trying to second guess James responses and I did feel it was emotionally somewhat moving in parts, although, as I say, I won't say why. I thought it was interesting to see how James communicated with different people, the gentry and otherwise.

Cast wise, Anthony Hopkins plays the main character, James Stevens. He very much looks the part of an aristocratic butler, who practices and promotes the expected etiquette expected from the high and mighty. He comes across as strict, sometimes respectful of the orders he's given from those above himself, although at times he stands his ground but other times remarkably he doesn't. He seems stern yet a thorough worker, one who is quite reserved and who distances himself emotionally from the environments he finds himself in. Meanwhile, Emma Thomson plays Miss Kenton, the houses owner in the 1930s - she very much plays the part as well, as a prim and proper type who ensures her position is respected. Other cast members include Christopher Reeve as Jack Lewis and Hugh Grant as Reginald Cardinal.

As far as the soundtrack is concerned, the classical music played is quite mysterious in tone, rather light and floaty sounding, if that makes sense?. There is very much a moral aspect to this film, quite a heavy one potentially and it is that which makes it quite a thought provoking watch. Content wise, the film contains very little at all likely to offend people overall. The only notable content is one scene which contains two characters (clothed) who are shown kissing heavily and one instance of relatively mild profanity. The film has a U rating, so it should be suitable for all pretty much. Perhaps the only other aspect that may be worth mentioning is that the second world war is featured, with dark aspects being talked about, so that could be slightly upsetting (or, moreso, depressing) and its fair to say that there is a mild aspect of mature theme present.

Plot wise, as I say this is very much a slow burner (as it were). I thought that it was well made and I enjoyed watching it. It is relatively long, at around two hours and a quarter long but I didn't feel it unnecessarily dragged on, which could be thought of as a fair achievement for such a film. I feel this film has a sad poignancy to it given todays political climate as well.