Review of The Remains of the Day (1993) by Grant S — 19 Jun 2017

It is the late-1950s and, due to the death of Lord Darlington, Darlington Hall has just been bought by Jack Lewis, an American. On the staff of the hall is the head butler, James Stevens. Through his eyes we see the what took place in the hall over the last 25 or so years, including the lead-up to World War 2, Stevens' undying devotion to his job and master and his relationship with the housekeeper, Miss Kenton.

Wonderfully engaging, interesting and moving movie. The main plot is essentially the story of one man, Stevens, and his devotion to his job. Anthony Hopkins is superb as Stevens, capturing well the robot-like blinkeredness of a butler who believes duty, dedication and dignity are everything, at the expense of feelings and expression.

Around Stevens are spun a few other stories, making the movie quite multi-faceted. Among these, there's the history of the household, and Lord Darlington especially.

We have the build-up to WW2, showing just how it developed, and how many were sucked into appeasing Germany in the lead-up to it.

Then there's the relationship between Stevens and Miss Kenton, which provides some of the most emotional parts of the movie. It also provides some great "what if?" moments.

Nominated for eight Oscars in 1994, including Best Film, Best Director for James Ivory, Best Leading Actor for Anthony Hopkins and Best Leading Actress for Emma Thompson, unfortunately The Remains Of The Day did not win in any category.