Review of The Servant (1963) by Christopher S — 14 Aug 2009

If the screenplay for a movie is written by Harold Pinter, you know you're in for a treat. This one was his first of three collaborations with the then blacklisted Joseph Losey and it's definitely the finest.

Dirk Bogarde is on fire as the servant 'Barrett' who's slowly overtaking the power in the household. A certain sexual tension is present during the whole course of the movie between the different characters and it leads up to a surrealistic climax at the end.

Everything starts pretty standard but before you realize it mayhem ensues, it's Pinter at his finest, as absurd as you can imagine. The cinematography is absolutely stunning. It shows every room from angles you don't expect and gives a claustrophobic feel to it.

As I said, I found Dirk Bogarde to be the big star of this one but as I come to think of it, I found everybody acting on a very high level. It's definitely a shame James Fox didn't play in more films if you see his performance here.

Sarah Miles was very interesting in this one, balancing on the rope between seductive and wacky. The music also adds to the overall mood, especially the Johnny Dankworth & Cleo Laine song 'All Gone'.